Legoland – 7/1

It’s not baseball, we know.
We’ll let the Legos speak for themselves…

Robert's Sportscast - 6/29

Today’s game was the San Diego Padres against the Colorado Rockies. The final score was 6 to 3 in the Rockies’ favor. The fans and workers were very friendly and the baseball park was very beautiful. The winning pitcher was Jason Hammel and Huston Street got the save, the losing pitcher was Wade Leblanc. There were 3 homeruns in the game, 1 for the Padres and the other 2 for the Rockies. There were 5 walks, the Rockies gave up 1 walk and 4 were given up by the Padres. The Rockies had 6 singles no doubles and no triples. They had a total of 8 hits. The Padres had 9 singles no doubles and no triples. They had a total of 10 hits. Although there seemed to be a lot of people there were still a lot of empty seats. The Padres pitched 11 strikeouts, 5 swinging and 6 looking. The Rockies pitched 8 strikeouts, 5 swinging and 3 looking. The Rockies made 2 errors and the Padres made none.

Padres - 6/29

A beautiful park with a welcoming, neighborhood-like feel, Petco Park proved to be the perfect next stop in our adventure. The park sits at street level and is surprisingly unobstructed, so the approach seems like the yellow brick road leading to Oz. Just inside the gates, lies The Park In The Park, a sloping grassy area with a kids’ miniature ball field to play on, and lots of room to stretch out a beach towel and watch a game, (giving SRO the new label SITTING Room Only.) They open the area during the day, and when the Padres are away, fans can catch the game on the special screen provided for that use. Nearer the field, just outside the center-field fence is the area called “The Beachers,” a bleacher-like area with a large, sandy play-area for the kids. Inside, they have creatively designed the seating to incorporate The Western Metal Supply Company. The old brick building is charming, and adds a Camden Yards feel to the design of the park. The concession areas are spacious and open, many of which have good views of the field. A giant to-scale model (18 feet long?) of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Midway is on permanent display, complete with Veteran docent to explain its details to anyone who cared to listen. The ushers and concession workers are friendly and helpful, adding to the welcoming feel of this park.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been two years since out last baseball adventure, the way we picked right up where we left off! During batting practice Robert caught two home-run balls out in The Beachers. Carter was tossed 3 balls from various players, AND he rescued one intended for a toddler-girl. Our hero! At Guest-Services and the Padres “Frequent Friar” booth, just the mention of our adventure caused an immediate search of all cabinets and drawers for things to give us. Baseball cards, pins, squishy baseballs, tattoos, and a Padres pennant came our way from the delighted workers.

While waiting for admittance to the main seating area, one clever usher kept eager fans occupied with a lively game of name-that-capitol (both state and country!) with baseball card prizes for the winners. For Carter he ensured success by switching to mental math problems, and our little genius walked away with a handful of baseball cards!

Our seats were terrific, and for $17 each, one of the great deals in BABA history. The view of the field was great and unobstructed. And the crowd around us was fairly easy-going.

The action was focused primarily on the baseball game at hand, with few games or contests between innings. The t-shirt and baseball cannons did come out at one point. And each fan in the entire stadium walked away the winners of a coupon for two free tacos at Jack in the Box, thanks to one lucky contest-winner!

To top off the excitement of the game, Carter lost a tooth! Yep, right there at Petco Park, during the 4th inning. The amazing part is that we got it back to the hotel without losing it!



On the down-side we all agreed that The Padres have about the ugliest mascot going.
–Sorry Padre!

All in all the Belove Family rates this park very highly. For those of you who have been following our adventure, we would place it up there somewhere around Cincinnati. Its best feature was the great, open, welcoming architecture of the park. This is a place you could really feel comfortable returning to again and again. Athletics, are you taking notes?

A day of rest, then to Legoland with us!

Sunny San Diego? - 6/27

Which Belove family member secretly packed the Bay Area weather in our suitcase, no one has confessed. But we seem to have brought the cool, foggy gloom south. Temperatures have been in the low 70’s so far, but The Beloves don’t let that stop us from having a grand time!

We spent a day at Coronodo Beach (does anyone hear violins?) and the boys acted as if they had never seen the ocean before! We returned to the hotel with an entire sandbox-full.

Yesterday we hit the San Diego Zoo, and must have walked 50,000 steps (But who was counting? We left the pedometer at the hotel –DOH!) We especially liked seeing a real-life panda. And we were all enthralled with a polar bear that thought the best toy in the world was a cylinder of Styrofoam. We have video!

Tonight we head for Petco Park and our first baseball game of the season.
Play ball!

A Note About San Diego Posts - 6/26

We somehow managed to find the only hotel in San Diego without WiFi.
So we are currently posting from your friendly, local McDonald’s! Posts may come in bursts, as we have access. Read on!