Archive for July, 2009
Zachary’s is on Pacific Avenue, which is the main shopping street in Santa Cruz. The town itself is a magnet for the footloose and fancy free and we do not often venture onto this street, which is a shame because there are some good restaurants here.
I’m always looking out for breakfast places and Zachery’s had good reviews. At 7.30 am parking was readily available outside. Zachary’s is housed in an old brick building and the interior is cavernous and funky with old wooden floorboards. At the door was a noticeboard showing the specials of the day and asking people to leave their name at the back of the restaurant and wait to be seated. It was relatively empty so a very nice server told us to sit where we wanted and suggested a window seat on the far side. Perfect choice.
The restaurant is divided into several sections and against the walls are built in high backed wooden bench seats. From our table we could look out onto the street, craning our necks slightly to look over the top of a green curtain. Our table was a bit wobbly though. I couldn’t count the number of tables as there were too many!
I didn’t see oatmeal on the menu but there was something called Hot Multi Grain Cereal. I asked the server what that was and told it was oatmeal. I ordered it along with raisins and nuts for $4.25. Tom ordered the Pancake Breakfast with Sausages for $8.25. The coffee was $1.75.
The walls were not covered with posters and photographs but there were a few prints scattered around. In our section there were four small flower prints. I noticed that there were some photographs on the other side and elsewhere a large painting. In our section, which has another entrance, is a noticeboard covered in advertisements and a bookshelf containing free newspapers.
The food arrived very quickly. My oatmeal came on a large oval ceramic plate in a small, deep ceramic bowl. The milk came in a small white ceramic jug and the raisins, brown sugar and mixed nuts – consisting of slivered almonds and walnut bits – came in small stainless steel containers. When they were emptied, they stacked neatly into each other. On the side of the plate was a slice of orange and a sprig of parsley. Tom’s pancakes were made out of sourdough so that made his day. I enjoyed my oatmeal, neither too runny or too solid. Tom’s verdict was not bad, he’s had a lot worse and some better.
My trip to the restroom was disappointing as it was very basic. Once again the only decoration was the words engraved onto the mirror with former users who had nothing better to do with their time. There were three restrooms all together, all unisex, and one was a disabled restroom.
Would we go back again? It’s likely but we want to try out all the many others places in Santa Cruz first. So far, the best one here has been Cafe Brasil.
Zachary’s Restaurant
819 Pacific Ave
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
July 29 2009 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
Downtown Murphys. Waiting for his master.
The Gold Country is a fair drive away from San Jose, so we left at 5.20 in the morning. Planned to make it to Copperopolis for breakfast. After an hour, we were driving over the Altamount Pass towards Tracy. Half an hour later we had Stockton in our rear view mirror, heading east on Highway 4.
We came up to a railroad just as the barriers came down and we sat and waited for five minutes. To our right we saw the train – a long freight train, coming towards us at a snails pace. Oh no, we thought, this is going to take some time. The the train stopped. Two minutes later the barriers opened and we were able to cross. Maybe the train was waiting for another to pass but we were just grateful not to be held up for half an hour.
Highway 4 dissects the Central Valley so, for the first part, we drove past corn waving in the breeze and orchards. After Farmington, the scene changed to vineyards and cattle grazing. The the road started to climb towards the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
At 7.20 we arrived in Copperopolis, only to be hugely disappointed because we could not find anywhere to eat breakfast. We drove on to Angels Camp, where it was almost the same story. We did find one cafe but it was not open.
Angels Camp, otherwise known as Frogtown, is an interesting town though. Why Frog Town? - I hear you say. In the 1860′s a young journalist named Samuel Clemens stayed overnight in Angels Camp on his way to Nevada. While there, he heard of a frog which locals claimed could jump higher and further than any other frog. Samuel Clemens write a short story entitled ‘Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog’ and it was published in the New York Saturday Press. Two years later the short story was turned into a book entitled ”The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County’ but this time under the pen name of Clemens, which was Mark Twain.
