So I was on my own for the last stop on our tour - San Diego's beautiful PetCo Park. The first thing that struck me was the convenience of the public transit system in San Diego! This is always a HUGE bonus when you don't have to worry about parking and everything else. My wife and son decided that they would spend the afternoon shopping at the Fashion Valley Mall, and I simply got on a Special Red Line train that took me to within a block of the stadium. Sure, the Day Pass cost me $5, but I'd pay at least double that to park! Beautiful start, San Diego!
The lady at the ticket office was very pleasant, and I tried my best to reciprocate this. I imagine this is hard to do for most Padres fans, though, as this is a pretty expensive place to see a game. I sat at the top of Section 111 (not bad seats, about 40 rows up) and paid $53 for the single seat. This made me slightly relieved that I was on a solo mission this afternoon!
Walking into PetCo is unique in many ways. The plaza itself looks more like a street mall than a ball park. There is also a "Kids Run The Bases" park for pre-game fun. I had wanted to get a close look at the bronze statue of Tony Gwynn on Picnic Hill, but the boys from CBS Sports were filming there and the area was roped off to riff raff like me.
San Diego wears its heart on its sleeve when it comes to recognizing the various branches of the US military, and this was instantly apparent to me after entering the park. My first stop was, of course, at the beer vendors. After ordering, I was asked to move aside and, to my surprise, hundreds of members of the Marine Corps were marching beside me in formation. Fans removed their hats and applauded until they had passed, and I considered myself lucky to have been in the right spot to see this local tradition in action!
Once I took my seat, I was able to truly appreciate the beauty of this park. The old Western Metal and Supply Co. building ingeniously built into the left field seats, adorned with balcony seating for fans willing to pay the price. There were many families enjoying the Park at the Park, and lots of kids were having a blast at the beach. For a city like San Diego, including features like this for hot afternoons is brilliant! Though I have to admit that I was confused by a monolithic black wall to the right of the scoreboard. It seemed like something that would be more at home in Oakland!
Unique features of the PetCo Park outfield
The game itself was a great one, as the Padres faced off against the New York Mets. I did not have a dog in this fight, so I just wanted to watch a good ball game, and I certainly got that! The Padres went up 4-1 early as the friars hit Matt Harvey early, giving a little support for their starter Jason Marquis. David Wright and company applied the pressure late, however, making a 7th inning surge, but the home team pulled it out in the end. Always nice to have happy people on the post-game train!
And now for the hot dog rating! Hope I did a good job without the expertise of my son!
Temperature: 7.5/10
Flavour: 8.5/10
Juiciness: 7.0/10
Bun Texture: 7.0/10
TOTAL: 30/40
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