Baseball Sunday : Giants vs Brewers

Well we missed out on this American past time the last holiday we were on in the states, so this was a must do on the list, that being, to catch a "ballgame" as they say. quite a lot of work went into this, we had to buy tickets about 4 months in advance, and even then they were already sold out to members and locals. we ended up having to buy a few off a reseller site to the tune of 3 times the base sale rate, crazy stuff but well worth it.

Having a base in downtown, we had easy access to the harbourside where the ballpark is located, and to those that are not aware, the stadium is built on the harbours edge, so much so that the outer edge is a harbor sea wall, meaning that all balls hit outa that side of the stadium end up out in the ocean ... or as the locals call it " splash hits". from the photos, this wall is the right field, the opposite side to the "giant coke bottle" which not only serves as a visual advertisement, but an internal kids slide, complete with giant leather baseball glove.

The stadium itself (AT&T Park) is absolutly stunning in construction and fitout, i mean americans know what their doing when it comes to large scale sporting arenas and the alike. right from the seating to the layout and public access points, the whole thing is prestine and 100% functional, especially for those busy crowds. Dad you would be impressed, not only can you easily walk the entire ground on one level, witnessing the game at any point on the field and off via large LCD monitors, you can grab a millions drinks, and foods at the drop of a coin. none of this 3 selection rubbish of warmed up chicken treat and a dodgy chicken burger or fries. nope, these guys do it in style, and we need to learn how to do it. these were but a small small sample of what was there, all freshly prepared or at least prepared without the usual "fastfood" downsides. Burgers, Hotdogs, Bratworst Dogs, Asian Noodle Medleys, Popcorn, English Muffins and the list goes on. i ended up grabbin a Bratworst Dog and a fresh lemonade. the best game food ive eaten in my life.

As for the game, well yeh, San Francisco got there butts kicked but that didn't matter as this was pure viewing pleasure. we had killer seats as well, middle tier, raised, slightly right of home plate with a view of a clear out field. but as we took a walk round the stadium towards the end of the game, there really wasn't a bad seat in the house .... but yeh as you can imagine, on the outer walls it got breezy and chilly. we were also very lucky as the weather was foggy and cold all morning till it fined up round the second innings or so. a wonderful day out, and something i'd do again in a second.














Well you wouldnt believe it would ya, the last two days of our trip here in San Francisco and what happens? the weather finally decides to fine up and on the last day, pure sunshine and 25 C for the entire day. i almost cried i could finally walk down the road without a jumper and we were on our way out. maybe this was a quick leadup to San Diego i guess, but it was a nice send off never the less.

San Francisco has been great, but in hindsight we probably stayed too long this time round, and needed to have shifted out days to more in San Diego or even Vancouver, we just found towards the end we were slacking and wasting time. maybe that was good, for a change. maybe i just like to get busy on holidays. or by that i mean, get the hell away from the hotel as quick as possible and live a little, learn a little, enjoy the place we travelled so far to get to.

So here are a few flash backs from the last sunny day spent in Frisco. Mum, hope you notice "The Owl Tree", an uptown local Bar and Eats place. they had two mosaic walls outside with black, white and grey tiles, depicting two huge owl faces ... really really cool. thought of ya. also a few other shots of the Asian Art Museum and the Capitol Building. plus the tourist bus we caught and froze our ears off on riding up top and over the bridge. glad to be booking it back to warmer weather