To this day they hold an annual contest to find the frog which can jump the furthest. Every third week in May this contest is held during the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee. Installed in the sidewalks on Main Street in Angels Camp are bronze plaques shaped like frogs. Each plaque has the year, the name of the winning frog and the distance it jumped. The record stands at just over 21 feet.
Hunger and the need for coffee motivated us to move on. The nearest town of reasonable size was Murphys and here we were successful.
After breakfast at the Foothills Restaurant – see previous post – we moved the car to the main street where we found a nice shady tree to park under. We noticed quite a few empty shops on the way in, which is a sign of the times. On the other hand, there were more wine tasting rooms than on our previous visit.
We did our usual wander up one side and down the other to see what we could see. Murphys is an old gold mining town and a lot of the buildings have been here for over 150 years, with covered sidewalks – just like in the old westerns you see on TV. It is very pleasant to saunter up and down and there are many convenient benches to sit on in the shade.
A sign pointing to a ‘Point of Historic Interest’ caught my attention. Following the sign, I came of a wall which was called the E C V Wall of
E C V Wall of Comparative Ovations in Murphys
Comparative Ovations and was covered in plaques commemorating an unusual array of men and women who have left their mark on California. One of the plaques explains about the society of E Clampus Vitus – ‘sort of parody of the solemn and mysterious fraternal orders then so popular in the states’; ‘helped widows and orphans – especially widows’. It was very much tongue in cheek and very amusing. There was, of course, one for John Murphy, 1824-1892, who was the founder of Murphys. In December 1949 at the age of 25, he returned to San Jose with one and a half million dollars in gold. He married Virginia Reed of the Donner party and served as mayor and sheriff of Santa Clara County. There were just two women honored among the 50 or so plaques. One was Julia C Bulette, born London 1832 – ‘gentle companion to the miner……..strangled (in her bed maybe) in 1867′ and the other was Emma Nevada (Wixom) who was known as the Nightingale of the Comstock and sang for the Clampers and even for Queen Victoria.
Murphys Hotel in downtown Murphys
Further down the street was the historic Murphys Hotel – lovely old building with an upstairs balcony swathed in red, white and blue bunting. On a plaque outside it told the history of the building. Originally it was the Old Speery Hotel or the Speery and Perry Hotel. It has been a hotel since 1856 and is one of the oldest operating hotels in California. Over the years it has had its share of famous guests – Mark Twin, The Rothchilds, General U S Grant, Thomas Lipton and Black Bart (an infamous highwayman of the late 1880s in the area). Today the hotel is still very active. In fact, we wished we had waited just a little longer because they serve breakfast on the patio at the side of the hotel in a very nice shady garden. We must remember that next time we visit here.
Another old building ,which was originally called Jones Apothecary and Cash Store, still has the old painted sign on the side of the building. It is quite faded but the words can still be made out. Now it is an art gallery.
Along the way I saw a couple of interesting posters. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young will be performing at the Ironstone Winery on September 19. They would be interesting to see in concert but probably to far to come. The other post was advertising the Calaveras Grape Stomping in Murphys Communal Park on October 3. That sounds like fun.
There are lots more interesting buildings in Murphys and I hope the above has given you a flavor.
At the end of shops and the beginning of the residential part of the town, there is a bridge over a fast running stream. This is Murphys Creek. On one side of the bridge are two houses with the creek running between them. One of the houses has a small, ornamental water wheel with a crank shaft leading to model windmill. The sails of the windmill were not turning though. It all looked very pretty.
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July 22 2009 | Special Places | 4 Comments »
Foothills Restaurant in Murphys California
After searching Copperopolis and then Angels Camp for somewhere to eat, we ended up in Murphys. Finally we found a place which not only served breakfast but was also open. The time was 8 am, so not that early but still it was the first place we found, discounting of course the Burger King we had passed.
