The Streak is OVER!

Last minute (Friday night) we decided to head to New York to watch Johan Santana face off against the Twins on Saturday. Thankfully the Mets don’t sell out all of their games, unlike that other NY ball club. So we bought tickets online and started planning the trip. We had to wake up at 4am the next morning and leave the house by 5am. We drove 3 hours to Stamford, CT to hop on a train there where we had about an hour ride to Grand Central Station.

We made it to NYC by 9:15am, with plenty of day ahead of us. Once we got there, we grabbed some breakfast and ate it out on Fashion Ave. All the mannequins were outfitted in various wardrobes and such by different designers. That was fun to look at. I did my best imitation model pose with one diva mannequin.










We walked through Times Square to kill some time before the game. That’s always a great place for entertainment and people watching. It was a sea of lights and people, as usual. We took in some sunshine and gazed out over all the activity from atop the TKTS booth on the ruby-red steps.












We walked back through Bryant Park, enjoyed the fountain for a while, and hopped on the subway headed towards Queens. Waiting for the subway was miserable. The air was so thick you could almost drink it and the temperature felt like 100 degrees down there. I’ve never been so thankful for AC on the train!








We arrived at Citi Field around 11:45am. I noticed two things. 1) The stadium is actually very nice! I’m not sure what all the hoopla is about Yankee Stadium… Citi Field is a better ballpark in my opinion. 2) When compared with the Yankees game, there weren’t nearly as many Twins fans at the Mets game. We were on our own here, let’s hope Mets fans are friendly! =) And that they were. The atmosphere at the place was great. In the concourse behind center field, they had a dunk tank and batting cages set up, wiffle ball for the little kids, lots of food and beer stands. It was really fun. We indulged in ballpark food for lunch and headed to our seats. We sat in the upper most tier in section 515 right behind home plate. We had a great view of the whole field. The Twins started off the first inning with a bang and scored 4 runs… not the best performance by Santana, but I was okay with that! I realized it was both mine and Adam’s first National League game we’ve ever attended. It was really weird hearing, “Next up, pitcher, Carl Pavano!” The sun was beating down on us the whole game. We downed water bottle after water bottle and ate some ice cream in an attempt to stay cool. Kyle came down for the game with Beth’s dad, so we got to see him again as well. Always a good time! Next thing we know, it’s the bottom of the 9th and the Twins were up 6-0. Those next three outs would be something glorious… and then it happened – TWINS WIN!!! Our nine game losing streak was finally over! Woohoo!








After the game, a lot of the fans stuck around to watch the end of the USA vs. Ghana World Cup game on the big TV in the concourse. It’s not every day you see a crowd that big watching a soccer game. It was pretty cool. After Ghana scored in over time everyone fizzled out a bit defeated.

We took the subway back to Manhattan and transferred trains to go to the Meatpacking District. There we went to High Line Park, which is an elevated park that winds its way around buildings above the city streets. It’s over a mile long and filled with lots of flowers and vegetation. It was very well designed with a beautiful mix of artwork and flora. They also have lots of benches and lounge chairs for relaxing. If I lived in NYC, I would totally take my book and head down there for an afternoon to catch some rays.








After our stroll through the park, we were running out of steam. We headed back towards Grand Central and stopped in at what is becoming our “usual” pizza place. We devoured a few slices to energize us for the long trip back. We took the train out at 8pm and made it back to Boston by midnight. All in a day’s work! Never did I imagine we could make NYC a day trip, but it worked out quite well. In fact, this just made my future weekends very dangerous!

Home Sweet Home

I just got back from another great trip to the place I still call home. The trip was short, but sweet. Here are a few cool shots from the plane when I flew in.




So Thursday, I made it home just in time to catch the Light Rail to Target Field... my first game at the new stadium - FINALLY. That was my goal for the summer: experience what everyone has been raving about - an outdoor baseball game during Target Field's inaugural season. Needless to say, it was awesome! There is something intoxicating about being in a new stadium. All the fans just seemed to be happy. Happy to be living in a great state, happy to be cheering on a fun team, and happy to be watching baseball in the sunshine! I loved the State Fair food stands with cheese curds and walleye on a stick... and they served Summit and Michgolden all over the stadium! All these local touches really made me miss home... the evergreens in center field, the flower boxes, all the limestone, Minnie & Paul, etc. I loved it all. One of my favorite things was the main entrance, Target Plaza, with all the statues and beer/food stands outside the stadium. It reminded me a little of the Dome. I'm glad they brought a little of the old in with the new! Our seats were in the upper deck right behind home plate. Though we were up pretty high, the seats were still great! The stadium had a very intimate feel... and the views of the skyline were gorgeous. I can't wait to attend more games here!





