Ned and Cookie Hales with Bob at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. We spent the afternoon touring shops along the wharf and ended up with a collection of San Diego Padres hats. These were a rare find in Giants country, but we had to stay true to our childhood roots in San Diego and show support for the home team. The Padres and Giants were tied after two games in a three game series held at the spectacular AT&T Park. We planned to attend the third game the next day, wearing our hats of course.
The AT&T Park is an amazing place, pictured above are Bob and I standing in front of a bronze of Willie Mays Jr., one of many statues of legendary baseball players (Giants) to grace the exterior of the building. The stadium itself is magnificent, perched on the edge of the San Francisco bay with sweeping views, it is a major landmark.
We arrived at our incredible box seats early before the sold-out crowd so that we could tour the facility in leisure. Over 42,000 people soon filled every seat in the house. Bob and I were but two tiny voices cheering for the Padres among the roar of boos and hisses of Giants fans as the Padres won this game 8-2. Our trip to visit our friends ended far too soon, the next day we were winging our way back to rain-soaked Alaska to prepare our booth for the Alaska State Fair at Palmer.
Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist
