Can I ever escape Minnesota? Probably not…

My wife and I have been visiting my family back home in Rhode Island, and last week, the weather called for sunny skies and warm temperatures — so we went to the most perfect place on earth: Fenway Park.
Boston is about an hour or so train ride from Providence. My wife, who is an avid swimmer, wanted to take a dip in the bay, so we decided to leave extra early.
We got there decently early, but realized we needed a few things. Like any good Minnesotan, my wife suggested we go to Target.
We checked out one that didn’t have what we were looking for, so we went to a different one.
After looking for what we needed, we decided going to the beach before a 1:30 p.m. game wasn’t going to work, hopped on the subway to Fenway.
For those who have been to Target Field, just know that Fenway is much different.
Fenway is the oldest ballpark in the country; one of the really cool features is how the bars and restaurants are all around it — some even past the security gates — allowing people to come and go.
One of the best parts is the massive gift shop/team store (s) that’s right on the street. Think of a block of the Minnesota State Fair, but instead of being outside an animal barn, you’re outside the ballfield. That’ll get you close to imagining the scene.
I’ve been complaining for years about not being able to buy a hat or shirt of the visiting teams at Target Field; many of my friends tell me I should just wear Twins gear instead — as if that is ever going to happen.
I’ve tried to explain to them: Fenway has hats for all the different teams.
After looking around the gift shop, my wife spotted that section of the store, and jokingly held up a Twins hat. I took my phone out and snapped a photo. As soon as I did, someone tapped her on the shoulder and asked, “did you come all the way from Minnesota to buy a Twins hat?”
We turned and saw a gentleman wearing a Twins shirt.
I really can’t escape Minnesota, even 1,500 miles away, I thought to myself.
He explained that he is originally from Minnesota, but now lives in Vermont.
My wife was very excited to run into another person born in Minnesota; really, what are the odds?
She also was excited about the results of the game.
The Sox gave up six in the first and had a hard time coming back.
It was a great day at the ballpark; my wife even let us get a couple of souvenir cups to go along with the Minnesota ones we are collecting back home.
One of the big differences between Fenway and most other ballparks, though, is the price of tickets, and availability.
Most of the time, if you want to get into Target Field, you can do so for a minimum amount of money.
At Fenway, the minimum price is usually around $40 a ticket, and as I try to explain to people, for years growing up it was nearly impossible to get tickets at all.
Blame it on people having to work, or the Sox playing badly, but we were able to land two tickets just a few rows up from the field for less than $100 total.
We were so close, a ball was thrown into the stands and we were able to grab it.
I gave it to a kid sitting behind me, and their dad paid it forward by giving us an adult lemonade several innings later.
After the game, we made it to South Boston to cool off in the bay, which was freezing cold.
Like I said, it’s hard to escape Minnesota — even the weather.