22 and a championship

On September 25th we went to Target Field in Minneapolis to see the stadium and to watch the Twins host the Detroit Tigers.  As some of you know part of our journey is to try to get to all 30 major league stadiums.  Target Field was the 22nd we have attended.  Target Field is only 3 years old, so while we had been to the old Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, and the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, we had not made it to Target.  So 22 down with 8 to go.  Those 8 will be a long time coming as they include 2 in Texas and 6 on the west coast.  Maybe next season.  By the way, the old Met stadium site was re-purposed and now is home to the Mall of America!

Unfortunately, the Twins lost 1-0.  Many of you might think that was a boring baseball game but it is exactly the type of game Diana and I love.  It was well played and fun to watch.  There were a lot of Tiger fans there because a win for the Tigers gave them the American League Central Division Championship.  This also gives them a home field advantage at the start of the play offs.  As mentioned the Tigers won and had a nice but very respectful celebration on their division rivals infield.  It was the first time we had attended a game where the championship was determined.  Very cool!

Brew Crew

No this is not a post about visiting breweries.  It is a post about visiting Miller Park home of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team.  We drove from De Pere to Milwaukee on September 17th to see the Brewers host the Chicago Cubs.  Now by this point in the season both teams were eliminated from any play off chances.  In fact they were playing for last place in the division.  But that does not matter because there is a nice rivalry between the two teams.  Miller park has a retractable roof but on the night we were there, the roof was closed.  We both liked the stadium as they had done a nice job of including the history of the Brewers and also the Milwaukee Braves.  It was cool.  We saw an excellent baseball game and the home team won in the bottom of the 9th with a bases loaded 1 out squeeze play.  First game ending squeeze I have seen.

Game Day

So on the 15th we got up early because we had heard that traffic and parking can be difficult on game day.  This game was the 2013 home opener and it was Packer alumni day.  This meant there were retired Packers invited back with special emphasis on the 3 consecutive championship teams.  It was rainy and cool (about 60 degrees) as we drove in and we arrived near the field about 8:45 AM.  Kick off was at noon and the place was beginning to get busy.  We had seen tailgaters setting up the day before so were not surprised to see trucks and cars with tents out to cover the grill.  Folks were cooking everything from breakfast food to dinner items.  And beer...there was plenty of beer.

We had seen a tent in the parking lot of the stadium the day before that offered no cover charge.  We went in there to get out of the rain, stay warm, and maybe have a drink.  Keep in mind it is only 9 in the morning and we both had a cup of hot chocolate with some Baileys Irish Cream added.  This may replace our current breakfast drink!  When we went in there were a few other folks but we had no problem finding a table.  Within half and hour the place was packed with fans.  There was food and drink available and folks were in a party mood.  So Diana had a Bloody Mary and I had a beer!

Amazingly to us, I saw a guy with a Virginia Tech shirt on so I started a conversation.  Turns out he and his brother came to see the game from ...wait for it...Midlothian, VA.  So we had a great time talking about Tech, the Squirrels and the Diamond and all kinds of Virgina stuff.  One of the guys is a Redskin fan, the other is a Packer fan and they flew in for the game.

The overall atmosphere of game day is remarkable.  Parties everywhere, lots of food and drink and everyone is friendly.  Even folks wearing Redskin jerseys and such were treated with respect.  Not a surprise, but cool to see.  There was plenty of friendly banter between the Packer fans and Redskin fans but it was all in good fun.  With all the beer and drinks around we saw only 1 person who was intoxicated, everyone else was drinking responsibly and very courteous to all around them.  We also learned that while about 80, 000 folks go to the game even more just hang out in the parking lot and bars and watch the game never even having tickets.  What an atmosphere!

The game was a blow out with the Packer dominating the Redskins from the beginning.  The final score of 38 to 20 does not reflect how badly the Redskins lost.

Part of the half time celebration for alumni day.

After the game we went to Curley's restaurant and had a meal then headed home.  What a great day and what a great experience Lambeau is.

Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers

With special thanks to Boyd Dowler we were able to get tickets to see the Packers host the Washington Redskins on September 15th. We camped near De Pere, Wisconsin south of Green Bay.  On Saturday the 14th we went into Green Bay to tour Lambeau Field and to see the Packer Hall of Fame.  We both like the Packers but can't really say we are Packer fans.  Lambeau is amazing!  The history of the business part of the franchise and the on the field history are well blended.  The tour is very informative and entertaining.  During the tour you get to walk through the tunnel that the Packers use to run onto the field on Game day.  Very cool!  Nuff said.  It's picture time.

Door County, Wisconsin

We arrived in Door County on September 6th.  Prior to leaving the Isanti, MN area we were able to meet up with one of my former coworkers and his wife, Don and Cathy Veidel.  I worked on several projects with Don while I was with Norwest, now Wells Fargo.  We had a great conversation catching up on kids, and who is where from work etc.  We also just had a great time trading stories.

We were also able to have breakfast with some other friends, Bill and Lynn Yueil.  Bill was pastor at a church we belonged to in Minneapolis.  he also had a lasting effect on my faith and involvement with the church.  So renewing acquaintances with them was fun.  And we caught up on their kids and traded some stories.

Door county is beautiful!  We are staying in a campground about 3 miles south of Egg Harbor.  We have driven or hiked most of the peninsula and enjoyed it.  Yesterday we took the ferry over to Washington Island and spent the day hiking and driving the island.  We had great weather and totally enjoyed it.

We have had a great time in Door but sorry to say I have no pictures to post.  Tomorrow we head south to De Pere, Wisconsin for 6 nights. While there we will attend the Packer/Redskin game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay then get to Miller Field in Milwaukee to see the Brewers play the Cubs.  Both teams have been eliminated from the playoffs but it will be fun to see the stadium and watch a ball game.

Great River Road

The last few days we have continued our quest to follow the Great River Road.  Remember that?  It is the series of roads that follow the Mississippi river from end to end.  We are staying in Royalton, MN which is north of St. Cloud.  We took one day and drove the Jeep north to Jacobson where we left off.  We followed the Mississippi back down to the Royalton area.  A few places we were on great roads and  few places we were on dirt/gravel roads.  The scenery is very nice as we pass through farm land and some very nice homes along the river.  Today we headed south and followed the Mississippi to just north of the Twin Cities.  Actually drove near one of my old apartments in Brooklyn Center.  We will be taking a break from the quest for a few weeks as we travel to Wisconsin.  In Wisconsin we plan to stay in Door County for about  a week, go to a Packer game, go to a Brewers game and visit with a dear friend.

So we will say "see you later" to the GRR and resume when we get back to the Twin Cities in late September.

This quest has some nice perks!