Twin goals

Too bad our real vacation didn't last as long as it's taking me to recount our adventures. Continuing with our adventures in the Twin Cities...

Dark clouds and a brief downpour threatened to cancel our long-anticipated visit to Target Field. But luckily the rain delayed the game by only 10-15 minutes. Sydney couldn't understand why we had to wait. "It's just a little water," was her dismissive comment.

Then again, if the game had started on time, we might not have had a chance to get this shot:

AJ, meanwhile, was focused on one specific goal: getting a player - any player - to give him an autograph. Thank goodness for Jamey Carroll. (Though AJ now thinks he needs a new glove, because how could be possibly risk scuffing the signature?)

Jeff had picked up our tickets through stubhub, and our seats were awesome. And my camera is still awesome. Which means I was having as much fun snapping close ups as I was having watching the game. For instance, here's Francisco Liriano walking across the field after warming up.

And I was able to get great shots of the batters. This was Josh Willingham hitting his second home run:

For at least the first two innings, AJ was able to stand this close to the wall in hopes of catching a foul. (After that, some other ticket holders showed up, we made him sit back down with us.)

Just for Grandma Elouise, AJ told me I had to get a shot of her favorite player:

AJ has developed an amazingly long attention span when watching baseball games. He also loves to mimic any loud fans in the vicinity, and so by mid game he was happily cheering "Go Frank-EE'!"

Sydney, meanwhile, is a bigger fan of the food and potential for souvenirs, and so she happily accompanied me in search of the infamous Valentini's meatball. And yes, it was totally worth $9. It tasted wonderful and fed both Jeff and me

Alas, for all the fun we had, the Twins lost, ending a seven-year winning streak. What streak is that, you might wonder? AJ claims that in all the games he's ever seen in person... dating back to a visit to the Metrodome at age nine weeks, the Twins have never lost. Until now.

You can't win 'em all.

But at least you can get autographs, awesome pictures and great meatballs. And memories.