Reds Playoff game in San Francisco

It was an awesome baseball season this year!  The Reds were good pretty much all year (as expected), and the A's had an awesome run at the end of the year (definitely not expected) and both ended up winning their divisions!  The Reds got to play their first games in San Francisco, and, being on the west coast, as a last-minute decision, I decided to go!  

I flew in and took BART into the city and spent a few minutes with my friend and co-worker at his MBA campus.  Taylor invited his friend, Ethan, and together they left Provo at 6 AM and drove 12 hours to San Francisco.  We met at 4:30 (after they found a free parking place - in downtown San Francisco!!!).  One of the first places we noticed was Red's Java House - we took that as a sign of good things to come.

It was fleet week in San Francisco as well as America's Cup, so there were Navy ships docked at the piers and tons of sailboats in the bay.  Flying into San Francisco gave a neat view of the sailboats.

There were fans in McCovey Cove, including people on paddleboards and kayaks.  As the night progressed, I couldn't imagine being out in a kayak - it got pretty chilly!

 We got to the park in time for batting practice.  Our seats were in deep right-center field (near the 421 foot mark on the fence).  There were a few balls hit our way, and the Reds pitchers were throwing some of them into the stands, including 1 that Taylor caught.

 After the teams were announced, they unfurled a giant American flag.

Giants fans were having some fun at our expense.  By the end of the game, we'd made friends out of the people sitting around us.  Some of the more memorable people were the funny guys in the middle of the picture, the lady behind us who was mad that she couldn't stand and cheer the whole game because the people behind her were complaining, and the lady in front of us who'd had a few too many drinks and almost tipped over a couple times!

 The game got started, and things didn't look good for the Reds.  Much to our delight, however they ended up pulling it out.  We found a few fellow  Reds fans in the stands to celebrate with afterwards.

We got to hang out in after the game for a little.  It is a beautiful ballpark and is in a fantastic location!  After the game is over, hundreds of seagulls came to clean up the mess left behind by the fans!

We hung out outside the park for a bit afterwards and found a few more Reds fans to celebrate with.  We were interviewed by a person who was doing some sort of post-game report for a local sports website.  I haven't found the interview, but I'm sure it came across quite eloquent.

The baseball game over, we figured we were in San Francisco for a few more hours, so we went out to enjoy the sites.  First stop was Lombard Street.  After a slow roll down the world's curviest street, the next stop was Ghiradelli Square, where I enjoyed a chocolate brownie sundae.  Yum (though, I have to admit, Nana's Ghiradelli Chocolate brownies are better than the one I was served)!

After that, we went down to Fisherman's Wharf.  It was closed, so we walked down to the end and watched the sea lions.  It was 'sleep' time for them, but there were always a few pesky ones rolling around on top of the other ones.  We narrated the scene for at least a half hour, and it was hilarious!!!

We got to the hotel at close to 2 am, and I got up at 4:30 for my flight back to Portland.  What a fun trip it was - I was in San Francisco for about 16 hours total, but we managed to pack a lot in.  A big thanks to Dani for being supportive and making a memorable weekend possible!