Monday morning, Ryan and I took the kids to the local driving range, which probably wasn’t the best activity considering Jack’s hernia nevertheless it was fun for all.
Now grandpa Ed is really proud!
Later that day, Ryan, Beth and I went to see the Giants play the Chicago Cubs at AT&T Park.
AT&T Park for Jerry Garcia night
Steal-your-face Giants style
The team and the city celebrated the anniversary of Jerry Garcia’s death with the first-annual Jerry Day. Festivities included a Grateful Dead cover band as well as a stirring rendition of the National Anthem by Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart (neither the picture below nor the recording of the song, which you can access by clicking on the pic, did justice to Jerry’s former band mates).
Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and friends sing National Anthem (click pic to hear partial audio recording)
Continuing the celebration, Jerry’s daughter (Annabelle?) threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Again, the pictures taken from my crappy cell phone are of low quality, but believe me, she looks very much like her late father.
Jerry's daughter throws out the first pitch
Giants' dugout
I was going for a picture of Tim Lincecum, who is my nephew’s favorite ball player, but I couldn’t capture the two-time Cy Young winner.
Poor-man's panoramic shot (great seats!)
In an attempt to represent the spectacular view we had from the fifth row, I collected four photos and pasted them into the same pic. Note, I’ve always liked to capture panoramic views this way as I think there is something inherently artistic about it.
Lou Seal
The Giants’ mascot, Lou Seal, was working the crowd all night. He’s no Philly Phanatic but not bad in his own right.
Lou Seal II
I went to high school with Javier Lopez, who was recently traded to the Giants. So, it was a dream-come-true of sorts, to watch him warm-up in the bullpen. As he walked back to the dugout, he tossed me a ball. The glove you see in the foreground of the picture below does not belong to me. I attempted to catch his toss without a glove and with my off-hand. I missed it, but fortunately a little kid caught the rebound. It’s the first Major League Baseball that I’ve touched, so despite my error, it was worth Javier’s effort…thank you old friend!
Javier Lopez (of Robinson Secondary fame) warms up in the pen
Javier tosses me a game ball
Happy couple at the ballgame
Ryan and Beth were perhaps the only ones happier than I to be at the game. Thanks to you as well for taking me out to the ballgame!
Bay Bridge at night
On our way back to the parking lot, the Bay Bridge looked majestical. I know the Golden Gate gets most of the noteriety but the Bay Bridge has its own charm.
After a nice night of listening to music, my brother and I discussed the need for a fourth volume of greatest hits since Bob Dylan has been releasing more masterpieces for the past fifteen years.
Obvious picks would include but are not limited to:
“Mississippi”
“Working Man’s Blues #2″
“Standing in the Doorway”
“If You Ever Go to Houston”
“Things Have Changed”
And so on, and so on. So, come on Columbia, give us what we want.