We have been to the Foothills Restaurant once before. That was nearly three years ago on a trip we shall never forget. It was Labor Day weekend 2006 and were spending the weekend in Murphys. We had a lovely time visiting many very nice wineries then on the Sunday evening Tom had a heart attack in the early hours of the morning. In the end he was airlifted back to San Jose and I drove home on my own; driving very carefully I might add because of the several bottles of wine in the trunk. (note from Tom: I told Margaret, “To hell with my heart but be very careful with that wine.) Foothills Restaurant is right next to the hotel we stayed at.
Anyway, back to this visit. The Foothills Cafe is a reasonable sized cafe and not too crowded at all. The seating is just tables and chairs with no booths or a counter.
The menu was not very big or varied but it had to be better than the alternative we could have resorted to. Tom ordered Linguica Scramble for $8.95 and I went for the Oatmeal, Fruit Cup and Toast for $6.25. The latter by the way was on the seniors menu. Tom said the coffee was nothing spectacular but he was pleased to have it. I, as usual, just had water.
What I particularly liked about the decor here were the home made quilts displayed on the wall. They were also for sale with the prices ranging from $290 to $500. They were colorful and intricate. There were a few other nice touches. On the wall near us were a series of black and white framed photos with handwritten descriptions underneath by someone called Francis Nelson.
The food arrived pretty smartly. It wasn’t the best presented food I have ever had but it passed muster. At least the milk came in a stainless steel jug with a lid. The fruit was no where near as good as what I was served at Dottie’s last week but it was fresh. The toast was a bit like cardboard though. As for the oatmeal, well it could have been instant but I’m not 100% sure. Tom’s general comment on his food was a shrug and an OK. He went on to say there was not a lot of linguica; it was only lukewarm; the biscuit was thin and not homemade; the gravy bland and the egg not over easy as he asked for.
The restroom though was very pleasant. There were two pieces of artwork on the wall; one a watercolor with a bible quote and the other on wood of a cute angel and around it printed the words ‘Angels above fill our hearts with love’. There were two mirrors; one which looked like a window and the other a large one over the sink with an engraved glass light cover above it.
To sum it all up, the food was mediocre but the decorations were pleasing.
Foothills Restaurant, 55 E Highway 4 Murphys, CA 95247
July 19 2009 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
Yerba Buena Gardens opposite SFMOMA
After our breakfast at Dottie’s in the Tenderloin – see previous post – we drove down Jones and across Market to Howard, where we turned left towards the Moscone Center. Parking is always a problem in San Francisco but we found a car park on 3rd and Folsom where we could park for $10 all day.
(Click the images for larger versions. You’ll need to if you want to find Waldo in the last photo)
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, affectionately known as SFMOMA, was just a short walk away but we had some time to kill as it didn’t open until 10 am. We wandered around the outside of the Moscone Center, which is a huge conference/convention complex. It is named after George Moscone, a former mayor of San Francisco who was assassinated in 1978.
Then we sauntered around the Yerba Buena Gardens opposite SFMOMA. It has been some time since we visited this part of town and the gardens have become well established. Outside the Yerba Buena Center for Arts a dozen couples were having dancing lessons. It was a quickstep. I only knew this because occasionally I heard ‘slow, quick, quick slow’. Most of the other directions were given in Chinese. It was mesmerizing to watch them. The dance itself seemed to be quite slow and deliberate, almost like Tai Chi. There were also several groups on the grass in the middle of the gardens doing Tai Chi, including one gentlemen who did a bit and then sat in an electric wheelchair. I couldn’t help but admire the man.
I took a seat on a stone bench in front of the huge water feature and enjoyed people watching and writing while Tom wandered off . Although it
SFMOMA as seen from Yerba Buena Gardens
was overcast to begin with, the sun came out before too long but there was a bit of a breeze. Definitely not shorts and T-shirt weather. I looked towards the SFMOMA building which seems to be dwarfed by the buildings around it but it is a striking building. It’s main architectural feature is the huge skylight in the front. It resembles the vent on the deck of a ship in its shape but has black and white strips.