While at home I was able to visit a lot of people. As always, not everyone, but again as always, the time goes too fast. I got to visit my grandma in the hospital a few days. I hope she is getting well and can't wait to see her again next month when I am home. I had dinner at Stonebrooke one night with my aunt, mom, and brother. How I miss that golf course! I had a good dinner the the whole fam the night before I dropped my parents off at the airport. They are going to Hawaii and the American Samoa for two weeks (jealous!).

Saturday was a fun filled day with all my favorite girls. It started with Sarah's bridal shower where we ate some food, played some games, and watched the special lady open some gifts. It was a good time. AND I finally got to see Nichole and little baby Levi. He is such a cute little guy! I can't wait to come over and play with him (hopefully on my next trip home!). That night, the boys came over and we all had dinner together before we whisked off for the bachelorette party. We went out on the town in Apple Valley and ended the night at the Farmington Legion. You can't go wrong with that! All in all, we had a great night and I had so much fun hanging out with everyone. Now I am really excited for the wedding!





Sunday was a relaxing day of hanging out on the couch, packing, and jet setting back to Boston. Work was really hard on Monday. I was not ready to be back. The trip went way too fast and I didn't get nearly enough Minnesota in life. I'm already counting down to my return next month!

Major Milestone

Just a quick post this time.

My car, my very first car, the silver 2 door Honda Accord, the one I bought in college, the one I moved out to Boston with me, the one I thought I'd have 5 years tops... just hit 100,000 miles today!! It was about 15 miles shy of the major milestone, so I set out on a mission: We had to go out to eat somewhere at least 7.5 miles away! That way I could see it reach the big 100 before I left to Minnesota. We picked Border Cafe on Route 1 to celebrate. Every time we've been there in the past, there has been a two hour wait... this night only 15 minutes. It was our lucky day! Happy 100,000 Honda Buffet! May we share many more miles to come! =)

Happy Memorial Day!

My favorite thing to do on Memorial Day is to get out on the lake. So, while we don't have a cabin to escape to on the East Coast, we had to do some improvising. We took a ferry from Long Wharf out to the Boston Harbor Islands. The ferry took us to Spectacle Island, situated some 4 miles offshore of downtown Boston. The ferry was fun - a little breezy and wet at times, but it is an awesome cruise through the harbor. Spectacle Island was initially composed of two small drumlins connected by a split which resembled a pair of spectacles (how it got its name). Trash was dumped on the island until 1959, filling in the bridge between the two hills. Then during the Big Dig, dirt and clay were used to resurface the island. Now, it full of vegetation and has lots of trails and beaches to explore. We hiked to the top of it (the highest point in Boston Harbor) to check out the panoramic views of the harbor and the city. Unfortunately, it was a bit hazy due to the forest fires in Quebec and we couldn't see the skyline. We will have to go back again when there are bluer skies. We did, however, have a view of the Long Island Care Hospital which is closed to the public. It was very Shutter Island-esque... now we are excited to get out and rent the DVD!


Long Wharf
Boston Marina
Boston Harbor
On the Ferry
Harbor Islands
Spectacle Island
Sea Glass from all the Trash
View of Spectacle Island
Hiking
"Shutter Island" =)
Perfect Place for a Picnic
On the Highest Point in the Harbor
Boston Skyline

Continuing Education

Just when I thought I was done with school for the summer...

Earlier this week I went to the University of Delaware to take a 2 day course for work. It was on Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM). Yes, I know, it sounds just riviting, but actually it was pretty interesting! I learned a lot about the process and it was a nice change of pace from work. It is really nice to know that my work is willing to put in the extra money to further educate its employees. It was a great experience.

The UDel campus was beautiful and it was located in a cute little college town (Newark, DE). It really made me miss Winona! If it wasn't so far away, I would transfer to finish my Master's there for sure.

I flew into Baltimore on Monday and had the afternoon there to myself. I checked out Camden Yards, the Oriole's ballpark, which looks pretty sweet. I would love to fly down for the weekend to catch a Twins game there! Baltimore is actually a pretty cool city. The waterfront area on the harbor is awesome. I ate dinner there and walked around for a few hours checking out the sights. Below are a few pics from Baltimore.

Camden Yards - Oriole Ballpark













Baltimore - Inner Harbor










University of Delaware











Now I just have one more day to get through this week. I am very much looking forward to the long weekend. We don't have any special plans yet for Memorial Day, but I am hoping to be outside for the majority of it.