Destination: Minneapolis

Check out the beauty of Minneapolis!

Overview
Getting Around
Target Field
Sculpture Gardens
Lake Calhoun/Surrounding Lakes
Foshay Tower
Stone Arch Bridge

Target Field - Minneapolis

I can't count the number of Minnesota Twins games I have been to at the Metrodome. There was just something wrong with watching America's game in a climate controlled building with a huge teflon roof over you. Let's face it, the Metrodome was the eyesore of Minneapolis. Granted, the dome did have some home-field advantages for the Twins, such as pop-ups in the lights and the crowd noise, but what is the crowd noise advantage if there is no crowd, right? Enter Target Field.

Target Field opened up for its Inaugural Season in 2010 to an eager Minnesota Twins team, and to a state full of people breathing a sigh of relief. Finally, outdoor baseball! Minnesota finally got it right! But is Target Field all its cracked up to be?

I had the honor of going to Target Field's first organized baseball game. Nope, not the home opener for the Twins, but an exhibition game for the University of Minnesota Gophers baseball team. How lucky were the Gophers to be playing on the new grass, new dirt, in front of a brand new crowd, bundled up, ready to brave the elements? I'd say pretty lucky! Target Field was selling tickets to this game on a first-come-first-serve basis to the first 25,000 people to enter the turn-styles. My husband and I got up 4 hours before the rooster crowed to get in line for tickets, not knowing the number of people who were going to be doing the same. Luckily, we were one of the first people in line....unluckily it was still March and the temperatures were teetering right around freezing. Sitting in the cold for 4 hours before the gates opened wasn't the most brilliant of ideas, but we knew it was going to be worth it.

The actual game started at 1pm, and the gates opened at 9am, giving the few select people a chance to take a thorough look at the place. Target Field is amazing. All the history of the Twins is all over the stadium! Kirby Puckett has his own area in the Legend's Club, and the Champion's Club holds the World Series Trophies. Unfortunately, the only access to the Champion's Club is a season ticket, but if you take a tour of Target Field, you will get to mill around the Champion's Club all you want! Other great features include the Townball Tavern, a great bar honoring the smalltown ball through the decades in Minnesota. Townball Tavern also has a section of flooring taken out of the court where the original Minneapolis Lakers used to play basketball! The scoreboard is enormous, about 500 times the size of the one in the Metrodome, not to mention it is HD equipped!! A favorite of mine is the homerun celebration feature. Located in centerfield, this large feature is the Twins original "Shaking Hands" logo from 1961-1981. It features Twins characters, Minnie and Paul that light up when a Twins player hits a homerun. There are twice, maybe 3 times as many restrooms, twice the room on the concourse featuring heated lamps for fans' comfort.

A lot of Target Field is local. The limestone of the facade of the building is Minnesotan, and the batter's eye showcases Minnesota pine trees.

Since the Minnesota Gophers game, I have been to 2 other games there, and have gone on a tour. Catching a game at Target Field fills you with excitement! The fresh outdoor smells, the wind in your hair, the roar of the crowd, the crack of the bat, and the sights of downtown Minneapolis right in front of you! The crowd is way more into Twins baseball now that they are playing outdoors, which makes the game that much more thrilling. Each Twins hit causes an eruption, and don't even get me started with what a homerun causes! The games people go to most likely are their first games, so you'll hear a lot of chatter around you, comments such as, "look at that, daddy," "wow, that is enormous," "I can't believe this is the same team that played in the dome," "the food here is so much better," "I don't even feel like I am in Minnesota." Even if you aren't a Twins fan, you would appreciate the venue.

 There is so much to see throughout Target Field, and it will give me lasting memories each time I enter the park.

Target Field is definitely all it's cracked up to be!

GO TWINS!!!

Tips on Target Field:
- If it is your first time at Target Field, you might want to arrive early. There is a lot to see, and you won't want to miss being part of history.
- There is no general admission into Target Field, so be prepared to pay a little more for face value. It's worth it!
- There also is no will-call. You cannot leave a ticket at the window for someone in your party. You either have to wait outside for them, or have them purchase the ticket themselves.
- Any seat in Target Field is a good seat. When I attended the Gophers game, I sat in about every section, and you will get a unique vantage point from anywhere in the stadium.
- The food is outstanding! On top of your usual hotdogs and brats, there is Minnesota State Fair food (food on a stick), chicken fingers that I think are better than anything you would get at a restaurant, tons of snacks, cookies, and beverages.

The Mirage - Las Vegas

The Mirage is a cool Casino/Hotel. The Mirage has a rainforest theme, and is very welcoming! The first time I went to Vegas, it was at the Mirage that I won my first chunk of money, at Casino War no less! My most recent visit to Vegas was in May of '10, and they added a few new games to the casino, including Blackjack Switch. This game is one of my favorites. We played it at the Wynn in the fall of '09 because that was the only casino that had it. Blackjack Switch is a game where you are dealt 2 hands, and you can switch the top 2 cards. It allows for more strategy, but the dealer busts on a 23 or higher, not a 22 or higher.

