Spring Training 2011 - World Champion SF Giants were everywhere!
On March 4th Duane and I escaped to Scottsdale, AZ for an adult weekend away with our great friends Amber & Russ Syracuse and Cindy & David Carter. While we all agonized over what we were missing back at home with our children (swimming, softball games & soccer games - probably half a dozen events between us), that did NOT stop us from having a fantastic 3+ FUN AND SUN filled days!
We took in three Cactus League games over our stay. Friday night took us to Glendale (a 90 minute trip from Scottsdale that shouldn't have taken more than 45 minutes!) where we watched our favorite World Champion Giants stick it to the LA Dodgers. We were treated to a great performance by Zito (yes, really!) and long balls hit by Posey and the justifiably hyped rookie Brandon Belt. And as we exited the stadium and made the 10 minute walk back to the car they celebrated our Giants win with a really impressive fireworks show.
Saturday took us to Mesa, AZ and a match between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres. The most exciting part of this game was the chance to win a 50/50 raffle worth more than $2400! The Roberts raffle luck did not hold up on this day. Our first sports celebrity sighting occured later that evening as we walked through the very busy Italian Grotto to our table. As we passed by the bar area following the host J.T. Snow passed right in front of me! Close enough to reach out an touch!
On Sunday we had a fantastic afternoon at Scottsdale Stadium cheering on the World Champs! It was nearly 80 degrees (do you remember the last time it was 80 degrees in Northern California? neither do I!!!) and the line up was full of starters! Lincecum on the mound, Posey behind the dish, Huff, the Panda , Cody Ross, the newest Giant - Miguel Tejada and others. Torres made his return to the line up later in the game following nearly a week nursing a pulled muscle. And in the 5th inning Brian Wilson jogged in from the right field bullpen to throw a perfect 10 pitch inning!
Sunday night could have been just another 'last night on vacation' and we could have been eating at the hot spot, The Pink Pony, in downtown Scottsdale. But fate intervened and the 9pm reservation was too late for some of us and so we headed off for a 7:30PM reservation at Frasher's. When we arrived it was apparent that some special event dinner was going on at the restaurant. Turns out the Giants were hosting an event with a few players and young military vets who'd been honored on-field earlier that day at the game.
Since we'd missed an opportunity the night before to get evidence of our encounter with a favorite former Giant, tonight we left nothing to chance. When Buster Posey was within reach I cornered him and asked for picture!
We took in three Cactus League games over our stay. Friday night took us to Glendale (a 90 minute trip from Scottsdale that shouldn't have taken more than 45 minutes!) where we watched our favorite World Champion Giants stick it to the LA Dodgers. We were treated to a great performance by Zito (yes, really!) and long balls hit by Posey and the justifiably hyped rookie Brandon Belt. And as we exited the stadium and made the 10 minute walk back to the car they celebrated our Giants win with a really impressive fireworks show.
Saturday took us to Mesa, AZ and a match between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres. The most exciting part of this game was the chance to win a 50/50 raffle worth more than $2400! The Roberts raffle luck did not hold up on this day. Our first sports celebrity sighting occured later that evening as we walked through the very busy Italian Grotto to our table. As we passed by the bar area following the host J.T. Snow passed right in front of me! Close enough to reach out an touch!
On Sunday we had a fantastic afternoon at Scottsdale Stadium cheering on the World Champs! It was nearly 80 degrees (do you remember the last time it was 80 degrees in Northern California? neither do I!!!) and the line up was full of starters! Lincecum on the mound, Posey behind the dish, Huff, the Panda , Cody Ross, the newest Giant - Miguel Tejada and others. Torres made his return to the line up later in the game following nearly a week nursing a pulled muscle. And in the 5th inning Brian Wilson jogged in from the right field bullpen to throw a perfect 10 pitch inning!
Sunday night could have been just another 'last night on vacation' and we could have been eating at the hot spot, The Pink Pony, in downtown Scottsdale. But fate intervened and the 9pm reservation was too late for some of us and so we headed off for a 7:30PM reservation at Frasher's. When we arrived it was apparent that some special event dinner was going on at the restaurant. Turns out the Giants were hosting an event with a few players and young military vets who'd been honored on-field earlier that day at the game.
Since we'd missed an opportunity the night before to get evidence of our encounter with a favorite former Giant, tonight we left nothing to chance. When Buster Posey was within reach I cornered him and asked for picture! While we've been to Spring Training twice before neither time compared to the fun we had this year! We'll be making it an annual trip! Next year we'll be sure to plan for at least one afternoon by the pool at the Valley Ho!
posted by Margaret and Duane @ 8:28 PM