Just before 10 we walked across the road to the SFMOMA and bought tickets at the kiosk outside. It cost $28 for the two of us – senior citizens price – and this included entrance to the Georgia O’Keefe and Ansel Adams Natural Affinities Exhibition, which is the main reason for our visit today. This exhibition will be at SFMOMA until September 9 this year. We walked into the vast foyer but had to wait there. Both the stairs and the elevators were cordoned off until, at the stroke of 10, they were removed. Tom and I walked up to the third floor. We reasoned it would be quicker than waiting for a lift.
On the third floor, we shuffled in with a host of other people. At first it was difficult to get a clear view of the paintings and photographs with folks walking in front or pressing from behind but it soon thinned out as people wandered off in different directions. Tom is into black and white photography and I’m into color, so George O’Keefe’s vivid paintings attracted me far more than Ansel Adams stark photography. Her early paintings were a bit depressing for my taste but loved the New Mexico collection, especially ‘Black Mesa Landscape’ and ‘In the Patio III’. I must admit to liking Ansel Adams photo of ‘St Francis Church, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico’. Tom’s favorites were ‘Early Morning, Merced River’, ‘Cedar Tree, Winter, Yosemite’, ‘Old Tree, Snowstorm, Yosemite’, Vine and Rock, Island of Hawaii’ and ‘Detail, Juniper Wood, Sierra Nevada’ – all by Ansel Adams of course.
The walkway at the top. You can see all the way to the bottom. OK Margaret what ever you do DO NOT LOOK DOWN.
After a pleasant hour browsing the exhibition we explored the rest of the museum. We decided to climb the stairs to the fourth floor but I was sidetracked by something drawn high up on a wall with apparatus hanging down from a walkway above so I asked a nearby attendant. He started to explain but then pointed to a notice on the wall. The graffiti like drawing was drawn by Matthew Barney on June 9, 2006 and is entitled ‘Drawing Restraint 14′. On that day he climbed the wall dressed as General Douglas MacArthur, navigating himself by hand holds up the wall and by carabines attached to the underside of the walkway to get the wall on the far side. From there he swung himself in a hoist to execute the drawing right under a window.
Satisfied that I had unraveled that poser, I ascended the curved staircase to the fifth floor, pausing to look through a window down towards Yerba Buena Gardens, before arriving at the walkway I had looked at from below. Some of you may know that I have no head for heights and this walkway was not only high up and narrow but was constructed of perforated steel – very scary. Tom had already crossed it so the least I could do was to walk across it as well. I took a deep breath and went for it, keeping my eyes on a large mural on the wall in front. The main exhibits here are under the heading ‘Between Art on Life’, which will be on display until January 3, 2010. Many interesting sculptures and other diverse artworks are on display and the most intriguing was a huge painting entitled ‘Princess of the Posse’ by Chris Ofili which was described as acrylic, collage, glitter, resin, map pins, and elephant dung on canvas. I loved the colors and the use of map pins but I’m not so sure about the elephant dung.
After looking at all the exhibits we wandered through the Coffee Bar and into the Roof Garden to view
Accross from SFMOMA we spotted Waldo. Can you? You might have to click so you can see the larger version.
the sculptures on display there. It is a very pleasant spot, with places to sit and relax and on top of that, it is a sun trap. There is a huge bronze statue by Louise Bourgeois entitled ‘The Nest’. Louise Bourgois is an amazing artist. Both this work and another piece by her entitled ‘Crouching Spider’, which was until recently was on display on the waterfront of the Embarcadero (part of the San Francisco Arts Commission’s Temporary Projects in Natural Settings Initiative), was in her nineties when she executed both pieces. Walking up the slope to the walkway I glanced out of the window and spotted a cardboard cutout of Waldo hiding between pipework on the roof of the building opposite.
We visited the third floor on our way down to view the Looking In: Robert Frank’s “The Americans” exhibition. This was a fascinating series of 83 photos taken between 1955 and 1956 of Americans and their way of life. The book “The Americans” was published in 1958 with an introduction by Jack Kerouac.
We decided to call it a day. There is so much more to see at SFMOMA but we will have to return another day.
July 14 2009 | Special Places | No Comments »
Dottie's True Blue Cafe in San Francisco, California.
