So where was I…

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. But here we go.

I went on vacation back in June. I traveled to California, for my father’s 80th birthday. The highlight of my trip was really the two visits I took to AT&T Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants. I learned early in the trip that the New York Yankees would be visiting the Giants for their first regular-season game, and in fact the first time (other than an exhibition game) that the two teams have played since the 1962 World Series. I asked my dad if he’d like to go to the game for his birthday present. I managed to score a couple of pricey ducats. The day before the Yankees got to town, we went to the stadium to pick up our tickets. My father wondered if they had tours available of this beautiful new stadium, which has been open for just a handful of seasons. By a stroke of luck, there were, and the next tour would be starting in seven minutes.

The tour was terrific. The guide, a former New Yorker himself, took the 11 of us into various parts of the press and clubhouse area, up through the dugout, and then into the stands. We really saw just about everything that could be seen.

A special moment occurred when we were in the visitors clubhouse. The guide showed us the old clubhouse door taken away after the 1999 season at Candlestick Park, the last seaoson that the Giants played there. The door was signed by the many players from visiting teams, as well as the Giants players, who played at Candlestick that year. The clubhouse manager, who owns the door, happened to walk into the room, and the tour guide asked what would be on the menu for the team. My father jokingly asked the guy what would be on the menu for us. The fellow responded by saying, “You know what? Follow me.” He marched us into his private office, normally off-limits for the tour, and much to the surprise of the guide. There, he regaled us with stories of the memorabilia lining every nook and cranny of his office.

The best moment in the tour came when we were in the dugout of the visitors team, where the Yankees would be sitting for the next three days. My father and I took a seat on the bench, and the guide offered to take our picture.

This is the picture I see every day as my cell phone “wallpaper.” What a swell day!