We started Day 3 with a drive through rolling hills covered in long, stucco ranch houses with stables that ended at the Pancake House for breakfast. They seated us outside on a patio, with a beautiful view of those hills we just passed. Breakfast was delicious and relaxing, a great way to ease into the morning. I ordered blueberry pancakes, and they brought me out my own little pitcher of blueberries to pour on top. It was cute, and it added to my meal. Randy ordered bacon pancakes-- I didn't even know that was a possibility, but he said they were actually very good.
My blueberries and Randy's bacon pancakes
The afternoon consisted of beach time again, but we we were only there for about an hour and a half because we had to go to my cousin's swim meet. But I definitely made the most of the time I had, never getting out of the water once until we left the beach. I mastered the waves on my boogieboard, as they were bigger than the day before. One the first wave I tried, I caught it and let it sail me to the shore. It was a great feeling, flying on top of the waves. The sand was hot beneath my feet when I finally washed up on shore, like walking on hot coals. But I would have preferred that to my cousin's meet. It was held at the Boys and Girls Club (which I thought was only for underpriviledged kids), and a million kids decided to actually show up that day. My cousin only raced 4 times out of a billion, and some of the kids were like 4 or 5 years old so they were incredibly slow. But it was humorous to watch some of them just flop in the water instead of diving. Bekah, Randy and I bonded over being incredibly bored. But for all Dave & Shelly had been doing for us, it was the least we could do.
When it was all finally over we were exhausted. Dave, Luke & us travellers were planning on going to the Padres game, but there was talk of us postponing it to the next night. We ended up going, and I am really glad that we did.
Petco Park is right in downtown San Diego and we had to walk a few blocks through the city, with its people-peddled carriages and electric trolleys. Part of the park is built in an old historical landmark- a metal molding building. 75% of it had to remain intact, so they have it in the gift shop and out in the bleachers. We spent the first few innings taking a tour of the park, seeing the nooks and crannies and enjoying the atmosphere. Out past centerfield they have a little park area that is open to the public during the week. There's a statue of Tony Gwin and a wiffleball field, and for away games, they open it up and people can spread a blanket on the grass and watch the game on the giant screen they have on the wall. The vendors even open up their booths to sell hot dogs and soda. That is such a cool concept; Milwaukee should have something like that.
The historical landmark built into the park and view of the field from the upper deck.
When we finally made our way to our seats, it was like the 4th or 5th inning. We were up in the 4th deck, because we got a ticket, a hot dog and a soda for $12 (what a deal!). From our seats you could see all the big buildings in the city and actually watch planes lowering and weaving their way to the runway. When we ventured out to find our free food, the view spanned the other side of the city and the harbor. There's a long bridge that takes you to Coronado Island, and it was glowing with the remains of that day's sun. And cranberry clouds behind the palm trees... simply breathtaking. It was a wonderful night, though the Padres lost 5-3. But even that turned out to be a good thing, because my sister got to see her favorite player. Huston Street, the Rockies' closer, came in for the 9th and closed out the game. She was one happy girl. And we got to see the "Friarworks" after the game. Petco Park shoots off fireworks every Friday night after home games, so we snuck down behind home plate on the first level and watched greens, reds and yellows twist and twirl to the tunes of Beach Boys songs. It was classic California, and the reflections off the building windows as the flames crept into the air was fantastic. THAT was one of the greatest nights I've had in a quite some time.
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