Leaving my beautiful 60 degree temperatures in Dallas, Texas, for the 4 degree (during the day!) temperature of Minneapolis, Minnesota isn’t my idea of a good time, but I have a bucket list to get through, dagnabbit!
I *will* visit every arena in hockey before the proverbial bucket has been kicked.Dallas, New York City, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Anaheim, Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Calgary have all been checked off my list.
This year I wanted to do a Minny/Winny trip during Spring Break. However, getting to Winnipeg is pricey. Getting a ticket to a game is even more difficult. I like choosing my seat instead of having it chosen for me. Needless to say, I dropped the Winny idea for this year.
The flight up began with the woman sitting next to me clipping her fingernails into a hat – yes, I said a hat. I thought this was really gross. But she was really nice; so we chatted a bit.As we descended into Minnesota, I saw vast areas of white. What is this stuff?? Why is it all over the ground? ;)
Going outside for the first time was a treat. Seeing my breath freeze before my eyes was quite a shock. But it really didn’t “feel” that cold. Then again, I wasn’t going to stick around to find out.
I was worried about driving on snow, but it turned out not to be a big deal. Keep in mind, I’ve only ever driven on Texas ice. (We don't get much snow 'round these parts.) No worries. They keep the roadways clear up there.
My first stop was the Mall of America. It was quite a zoo! Every store that’s ever been in a mall…ever… was there. I hadn’t seen a GlamourShots or Fredricks of Hollywood since the mid 80’s, but they were here.
There’s also a chapel, LegoLand, an amusement park in the middle with rollercoasters, full-sized restaurants, and the food court takes up a quarter or more of the entire third floor.
I walked around for several hours, ate at Johnny Rockets (excellent onion rings) and just enjoyed a leisurely Saturday with about 10 million others. (The place was packed!)
Finally I called it quits because I was afraid I’d fall asleep from exhaustion during the game .
Getting to the Xcel Energy Center is easy. Parking is also easy. But getting into the parking lot takes FOR-EV-UH! I was late for warm-ups which ticked me off, but I was able to get a few shots.
The game started off okay. Dallas scored first. I’m in that photo on the Dallas Stars website where I look like a total goofball. Lemme ‘splain: I was yelling for the goal and digging in my purse at the same time. So I look like I’m yelling “ooooooh” with my arms flailing like a T-Rex. Ugh.
I'm not able to post the photo, but you can see it here: http://stars.nhl.com/club/gallery.htm?id=27141&location=/photos&pg=1 (photo #18)
As I said, Dallas was doing well, but within a two period minute of time they totally lost it. It happened RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! The gentleman next to me said, “You didn’t fly up here for this, did you?” I said yes and added, “We’re from Texas. We do things big. If we’re going to lose, we’re going to lose big!”
There were no Stars' fans in my area; however, the folks that were near me were really nice. They certainly know their hockey. There was a teen next to me that kept sharing the stats of various players all over the league.
There were no Ice Girls, but Ice Kids! Loved that!
And, the Wild have a mascot. I’m so jealous. I want a mascot, too!
So my team lost. So what! It was the second game in a back-to-back. I hoped for a better outcome, but was prepared for the worst. I had a great time!
So let’s talk about the flight home. We pulled through a mass of white, fluffy clouds that looked like the undulating ocean. It was gorgeous.
Unfortunately, I was blessed with a woman standing in front of me for the entire two hours talking nonstop about her job to another woman who she just met. Her voice was like a shard of glass slicing into my ear canal everytime she uttered anything in her annoying heavily-Northern-accented voice. I was just kicking myself for not bringing my iPod!
I glared at her. I pleaded (with my eyes) to the flight attendants. I did everything except ask her to sit down and shut up. LOL Maybe I should’ve asked her to just sit down and shut up. Meh. This, too, passed. Finally, we began descending in the choppy, mountaineous clouds of Dallas, Texas.
By 1 p.m. Sunday, I was on the sofa relaxing.
(me before the game)
Even though my team lost, I was able to experience 4 degree temperature, see the largest mall in the USA, and had a great time talking hockey with very knowledgeable folks up in Minny. I can’t wait for next season’s arena!!