As you know, we are always on the look out for new places to go for breakfast in the Bay Area; so when we watched Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network on Monday night, which featured Dottie’s True Blue Cafe, we just had to give it a try. We had planned a trip up to the city so this was the perfect chance to try it out.
We checked the internet beforehand. Dottie’s does not have its own website but there are plenty of reviews to check out, most of them very positive, so we knew we were in for a treat. One thing we learned is that they only have seating for 40 so we decided to get there before it opened at 7.30. We arrived at 7.15 and already there was a line outside, so we joined the end (Check the map below for the location). The Tenderloin is not in the best part of town and we spent a fascinating 15 minutes people watching and chatting to the couple in front of us. We later found out their names were Stacey and Ray – so Hi to you both if you ever check this website out.
Just before 7.30 the line started to move and we were lucky to get seated in the first wave. Our table was against the far wall and I sat under the specials board. The normal menu is relatively small but the specials are what has earned Dottie’s it’s reputation. There is also a baked goods specials board.
I went for the oatmeal ($3.95) with the fresh mixed fruit ($2.50). Tom ordered the smoked whiskey-fennel sausage, mushroom, baby spinach scramble with grilled corn bread and potatoes (10.95) with a slice of blueberry crumb cake ($4.50) on the side.
The tables and chairs are a little beaten up – our table also rocked a bit but that just added to the charm of the place. There were just five seats at the counter. I liked the salt and pepper shakers in the shape of paper bags. Small prints of old food adverts adorned the wall above the counter. On the walls near us were three black and white classic glamor posters. One of them was Josephine Baker, wearing just a garment made out of beads. There were a couple of additional decorative touches – a few postcards and a shelf high on the wall near the door with a few knick knacks on.
There was a 20 minute wait before we gave our order but we didn’t care as we were busy looking around and talking to Stacey and Ray at the next table. Outside the window we could see people waiting in line. Jazz was playing softly in the background. It would have been louder if there was not so much chatting and laughter going on around us. Everybody seemed so carefree but it was a holiday weekend after all. Tom’s coffee cup was filled regularly. The coffee is good but not quite as good as Pete’s.
I was watching the action behind the bar. There were just two cooks and they were in constant action. With very little space behind the counter, they out to be pretty nifty on their feet.
The blueberry crumb cake arrived as a sort of starter. On top was a generous dollop of whipped cream and it looked too good to resist. Mmm, nice and warm and heavenly.
When our scramble and oatmeal arrived I looked at my watch, only to realize that the time on the parking meter was about to expire. We had been lucky enough to find a meter right outside the restaurant. The maximum you could put in though was for one hour of parking and at 25 cents for 12 mins of time it seemed a lot of money. Tom nipped out and put another half an hour on the clock. Meanwhile I was enjoying my breakfast. The fruit on top of the oatmeal – sliced strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, purple grapes and blackberries – had never seen the inside of a freezer and tasted wonderfully fresh. The oatmeal was in a large, round shallow bowl and tasted great. Not steel cut but I had no complaints. Tom was really enjoying his scramble. I had never had grilled corn bread before so I tried a piece. Was not too impressed as it had hot spice in it and I don’t like hot spicy food. I should have expected it because I remember thinking that most of the dishes prepared on Triple D (Diners, Drive-ins and Dives) had jalapenos in them.
The restroom was very ordinary – clean and functional with no decoration at all but getting to it was an adventure. I was pointed towards a door and told to collect the large spoon with key attached which would be hanging on a hook by the door. If it wasn’t there, somebody was already using it and I would have to wait. The spoon was there so I took it off the hook, walked through the door and found myself in the lobby of a small hotel. I found the restroom but it was locked. The receptionist told me somebody was in there and I would have to wait and wait I did for some time. While I waited I looked round the lobby and found a few disturbing notices – one a warning about a dangerous cocaine out on the streets and another telling me that everything was being recorded. Goes with the territory I guess.
So that was our visit to Dottie’s and we can certainly recommend it wholeheartedly. The food is top notch and certainly worth the wait.