The Mirage also has a fantastic Volcano Eruption Show in front of it. The show runs from 8pm-Midnight, on the hour, every hour. This Volcano Eruption is something you wouldn't want to miss. There is a huge rocky waterfall outside the Mirage that starts spewing lava , choreographed to music. The show lasts about 3-5 minutes, and you will not be disappointed. In my opinion, the Eruption is better than the Water Show at the Bellagio.

Little Italy/Chinatown - New York City

After my trip to NYC, I learned that almost every big city has a Chinatown, but the Chinatown, and Little Italy for that matter, in New York City was my first experience! I really didn't know what to expect!

I remember walking to Little Italy and Chinatown from Battery Park (in lower Manhattan), and all of the sudden, there we were, in Chinatown. I knew this not by the street signs (because there probably weren't any), but I knew this because of street(s) lined with vendors, the smell of Chinese food, the music, and the sights of the hustle and bustle of Chinese folks. What really overwhelmed me was that the streets were cram-packed with merchadise, and probably a lot of haggling. I tend to get a bit claustrophobic when I get in large groups of people in small spaces, but I was up for the challenge. My family and I walked up just one street and spent about an hour doing so. There was THAT much stuff to look at!! I ended up with a lasting impression, and a nice Chinese lantern.

Little Italy was a few streets over, as I remember. Walking down this street, it was like someone flipped a switch. Little Italy was still crowded but there wasn't so much merchandise on the sidewalks, but more Italian restaurants. Luckily we had all worked up an appetite after Chinatown, so we decided on a cute little place, complete with Italian music and the best Italian food I have ever eaten!!

The Chinatown's and Littly Italy's of other big city's just don't carry the same punch as the one's in New York City. You will enjoy yourself if you decide to visit!

Empire State Building - New York City

In my personal opinion, the Empire State Building defines the New York City skyline! It's a gorgeous building, and the sights from the top are unbelieveable!

The Empire State Building (ESB) is a 102 story landmark in NYC with its name deriving from New York's nickname, The Empire State. It stood as the world's tallest building for more than 40 years until the completion of the World Trade Center's North Tower in 1972. Today, the ESB is the 3rd tallest skyscraper in the Americas, following the Willis Tower (formally the Sears Tower), and Trump International Hotel and Tower both in Chicago.

We wanted to see New York City from the top at night, so as the night grew on, so did the fog. We had gotten tickets for that night, partly because there were no lines, but they wouldn't let us up because the fog was too thick for visitors to see anything, so they allowed us to come back the next day and skip the lines!! Sweet!

When we got up there, the views were, as I said, unbelieveable!! Each observer gets a 360 degree view of beautiful New York City, including a few of its boroughs, if it's a clear day! On a clear day, one can see far into New Jersey, and way out into the Atlantic!! As a lot of you know, I love seeing city's from the top, and there was SOOOO much to see from the ESB!!! So many buildings, neighborhoods, ponds, Central Park, cabs, and so on and so forth!!

You can stay up at the top for as long as you wanted, and luckily I had reinforcements to drag me down to the street again. The ESB was an excellent experience, and when anyone is in NYC, they should definitely take the time to go observe New York from the top!

Tips on the Empire State Building:
-The lines are always extremely long (except for our rare experience), especially on weekends I would assume, so be prepared for that.
-The observation deck is fenced in, outdoors. If there is anyone afraid of hieghts, it might be unnerving for them.

Statue of Liberty - New York City

One of the most iconic structures in New York City, to me, is the Statue of Liberty! Foreigners come to the United States and look at Lady Liberty as a sign of freedom. The Statue of Liberty was given to us as a sign of friendship from France in 1886 commemorating the centennial signing of the Declaration of Independence. The Statue of Liberty was probably the best gift the US have ever received!

My family and I saw the Statue of Liberty from a ferry crossing from Manhattan to Staten Island, NJ. We didn't make a stop on Ellis Island, but the view from the ferry was probably just as astonishing! There she was, having her very own island, greeting immigrants and returning American citizens to their home soil. The one downfall of seeing the Statue of Liberty was that it was an overcast day. I think we got jipped on seeing the Statue's true elegance, but we got a pretty good idea. I think the next time I go to NYC, I will be making a stop on Ellis Island and actually go up in Lady Liberty! You know me and going up to the top of things. :)

Ground Zero - New York City

Wow! What can I say about Ground Zero that hasn't already been said before? Ground Zero was quite a humbling experience for me. We went there on a bright sunny day, just as it was on that fateful day in 2001. We walked there, and Ground Zero seemed to just creep up on us out of nowhere!

When I saw the empty site, I couldn't believe that the World Trade Center used to stand there. It looked so small. There were no words as I was reading the tributes and memorials, and I shivered at my own memory of what I recalled on that day. We were there in 2004, so nothing was happening as far as construction. It just looked like a run-of-the-mill construction site.

Some of you might remember the rumors of a church across from Ground Zero being the only structure that stood amongst rubble. We found that church, and the sights inside of it were overwhelming. I remember there being a huge banner that took up a whole wall that said, "We Will Never Forget." There were tons of colored pictures from first graders who drew their depictions of what had happened, there were many memorials from friends and families, and I think that whatever the church received in regards to the 9/11 tribute, they found a place for.

Ground Zero means a lot of things to a lot of different people, and you can't help but feeling very emotional when visiting the site.