A year ago, I was intermittently watching the Home Run Derby on TV between serving my customers at the restaurant.

I had taken the next  night off of work to watch the All-Star Game, but I knew I couldn’t manage taking off two nights in a row. Tough going to miss the Christmas Eve of the greatest week of the year in baseball world.

When I heard that the next year’s All Star Game would be held in Minnesota, I promised myself I wouldn’t be watching it on TV.

My sister and I planned and plotted and convinced my dad this was a much better alternative than a family vacation (because who likes airports, airplanes, and hotels anyway?). We tried in earnest to get tickets to all of the events (I must have entered my name and the name of every person I’ve ever heard of in 19 different drawings), but we had to go about it the civilian way.

Thanks to my dad’s generosity we were able to make it to the Futures Game, Celebrity Game, and the pinnacle Home Run Derby. What a BLAST to be in the midst of thousands of people who share my passion for Twins baseball. I’m excited to watch the main event on TV tonight with my mom – the most passionate baseball fan I know. (For those of you that don’t know her, this is not a joke).

People ask me all the time why I’m so passionate about baseball. Here’s the thing:

I don’t know.

I don’t know why I can watch 9 innings of any game – even if my team isn’t playing. I don’t know why I care about players who play for the Miami Marlins or the Los Angeles Angels. I don’t know why my sister and I can have an hour long conversation about slugging percentage or heat maps. I don’t know why I’ll go to a little league game at the ballpark by my house when I don’t know any of the players.

I just love the game.

So for this baseball fan, attending All-Star Week at my home stadium was a once-in-a-lifetime experience I will never forget. Here’s a picture from our seats on Sunday night:

Oh, and sidenote! I’ve decided this “Summer of the Monkeys” is full of planned adventures, but I’ve also left plenty of white space for unplanned ones. I wasn’t able to get tickets to the free Imagine Dragons concert kicking off All Star Week, so I thought I’d check to see if anyone had any spare tickets (the night before the concert, no less). Turns out my friend Liz from high school had 4 extra tickets and gave them to me for free! I was blessed to take 3 of my favorite people from Minneapolis and enjoy the view. It never hurts to ask!