Friday did not go as we originally planned, but I think it all worked out in the end. Victoria and I were planning on meeting our friend Allison at Pixar around 11:30, and she was going to give us a tour, and then we’d have lunch there. At 8:47 Allison texted me saying that we should “Stay tuned about Pixar, they’re evacuating because of a chemical leak across the street right now.” Awesome. At about 9:30 she let us know that she was coming home from work because no one was allowed to be there. I think we’re going to try and go on Sunday morning before the game, so I’m hoping we can make that happen.

When Allison got back the three of us decided to head down to Fisherman’s Wharf, even though it’s what typical tourists do. We started by hitting up Lombard street, which is just a few blocks from Allison’s place .

We then walked down towards Fisherman’s Wharf, but stopped at Ghirardelli Square. Ghirardelli was founded in 1852 in San Francisco, and they’re the second oldest chocolate company in the U.S. They don’t actually produce any chocolate at Ghirardelli square, but they still make their presence known. Going clockwise from top left, the photos below are:

1) Ghirardelli square

2) Chocolate

3) More chocolate (We wound up buying 5 bars, not sure how long they’ll last)

4) Part of the display that shows how they make their chocolate. I wonder how often they change out the liquids.

They also have an ice cream parlor where they sell expensive ice cream and shakes. Victoria and I had a Mint Quake Shake. Not sure if it was worth the $6.95, but it came close. We walked around the square for a little bit, then went down to Fisherman’s Wharf. We spotted a cable car that wasn’t in service at the time, and took advantage. It’s corny and cute at the same time.

We walked by some of the boats, and one of them was giving an hour long “cruise” under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. For $15 a person, we figured it was worth it. They were almost full so the three of us didn’t really have seats, and we stood for most of the ride. We chose the front of the vessel, and subsequently got splashed pretty good on our way towards the bridge because we were going against the waves. Since the bridge is so long, you can only get the whole thing when you’re pretty far away.

As we got closer I could get some better pictures, but it was tough. We were bouncing on the water pretty good, and it was difficult to stay steady enough to take a picture. Once we turned around and went with the current, it was a much smoother ride.

One of the tour guides was walking around offering to take pictures for people, and we obliged. If your new to the blog, that’s myself on the left, Victoria in the middle, and our friend Allison on the right.

When they said that we would go under the Golden Gate Bridge, and then turn around, they weren’t lying. This is as far as we got, I like the picture because it captures the Bridge’s span. It’s a little overexposed, but I still like it.

After turning around, we headed towards Alcatraz. Going clockwise from top left:

1) Alcatraz from the west, as we were approaching

2) Some resting sea lions on a buoy

3) Alcatraz from the north. The building missing the roof held a two lane bowling alley on the first level and a dance floor on the second floor, for the prison guards and their families. The 70 or so prison guards and their families lived in the building on the far left side of the picture. The kids would take a ferry to the mainland in the morning, and then return in the afternoon.

4) The warning sign on the southeast side of the island. Marcus Hanel, the Brewers catcher, told me on Wednesday that some of the Brewers were taking a tour of the island on Thursday, and it’s something I probably would’ve enjoyed. Our tour guide said that you have to book way in advance, and during the summer they might be booked a month to two months in advance.

By the time we got off the boat, it was 1:30, and we were ready for lunch. I was up for some crab cakes, and we wound up at Pier Market Seafood Restaurant on Pier 39. At the last second I backed out on the crab cakes and went for the Crab Melt. I think I made the right call.

As we were leaving the restaurant there were a bunch of sea lions resting on a dock. It must get tiring chasing fish all day.

We walked back to Allison’s flat, and got ready for the game. Victoria and I took the bus down to AT&T park, arrived at 5:15, and met up with a friend of mine from High School. We’ve been friends since about 3rd grade. I can’t help but show a picture of him from elementary school. It’s either kindergarten or first grade, and it’s awesome. My friend Dustin, who lives in Denver now, had this at his house a few years ago, and I snapped a picture of Adam, not knowing if I’d ever use it. The time has come. I’ll be embarrassing myself at a later date with pictures from my childhood, but I don’t have any with me, so they’ll have to wait. Adam is in the “Holman’s American Karate” shirt, this picture dates to 1993 or 1994, I believe.

A nearby Brewers fan took a picture of the four of us. From left to right is Adam’s girlfriend Sam, Adam, myself, and Victoria.

I had my game number picture taken from the same spot.

We went inside with about 25 minutes before first pitch, and walked around. Victoria and I were sitting in the upper deck, and I chose to do so on purpose. I knew that it would give me the best vantage point of the bay and the ballpark. Below is the Bay Bridge on the left, the large Coca-Cola bottle (with a kid’s slide inside) and an extra large baseball glove.

