take me out to the ball game

I wrote the last post about our weekend adventure Saturday evening, so I’ll just continue from there. Well, Damien did fall asleep eventually – around 11pm I think, which is actually pretty good considering how loud that motel was. Dan and I determined that the people in the room above us jumped everywhere they went. (In reality I think the hallway/balcony was just really rattle-y, so it wouldn’t have mattered which floor we were on. We’ll be looking at different motels next time.)

Sitting up in a real Boppy - the faux Boppy is too thin and floppy for sitting

Damien slept okay in the Pack n Play, but he woke up several times during the night while usually he only wakes up once. He fell asleep after he ate around 8am, so I let him (and Dan) sleep a little longer when I went across the street to Peet’s Coffee & Tea (oh Peet’s, how I have missed you! Sadly then don’t have them in my town.) When I got back we got ready, packed up, checked out of the hotel, and were on the road by 10am. We drove to my favorite BART station (well, the one I always park at anyway, except for the year we lived walking distance from BART), repacked the car so nothing valuable was visible, put Damien in the front pack, and bought our tickets, and had to wait less than five minutes before our train arrived.

The carrier is pretty close to Giants colors... :)

Damien did great in the front pack on the train. He got a little bored when we were sitting down, but after the first train there weren’t seats available and he liked that much better, lol. (I was impressed that four people offered me their seat, but I declined because honestly that’s what the baby wanted! I took someone up on it on the trip home, though.) After riding two BART trains we switched to Muni, which dropped us off right in front of AT&T Park.

In the plaza in front of the ballpark

We had just under two hours before the game, so we walked around a bit before taking the escalator to our seats at club level. Although the cheaper seats in View Reserve level give a better view of the ballpark and bay, club level is fun because it has indoor semi-private food stands and tables to eat at, plus a ton of Giants memorabilia in display cases. They even had the 2010 World Series trophy on display, which I hadn’t seen yet (Dan and his mom saw it ‘on tour’ but I had to work) so Damien and I took a picture with it.

Okay, so it's not a GOOD picture, but it's still a picture. Also, I promise this is the last pic of Damien/me/the carrier.

Dan and I were hungry, so he partook of the traditional garlic fries, while I tried a (huge) slice of wood-fired margherita pizza (with an extra large Diet Coke in a souvenir cup, which is my park tradition.) Everything was delicious, but that tends to be the case at AT&T park. It’s definitely not typical sporting event food. (As for Damien, he nursed once during the game and once after the game was over, though the loud noises kept distracting him.) I found a gift cart and bought a program (for me) and a ‘Pandoval’ plushie (for Damien, which he played with during the game.)

Damien grabbed the sleeve of the guy next to him at one point, lol

I was super impressed with our seats. Even though they didn’t afford the best view (they were literally out in left field) it was good enough; we could see the whole diamond unobstructed, and only twice was the action obscured (once was a fly ball caught by the Giants, the other was a home run by Sandoval.) What was awesome, though, was that we were in the shade the entire time (under an overhanging roof), and that my seat was in a corner and had extra space to one side of it. There were at least four babies in our general section, so I guess I wasn’t the only one who thought it was perfect for little folks.

Napping by the top of the fourth inning

Oh, and the game itself was a good one! The Giants beat the Padres (the other MLB team I’ve seen a lot, since we used to live near San Diego) with a score of 4 to 1. Madison Bumgarner did a great job pitching, and it was fun to see Buster Posey on first base. I loved all the action on the bases, which is exactly what we need this year (as if I’m a Giant, lol.)

An usher took this for us - the uncropped version features her finger, lol. Sadly, my sunglasses tumbled over the railing right after this picture...

After the game we relaxed a little while, hoping the trains wouldn’t be quite so crowded. No such luck – I was practically falling over the entire Muni ride, with no available convenient handholds, and BART was only a little better. We got on the same train as Dan’s mom and her friend, which was pretty funny because we weren’t planning to meet up with them until Fairfield. We rode from Oakland to El Cerrito together, and then met up again at Fresh Choice down the road (though not before our car had to take an emergency stop to calm a baby meltdown. I don’t know if he was hot, hungry, or just tired of the car, but I’ve never heard him cry that hard.)

I didn't take any pics of the ride home, so here's Damien in his silly hat and giant bib (which he soaked completely with drool by the end of the game)

Damien was in better spirits after dinner and even took a nap for awhile, but I was already rethinking the next trip (we’re supposed to go to another game May 20.) Once he woke up we stopped to gas up the car and feed him, but fifteen minutes down the road he was in full meltdown mode again. This time nothing I did placated him, and we ended up sitting in our car in the dark in a field in the middle of nowhere, listening to him cry. We finally decided to just go, and I sang lullabies in his ear until he finally gave up and fell asleep (and proceeded to stay asleep through being carried into the house and transferred to his crib, which was nice.)

Exhibit A: Drool (also, his adorable Buster Posey jersey!)

After that ride home I was REALLY second-guessing going back to the city anytime soon. It’s just such a long day for Damien. Of course I really want to go back, and we’ve been planning two additional games for awhile now (the May 20 one and another one in June) so we’ll have to see. Damien is better in the car than he was a month ago (then, he would have been melting down the first fifteen minutes in the car!) Also, he might find his convertible carseat more comfortable than the infant seat – it certainly looks like it would be to me. I do know that I’ll have to insist on driving ourselves if we do go back, because I want the opportunity to stop wherever we need to (even in a creepy field if need be.)

…Well, at least Damien’s first baseball game was memorable! He attended several Giants games in utero (once before I knew I was pregnant!) …and if he ever gets used to the car, he’ll go to many, many more. :)