Our second stop on the Baseball Fan Grand Slam was a visit to Petco Park to watch the Padres play the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Game: 3 Home Runs for Housing
It was another great game. The Padres were down 3 to 1 coming into the bottom of the 9th inning. The first batter had a single, and the Padres were on a roll! They loaded the bases and brought one runner home before their second out. Unfortunately, the next two batters struck out, ending the game with a 3 – 2 loss to the Pirates.
The good news is that we got 3 more home runs for housing, all courtesy of the Pirates! Thanks to your generosity, we have now raised over $2,000! Please help us get to our goal by making a pledge or donation on our Home Runs for Housing page.
Our Impressions of Petco Park
We enjoyed our visit to Petco Park. While the stadium was crowded, with 26,000 fans, traffic flow was good. There were longer lines for everything, including bathrooms, but at least the bathrooms were air conditioned!
Our Seats: This time, we were at Field Level in Section 115, Row 5, seats 7, 8, 9, and 10. The fourth seat was for my mom, who flew into San Diego to join us for the game.
I walked all over the park and found there are lots of good views. If you want shade for a daytime game, you should definitely aim for the last ten rows or so of the lower levels. We had great seats, but they were in the full sun and we roasted!
The Food: Petco Park has a nice selection of foods to sample. My daughter, Emma, would have been delighted to see her favorite chain, Din Tai Fung, selling dumplings. Many of the vendors represent local restaurants or chains, and there are lots of options. Brad and Ryan both opted for the iconic Barrio Dogs, which they enjoyed. Mom had a Friar Frank, which was, well, a hot dog. I took the recommendation of some of the Ballpark Chasers on Facebook, who suggested a burger at Hodad’s Burgers. It was very tasty!
Non-Alcoholic Beer Review: The ballpark had as limited a selection here as at Dodger Stadium. Budweiser Zero was their only option, but at least the price was better! I finally found it at the Mercado for $5.25.
Other Notes: The stadium has a nice Padres Hall of Fame in the old Metal Supply Building. It’s free with entry, and has some lovely displays about former players, including their World Series bats and Golden Gloves.
After the Game
Since we arrived so late to San Diego, we were bushed by the end of the game. We dropped my mom off at her hotel, then headed back to Sun Outdoors San Diego for a nap. I woke up in time to take an evening stroll and work on my blog post before bed. We ran into a bit of a hiccup, as the website is down. The problem is with the hosting service, but that did little to ease my frustration. If you’re reading several posts created in quick succession, you now know why!
Strike Three for the Airstream
We also confirmed that our Airstream refrigerator is having problems. I noticed that food seemed to be spoiling more quickly than I would have anticipated, so I bought a refrigerator thermometer at one of our stops on the way south to California. The freezer seems to be working, but the refrigerator is running warm. I tossed out the meat products and some of the produce that had significantly wilted.
Fortunately, after the cabinet issue yesterday, we scheduled a visit to We Are Airstream in Chandler, Arizona. It looks like we have one more item on our list for them to check out.
Up Next: Travelling from San Diego to Phoenix
Tomorrow is a travel day. We’ll drive from San Diego to Phoenix, where we’ll visit stadium #3, Chase Field, on Friday. I’m looking forward to this game as we get to see our own Seattle Mariners on the road!
