A Date with Giants

Several weekends ago, on a rare Monday off (Labor Day, to be precise), we shrugged off our laziness and hesitation and finally made it out to AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. 

I'd been to the park multiple times, but for both Mimi and Sumie it would be their first.  As we packed the car to head out to the stadium, though, Sumie received a call from work.  Could she come in?  Of course she could.  That's the life of a doctor.  She missed the first 6 innings, but made it back for the last three which, as it turned out, were the best part of the game anyway.

So it was just Mimi and me who met my mom at the park and made our way up ramp after ramp to the nosebleed seats along the third base line.

 Despite the elevation, we still had a great view of the game. 

By the middle of the first inning, I realized I really should've brought a hat along for Mimi. Forgetting one wasn't all that bad, though. It gave me an opportunity to get Mimi her first Giants cap, which she - amazingly- wore through the next 5 inning of play without a complaint or squirm.  She just sat happily on Grandma's lap. 

Eventually, though, Grandma got a bit bored, so she took Mimi and Mimi's cousins Carson and Ryan (their parents Rob and Carol had come to join us, making for a pretty significant cheering section) down to the Coke bottle slide and the trolley. Here's Mimi and Carson on the trolley.

And here's Mimi hamming it up for the camera.  That's my girl.

Eventually, Grandpa was able to make it out, and by the 7th inning even Sumie made it to the park, having found FREE parking!  The Giants ended up pulling through in the 9th inning with a 9-8 win. It was a great outing for Mimi's first ball game.  She even learned to say "baseball" and point down at the field. Despite her growing love of the game, it still wasn't enough to get her to stop squirming for a picture with her parents.  Mimi has her priorities.

We had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back.  Unfortunately, a day out at the ball park isn't exactly cheap.  Between the $30.00 tickets, $10.00 beers, $11.00 chicken fingers with fries, and $137.00 in sunscreen to keep my body from being burnt to a crisp, it's an expensive outing.  I'll have to spend my time between trips to the park with quieter, cheaper pursuits.  Thankfully I came across a vintage "Simon" game from 1978 the other day.  $1.00 and still in the box. You just can't pass that up...even if you have a terrible memory, like me.