Dottie’s is at 522 Jones Street in San Francisco.
July 08 2009 | Breakfast Log | No Comments »
Lefty O'Doul Bridge being raised
On Father’s Day we had a great treat. Tom’s daughter Annie, her husband, Mitch, and grandson Brady (14 months) traveled from Eugene in Oregon to stay with us for a few days. Brady is a cutie and we kept us entertained all of Sunday.
(Click on the images for larger versions)
Monday Margaret took a day off work and we all set off for a day in San Francisco with no real plans in mind except to meet Tom’s brother, Jeff, for lunch at the Connecticut Yankee at the foot of Potrero Hill. Our first stop was McCovey Cove, right alongside AT&T Park – the home of the SF Giants (that’s a baseball team by the way for all the non Americans amongst us). Across the small cove we could see the park – one of the best in the country (feel free to dispute me if you wish). What distinguishes from all other ball parks is the giant Coca Cola bottle and a huge sculpture of a leather baseball glove.
To get to the ballpark, we had to cross the Lefty O’Doul bridge. Lefty O’Doul was born in San Francisco and was a Major League ball player. The bridge is a steel drawbridge which has no clearance at all so it has to be raised for even the smallest boat to pass underneath. We have walked over this bridge many times and had never seen it open. A copper plaque states that Strauss Engineering Company designed and built the bridge and was opened in 1933. Joseph Strauss, who headed Strauss Engineering Co, engineered both this and the Golden Gate Bridge. It is a very noisy bridge, due to the iron plates at the joints and the wooden roadbed. Tom got into a conversation with a bridge operator who told him the bridge was about to be raised. Apparently this is a daily feature just to make sure that everything is in working order.
We just had to watch this event and there we were with our cameras. A klaxon sounded, a barrier was lowered and bells clanged. Slowly the roadbed was raised and the huge concrete blocks, which balanced the whole structure, were lowered until they were almost resting on the road. Tom, who was standing in front of the blocks, was dwarfed. We all got a kick out of it, including Brady who clapped his hands and grinned throughout. The whole process was repeated in reverse and five minutes later the traffic was flowing again.
The ballpark is right next to the Lefty O’Doul bridge and that was our next stop. By the Lefty O’Doul entrance is a statue of former Giants pitcher Juan Marichal. Just outside the main entrance to the park is a statue of Willie Mays, one of the greatest ball players ever. He played for the SF Giants from 1958-72. In 1973, when playing for the New York Mets, he hit his 660th home run and stands at number four in the rankings. His godson, Barry Bonds, currently is at number one with 762 home runs. Willie Mays was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1979. His statue outside the ballpark is surrounded by 24 palm trees in honor of his number 24 uniform, which was retired by the SF Giants.
When we walked past the Giants Dugout Store I noticed a board advertising tours of the ballpark . They are conducted every day at 10.30 and
AT&T Park. Home of The San Francisco Giants
12.30 expect on days when there is a home game. As Mitch is such a keen baseball fan and coaches a high school team back in Eugene, we decided this was an opportunity not to be missed and bought tickets for the 12.30 tour. That gave us enough time to move the car from a parking meter to a long term car park and pay a visit to Borders book store on the corner of 3rd and The Embarcadero. At 12.30 we were at the top of the stairs in the Giants Dugout Store with several other people waiting to begin the tour.
Our guide showed up on time and opened the roll up door leading to the ballpark and through it we all trooped. Just inside we gathered round as he introduced himself. The only trouble was we could hardly hear him. The sound of the traffic outside seemed to be magnified and that didn’t help but even when we were inside later on, hearing still was a problem as he was so quietly spoken. In order to hear what he was saying, you had to stand really close. In the end, we must have missed half of what he said, which was a pity because he had so many interesting things to tell us.
Our first stop was the Press Box. I’ve never seen a press box before but I’m guessing they are all very much the same. It is located on the lower level and overlooks home plate. There are several banks of counters and chairs. On a game day I can imagine the room filled with sports commentators and journalists all talking nineteen to the dozen. On the back wall are the shirts bearing the numbers which have been retired by the SF Giants.
