Sporting events are always a favorite activity whether we are home or traveling. I have often visited major league baseball parks while on vacation. Dale has often planned trips to coincide with Nascar races. This time we got to do both. Actually, we got three baseball parks on one trip! I was most excited to visit AT&T in San Francisco and it was not disappointing. It is a beautiful ball park with lots of unique character. This may be one of my new favorites!
The game was sold out and the place was packed. We got Standing Room Only tickets because that was our only option. It was a great way to see the park and we actually got to see the game some too. My nephew, Drew told me about the cove where people float to catch foul balls so I wanted to check that out. There were several boats and kayaks in the cove as well as a police boat making sure that they did not stay tied to the bouys. There was great energy at the park with the Minnesota Twins in town for interleague play. I was impressed with the number of Twins fans but the Giants did win. The home team actually won all of the games that we attended.
We headed to Oakland in heavy rain hoping to watch the A's play baseball at their coliseum which is the only one left to host football and baseball (after this season.) It was quite a contrast from our experience in San Francisco. Parking was free and very close. There were no crowds and the tickets were cheap. They just don't draw a crowd even when it doesn't rain.
Oakland seems to be a blue collar city who plays "Green Collar Baseball." That motto fits well. The employees were very hospitable and gave us freedom to wander around and take photos even after the rain delay ended and the game was being played. We had plenty of time to explore the park and were glad that the rain stopped. Even though this was one of those concrete bowls, it was fun to add another MLB park to my list.
Sporting events are always a favorite activity whether we are home or traveling. I have often visited major league baseball parks while on vacation. Dale has often planned trips to coincide with Nascar races. This time we got to do both. Actually, we got three baseball parks on one trip! I was most excited to visit AT&T in San Francisco and it was not disappointing. It is a beautiful ball park with lots of unique character. This may be one of my new favorites!
The game was sold out and the place was packed. We got Standing Room Only tickets because that was our only option. It was a great way to see the park and we actually got to see the game some too. My nephew, Drew told me about the cove where people float to catch foul balls so I wanted to check that out. There were several boats and kayaks in the cove as well as a police boat making sure that they did not stay tied to the bouys. There was great energy at the park with the Minnesota Twins in town for interleague play. I was impressed with the number of Twins fans but the Giants did win. The home team actually won all of the games that we attended.
We headed to Oakland in heavy rain hoping to watch the A's play baseball at their coliseum which is the only one left to host football and baseball (after this season.) It was quite a contrast from our experience in San Francisco. Parking was free and very close. There were no crowds and the tickets were cheap. They just don't draw a crowd even when it doesn't rain.
Oakland seems to be a blue collar city who plays "Green Collar Baseball." That motto fits well. The employees were very hospitable and gave us freedom to wander around and take photos even after the rain delay ended and the game was being played. We had plenty of time to explore the park and were glad that the rain stopped. Even though this was one of those concrete bowls, it was fun to add another MLB park to my list.
Stopping at Coors Field in Denver was certainly a bonus. This was our first day of vacation but we felt like we had plenty of time to pause for a Rockies' baseball game before heading further west. I saw the Rockies play during their inaugural year at Mile High Stadium with the kids but this was my first visit to Coors Field. It's a beautiful ballpark!
Of course there was race day! The trip planning started with the idea of going to the Nascar race at Infinion which is on the southern edge of California's wine country. Seems like a crazy place to build a race track but it made for a great location for our trip. Napa and Sonoma wineries, San Francisco and so much more right in that same area. Nascar races tend to be a good opportunity for sun burn but we were both prepared this time. Great seats, huh? See the start/finish line right in front of us?
This was my fourth Sprint Cup race and the second time that I saw Kurt Busch win. Because he is my brother-in-law, Gary's favorite driver I took photos of the burn out celebration and victory lane. It's kinda crazy how this race track is tucked in the hills of wine country. You cannot even see the track or grandstands from the road. As we drove the winding drive to the parking area sheep were peacefully grazing at the side of the road. It's not until after you park your car and ride the shuttle up more hills that you can see the road course and stands nestled into the hills. I bet those sheep had a rude awakening when they heard, "Gentleman, start your engines!"
No comments:
Post a Comment