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Published: June 26th 2017
When travelling East to West, jet lag can be a real killjoy. Chris and Roisin finally turned in about 9pm on Saturday night. That would be 5am UK time!!! Come 3.45 am Sunday morning both of them were wide awake. Fortunately as they both realised that they were on holiday, neither of them could be arsed to get up so they turned over and managed to get some further rest!!!
They arose at 8am and as breakfast was not included in their accommodation, found a local deli where a cream cheese bagel and americano was very welcome.
Today was the day Chris had been waiting for, for 28 years. Ever since he received a San Francisco baseball cap he has supported the SF Giants. It feels as if he has come home! The game started at 1.05pm so there was time for a leisurely walk down to the waterfront and along the Embarcadero to the ballpark. This would allow time to savour the atmosphere.
Now San Francisco, as if you don't know, is built on a series of hills. Whose idea was that then?! When the first settlers came I'm sure one of them must have said,
"Er, hang on a minute here lads!!
' They could have moved up or down the coast about 10 miles for a flatter terrain. But oh no! The elders said it would be fun standing on top of the hill in Higher California looking down at those in Lower California. Until they realised that all the hunting and gathering was done at the bottom of the hill. Getting there was easy enough but the return journey was a bugger. Especially with a dead buffalo over your shoulders!! In hindsight, I'm sure they named Nob Hill in memory of the founder!!
At the bottom of California Avenue, Chris and Roisin purchased a 3-day pass that would permit them to use any form of public transport in the SF area. As each single journey cost $5, the 3-day pass at $20 seemed a good investment. It would make the return journey so much more pleasant. This is something the early settlers could have learned from!!
Back to the baseball. Every game starts with the
Stars and Stripes (USA National anthem). Despite being from 'out of town' you tend to get caught up in the moment. Stand up, hat off, hand on heart.
I can't imagine that for the British National Anthem at all premiership games! That wasn't then end of the ‘sing song'. Oh, no!! At the end of the 5th innings some bloke on an organ was shown on the big screen playing ‘let's all go down the ball game'. As if that wasn't enough, in the middle of the 7th innings the mood became more sombre when everyone had to stand for a rendition of ‘America the Brave'. Chris thought he was in the twilight zone in an episode of ‘the good old days'!! This is the first time he'd been to a sporting event where Karaoke seems to take over from the actual sport!!!
The Giants won the game 9-2. This was the third game in a 3 game series with the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers had won the previous 2 games 0-1 and 1-2 so this was an added bonus. The crowd was over 41,000 yet due to the spacious ballpark and the fact that there is no evidence of large gangs, made the whole experience very pleasant. That's something you can't say when you go to a football game. “
I found the whole Liverpool-Man. United experience rather pleasant???"
Chris was advised prior to the trip that he must have his photo taken next to the Willy Mays statue. Apparently Willie Mays is the equivalent of a Dixie Dean. He scored 660 home runs in his career. Take it from me…that's a lot!!!
Chris and Roisin took full advantage of their 3-day pass and rode the Cable Car back up California Avenue. This was a scintillating experience. Cable cars have been operating in San Francisco since 1873 and there are only 3 lines. 2 of which go past Chris and Roisin's hotel. That's handy!! The conductor was a jolly chap where nothing was too much trouble. He couldn't do enough to make our trip an enjoyable experience.
The evening was spent wandering through the China Town district of San Francisco. At 8pm this thoroughfare was still a hive of activity with some shops staying open until midnight.
After a light dinner back at the hotel it was lights out by 10:30. (That's 6:30 your time!!!!)
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Dave B
non-member comment
The rounders seemed good fun. Do they let "away" fans in and is there like a football atmosphere, singing, shouting, berating etc, or is just a relaxed day out?Keep up the Blog. Great reading.