And so we reach the finale of our four-day adventure. Saturday morning we headed off to San Diego (Coronado to be specific) to Mike and Sara's place. We arrived mid-afternoon and had enough time to take a quick nap before our next baseball game. Tonight we were going to the Padres game to see them take on the Phillies!
It was extremely convenient to get from Coronado to San Diego. All we had to do was take a water taxi and it dropped us off just minutes from the park. Before the game we hit up a place just across the street in the Historic Gaslamp Section of downtown. This was a pretty low-key evening after the last two nights. While we were in the bar though I looked over and saw Nick Swardson walk in with his own posse. If you don't know who Nick Swardson (http://www.nick-swardson.com/) is he's a comedian/actor/writer and has worked a lot with Adam Sandler. He's been in Grandma's Boy and Sandler's latest Just Go With It. First thought is what the heck is he doing in San Diego and then he walked right passed me and said, "Hey man, how's it going?" I of course responded with "Pretty well, how bout yourself?" I'm not sure if he actually responded to that but it was a pretty cool interaction for me.
We headed into the game and Petco Park was incredible! It was very clean, obviously new and the field was gorgeous, great job San Diego-ites...San Diego-ins...San Diegans! Our seats were unreal as well. We were sitting only three rows from the field down the right field line right next to the Phillies "bullpen." The visiting team's bullpen is open to the field whereas the Padres have an enclosed bullpen out in right field. As the usual opening ceremonies are about to begin we hear an introduction for the first pitch and it is none other than......Nick Swardson!!! "Oh that's why he's in San Diego! He wasn't wearing a Padre's jersey earlier; it all makes sense now."
This was a great game that came down to extra innings but it was a tough loss for the Pads. With one out in the top of the 11th and a man on 3rd, the Padres decided to walk Jimmy Rollins to get to Ryan Howard. Sounds silly right? Well not really...they brought in a lefty to face Howard, who had gone 0-4 and all of those being strikeouts. Unfortunately for the Padres the gamble did NOT work and Howard blasted a ball to left field, a ball that probably should have been caught but instead made it to the wall for a double, scoring both Rollins and Polanco for a 4-2 lead. The Padres were unable to come back in the bottom of the inning and lost.
That night we went to the Brewing Company for some food and I devoured a bbq chicken pizza. We didn't stay out too late because we were all exhausted from the previous two nights' shenanigans. The next morning was Easter Sunday and we spent it at one of the nicest beaches in the state of California. We were at the Hotel del Coronado's beach. If you are unfamiliar with the Hotel del you should check it out. It's one of the oldest (1888), nicest, fanciest, star-struck hotels in the state. We stayed long enough for me to get the much desired sun I was looking for and then we headed back for an amazing Easter dinner.
This was a great way to spend the holiday and is the second year in a row (2010-Tampa) I've been with friends on Easter Sunday. Unfortunately this was the last night of Chris-A-Palooza 2011 and Monday morning I had to head home and get ready for work on Tuesday. What a great trip though and an unforgettable (for the most part) celebration. Thanks to everyone for all of the phone calls, texts, FB posts, gifts, cards, etc...I miss everyone and can't wait to see you all at some point in the near future!
Stay tuned for Chris-A-Palooza 2012...Party like it's the end of the world!
No comments:
Post a Comment