Then we took a lift up several floors to the club level where we first walked through the tunnel to one of the general seating areas with a view down to the field and over McCovey Cove. Our guide said that the ballpark was originally planned to be built the other way round, look towards the west instead of the east but following some research on wind movement, when it was discovered the prevailing wind was from the west, it was decided to turn it 180 degrees thus overlooking the bay. He went on to tell us the history of the coke bottle – which is a children’s slide – and the glove sculpture. He went on to explain about splash hits – that’s when a home run is achieved by hitting the ball out of the park and into McCovey Cove. When Barry Bonds was scoring home runs and splash hits regularly a couple of years ago, there used to be a multitude of boats and kayaks, all waiting to retrieve any balls which landed in the water. I wonder, now that Barry Bonds has retired, whether there are so many boats out there on game days.
We walked back through another tunnel onto the outside promenade where our guide explained how the ballpark was built to withstand earthquakes by showing us an expansion joint. We then looked out over the Embarcadero and the Bay Bridge before turning back and entering a luxury suite. There are about 70 luxury suites at the ballpark, most used by private companies or individuals. There are two though which can be rented for about $10,000 a day. That overall price includes the cost of food. The one we entered could hold about 25 people, though I was not too impressed with the view of the field. Our tour continued down the corridor, past all the other luxury suites. All the doors were open so we can take a peek inside but were not allowed to go into any of them. They all were decorated by the users in a variety of baseball memorabilia. Willie Mays has one of the suites and, inside, the main pieces of furniture were two, very comfortable easy chairs. Along the corridor were a collection of lithographs of ballparks around the country. None of the names meant very much to me and, to be honest, they all looked the same. Of course, to baseball fanatics, every ballpark name conjures up memories of past teams and games.
Annie and Brady in the visitors dugout at AT&T Park
Halfway along the corridor we took a lift down to the Field Club Level and walked through a tunnel to some of the premium seating in the ballpark. Out on the field the groundsmen were mowing the grass. Mitch used to work at a golf club and knows a lot about the different types of grass. He was keen to talk to the groundsmen and here was his opportunity. While the guide led us to the visiting teams’ dugout he stopped and spoke to a couple of the men. Meanwhile we were hearing about how the seating areas and dugouts are cleaned after each game. First of all the rubbish is removed and then everything is washed down thoroughly. It was interesting to sit inside the dugout and have a player’s view of the field. Tom was fascinated by the beat up look of the wooden seat at the bag – ten years of abuse by players shoes and bats. Behind the dugout is another tunnel, this time leading to the indoor batting cages – all three of them.
Our last stop was the visiting team’s clubhouse. We saw the changing room and lockers where there is a baseball shirt up on the wall behind a perspex screen which has been signed by just about all the players who were in attendance the last day the Giants played at Candlestick Park. I was surprised how small the room was considering not only the size of some of the players but all the rest of the support people that must travel with them. We were also shown the laundry room and looked through a window into the Visiting Team Manager and his large collection of bobble heads.
The tour was advertised to last two hours and to cover over two miles of walking. It costs $12.50 for adults, $10.50 for seniors, $7.50 for children under 12 and free for children under 2. As the tour lasted nearly two and half hours, we certainly got our money’s worth and it was great to get a behind the scene tour and to see areas not normally visited by members of the public.
Needless to say we were a bit late getting to the Connecticut Yankee but as Jeff is the barman there it didn’t really matter. Tom had rung to let him know we were going to be late. Maybe it was just as well because the lunch time crowd had gone and the early evening drinkers had not arrived. We had a very nice lunch there without too much interruption. The only trouble being that this was the first time Jeff had seen Brady, his great nephew, but he slept most of the time we were there, due no doubt to all the exercise he had got on the tour.
If you are ever in San Francisco we thoroughly recommend the tour.
July 04 2009 | Neighborhoods and Special Places | 1 Comment »
