NJ Day 8: Apr. 24, 2019 - Minneapolis Day 3

Today is another lazy day. Nothing to report on until the evening. We head to St. Paul and the shiny new Allianz Field, home of Minnesota United FC.

MNUFC SE Entrance

To explain, we got another day in Minneapolis due to a broken casing on the transmission cover of our X3. Happy Accident! That means we are here for a Wed. night game. The Loons are hosting LA Galaxy. This is great! Another chance to see Ozzie Alonso in midfield (he transferred to MNUFC from the Sounders during the off-season).

Pre-game Ceremony

That's Ozzie just to the right of the officials in Yellow.

And this is a chance to see Allianz Field. This is a stunning new park. Architecturally very modern and sleek. It's a fun place to visit. The seats are very comfortable. And it's fun for a neutral because the fans only stand for set pieces, most of the time we get to sit (and Amy, therefore, gets to see the game).

West End of the Pitch

Since LA Galaxy are rivals for the top spots in the west, it is easy to root for the Loons. Both teams, however, seem to be playing well below their capabilities this night. Zlatan is having real trouble with his teammates and is spending a lot of time explaining what they are doing wrong.

In one sense, the game is very open and flowing, but in reality, one team gets the ball and makes some moves down the field only to give the ball away. The Loons hold their own with only about 40% of possession. The game gets really tense as the Loons press to break the 0 - 0 deadlock late in the 2nd half. Alonso is putting in all the effort he can, leading the attack. It just doesn't happen this night. The game ends a scoreless draw.

We depart the stadium to meet Fran & Barb.

Nice Lighting!

We finally meet up with them two blocks from the stadium. We are heading for a late snack at Monte Carlo. Along the way, they show us some sites of Minneapolis, including the Guthrie and the new I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge across the Mississippi. It replaced the bridge that famously collapsed on August 1, 2007, killing 13 people.

At the Monte Carlo, we are one of two groups having food. There are 10 or 15 people at the bar having a wonderful time. We get drinks and the appetizer sampler, which includes Wings, Chopped Liver, Shrimp, Fried Calamari, Vegetables and Spicy Green Beans. The Beans and the Wings were very spicy, but it was all delicious.

Barb & Fran always show us a great time. We are sad to think that we will be leaving tomorrow. It's been a wonderful couple of days living the good life of travel.