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Today we caught the hop on hop off trolley and cruised around San Diego. The trip began in Old Town which is where the settlement grew from and there were interesting buildings to see and markets selling lots of Indian and Mexican crafts. As San Diego is very close to the Mexico border their influence is very obvious here. The markets were so full of colour, textiles and pottery.
The trolley took us to Seaport which is an area near San Diego harbour full of tiny shops, walkways and gardens along the shoreline. The shops are mostly tourist bric a brac and crafts and are all placed kind of randomly along the paths. It was all really quaint and there were also the obligatory artist tents everywhere selling sketches, name arts, woven jewellery and other crafts. It was a really nice place to have a walk around before reboarding the trolley.
We next hopped off in the Gaslamp quarter which was in the city and we strolled the city streets on our way to the baseball.
The baseball......wow....very cool. Being softballers, the game of baseball for us is quite slow to watch. The baselines are so long that fielders can casually pick up the ball and flip it across to first. Time is spent by the pitcher trying for pickoffs (which rarely ever work!!) and the fielders take forever to get on and off the field between innings. Softball requires fielders to field and throw more quickly because the runner has a shorter distance to run and they get to position quicker as the field is smaller. Baseball takes about 3-4 hours a game for their 9 innings. Softball only play 7 and it is usually over in 1-2 hours. Having said that, the atmosphere you get to be part of inside a Major League Baseball stadium is amazing. Yes we came to see excellent sportsmen play a great game and show fantastic skills......but really we came just to be part of the phenomenon that is Major League Baseball and it didn't disappoint.
As we walked in we were given Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle masks to wear as they were sponsors that day and the girls were immediately off to look at the kids area - jumping castles, blow up racetracks, giant slides and the like. We wandered around, checked out the amazing stadium and found our seats. We were directly behind home plate 16 rows back. Our view was amazing. In America, the pride they feel toward their service men and women is amazing and at various times we have had to stand in their honour. Today was a tribute day and again we stood while they played their traditional song to honour them. Imagine our surprise when they played the Crows club song!!!! We did refrain from singing the Crows version but it was interesting to find out where the song came from having never particularly thought about it before!! They had service personnel singing the national anthem, taking positions on the field for the traditional 'first' pitch, appearing at other times for certain honours and songs throughout the day. For the second time in America, Wess had the honour of standing when they asked all past and present service men and women from other countries to stand so they could be applauded as well. Pretty cool really, you just don't see that level of support in Australia.
As we watched the game, the girls headed off to the kids area which was out behind centre right field and we didn't see them again for about 5 innings. The game was great, luckily I wasn't team statistician because the 1 error recorded for the entire game would have been joined by at least 3 others. No wonder the major league players all have such good stats!! Batters are getting safe hits when they hit to the infield because a fielder fumbles the ball and is unable to complete their throw!!! So soft I reckon....lol
Watching and listening to the crowd was cool. The music would play a set tune and the crowd would respond or at certain times a chant would begin. Certain players received set chanting and at times everyone would stand up or clap a set rhythm. They all stood and cuddled while joining in with the seventh inning stretch and heckled when umpire calls were challenged while we waited for the video ref decision. I loved it!!
Eventually the girls came back and they watched the tie breaker innings with us. San Diego eventually ran out winners 4-3 in the 11th innings and we just had time to hike it back in time for the last trolley.
Our trip home took us over the massive bridge at San Diego where we got a great view across the city and through the expensive seaside area called Coronado. We also briefly stopped at Balboa park which we will visit briefly tomorrow but the park looks great. Sienna fell asleep almost immediately so she was able to recharge her batteries a bit. Last stop was back at Old Town where we explored further through the old buildings and markets.
A quick Thai dinner then an actual early night about tenish!!! Needed that one....lol
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