25 Apr 2024

April 24, 2024

 

Last night we went to the Padres game at Petco Park. This is the only game well see with one of the Bay area teams while were on the road, and were glad we chose this one. It went down to the bottom of the 9th inning! No rally monkey this time, though. Our seats were in the outfield in a section that seemed disproportionately populated with Giants fans. Not that we minded, but we all had the same thought that once one entered their zip code, you were seated with others of like-loyalty. It was fun, especially for Rick who got to talk shop with his fellow statistic-driven comrades. I, of course, spent my time people watching and dining my way through the game. I am happy to announce that I got my first garlic fries! Yea! They were good too, unlike the Friar Frank, which left much to be desired like a decent hotdog. I didnt even finish it, thats how bad it was! I can see now that my assignment on this trip will be the rating of dogs at ballparks. So far Im 1 for 3, with Anaheim being the only tasty treat. There was a little boy in front of us, with his Dad and Grandpa, who actually ate more than all the grown-ups around him. He couldnt have been more than 6! It was fun to watch him plow through his cotton candy with reckless abandon. Talk about simple pleasures, he was in 7th heaven! Dad had to take him to clean up after that, since he was blue from head to toe. Ill never forget the look on his little face, though. It must be the same look I get when eating chocolate. Mmmmmmm.

The Giants hit a single shot homer in the 5th or 6th inning and managed to hold on to the lead, though SD kept trying, having left 10 or 11 people on base. At one time the bases were loaded with only one out. I knew the Giants were going down, but they pulled it out. Whod have thunk it possible? Vinnie Chulk and Brian Wilson did a great job protecting Tim Lincecums win. He pitched a really good game through the 7th. There werent many hits, so it wasnt an exciting game, but it did have its moments of sitting on the edge of your seat. We tried to get eliminated by Krukow and Kuiper, but not sure if it happened or not. Anyone see the game who could tell us? (For those of you not in the know, Kruk and Kuip are the local TV talking heads for the Giants for Comcast Sports Network. They do all the Giants games that are broadcast, and  have this thing where they randomly scratch people out on the teleprompter, thus eliminating them. It can happen for all different kinds of reasons, such as a bad hair day or a disgraceful display of obnoxiousness, even for sitting with a fan of a rival team. People have now been trying to get eliminated just to be on TV, and well, were no different from the others trying to claim our 15 seconds of fame.) We came prepared with sign in hand. It was quite the conversation piece in the crowd as well.

Petco park is a beautiful place. Theyve done a great job keeping it clean and well maintained. They have these $5 seats on a hill in the outfield where one can watch the game on the jumbo-tron screen. This is a lot cheaper than all the people we saw hanging out on balconies in the surrounding high-rise condo buildings. And event staff people were very friendly. Im big on customer service, so good service always stands out to me.

Like the staff at the KOA where were staying. Theyre all so friendly and helpful. The park is nestled in a little canyon with lots of trees, grass at every camp site and wonderful landscaping. Their roses rival my Moms! Theres a group across the way from us that are traveling together. They had a big campfire going as we left for the game, and having a great time.

We got to the game on the trolley system. Like BART, it runs all over the place, including a stop at the border. Interesting is that it seems to run on some kind of honor system, as the security at the stations is rather relaxed. If youre not getting off at a major stop, theres no one to check if youve purchased a ticket. Ill find out more tomorrow when we go sightseeing. Were going to take the harbor cruise and check out the fleet. Those big ships are fascinating. They have a scale model of the USS Midway at the ballpark, complete with model airplanes and little people on deck. Its now a permanent museum in the harbor, so were going to go take the tour. I wonder if my Dad ever landed a helicopter on one of those babies?

 

Posted from USA:

posted Friday April 2024