Looking to the right of the scoreboard you get a great view of San Francisco Bay:

Despite my seat location, I was able to get a good picture of Greinke pitching in the first inning.

The Brewers got off to a great start with three runs in the first, mainly because the Giants’ starting pitcher, Tim Lincecum, was quite wild. A big single by Lucroy drove in two runs, and the Brewers held the 3-0 into the fifth, when the Giants put one on the board. The Brewers got it right back in the sixth on ANOTHER suicide squeeze, but the Giants answered and tied it up with three in the bottom half of the sixth. The Brewers came right back with two runs in the seventh, both coming home on an Aramis Ramirez single. Veras, K-Rod, and Axford retired 9 of the 10 batters they faced in the 7th, 8th, and 9th, and the Crew was victorious. Final Score: Brewers 6 – Giants 4.

I missed two pitches during the game. The first was really bad. Victoria and I both had to go to the bathroom, and there were Brewers fans behind us. Instead of just telling them what they needed to know, I elaborated. I explained how I didn’t want to miss pitches, and was going to head down with two outs to watch from the bottom of the stairs, so I could get to the bathroom and back quickly. We wanted them to watch our stuff, thus the explanation. As I was doing that I missed the 2-0 pitch to Gomez in the bottom of the second. I’m an idiot.

I also missed the first pitch to Hector Sanchez in the 9th. Before the bottom of the inning they showed a highlight from Cheers, and Woody Harrelson was in it. I was trying to think of what movies I would’ve seen him in, but couldn’t remember. Victoria was looking it up on her phone and I spaced out. It’s a pretty lame excuse, I know.

After the game I had to meet up with a friend of my sister who had graciously gotten me two tickets for Sunday’s game. We were planning on taking one of the buses to meet her, but it never showed. Long story short; we walked two miles to meet her at a bar that we were way underdressed for, and then walked the mile back to Allison’s place. Overall, I think I walked about seven miles yesterday, probably not the best thing to do with a bad knee, hopefully walking on it doesn’t worsen the prognosis.

One last photo. During the game there was one canoe in the bay to our right (where 50 or so would’ve been when Bonds was playing). There was also a pimped out boat. The silver circular thing towards the front of the boat that’s blocking one of the windows? It’s a grill. One of the guys would occasionally head up there and flip what I assume were sausages and burgers.

That’s all for now, I’m leaving for game two of the series in about 30 minutes. Gotta Go!!!

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Monday started with a 3:20 alarm. Victoria and I didn’t talk about what time we were planning on getting up, and we independently set the alarm on our phones for the same time. How cute is that? HA. My uncle Mike works for Boeing and he said that his job allows him to set his own hours to a degree. We left for the airport at 4:00, and we are both very thankful that he got up extra early just for us.

Our Southwest flight departed at six, and we had a two hour layover in Las Vegas. The flight out of Vegas was airborne by 9:35 and it landed in San Diego at 10:22 (I’m keeping track of all this stuff as well, thus the exact times). I think I’m displaying enough stats as is, but at the end of the season I’ll include a more thorough breakdown of the time I spent traveling and whatnot. While in the air I took a few pictures, flying into San Diego is always fun because you come so close to the buildings, and get a decent view of PETCO Park as you’re approaching. The picture isn’t the best, and the gloomy weather/the two window panes to take the picture through are to blame. You can see the blue seats of PETCO Park in the middle of the photo below.

Victoria and I took the bus to our hotel (Hotel Indigo), which is located roughly 900 feet from PETCO. I paid a little extra to get a room on the executive level, which provides a nice view. However, because of the design of the building, not many rooms have a view of the stadium, ours included. The four part picture below, going clockwise from top left:

1) Part of the lobby right when you walk in. I’m not sure how visible it is, but there is a water feature which takes up the left side of the picture. There are individual streams of water coming down, spaced a couple inches apart.

2) The bar for the in house restaurant: Table 509. The prices are steep, and we probably won’t eat here, but it doesn’t hurt to have the option.

3) The artwork on one of the walls in our room. The room is great and I’m glad I splurged a little and paid $165 a night. There were some (slightly cheaper) alternatives nearby, but with the proximity to the ballpark, I thought it was a fair price.

4) The view out of our window. If I stand up against the far right side of the window and look all the way to the right, I can see the light towers from PETCO.

We decided on The Kebab Shop for lunch, which features “The Original Döner Kebab!” I had the Lamb Döner Kebab, and Victoria the Falafel Döner Kebab. I wasn’t exactly sure how to pronounce “Döner”, so when I ordered I quickly passed over the word, and Victoria just said “I’ll have the Falafel one of those.” I’ve had Gyros before, but it had been awhile. This was basically a Gyro burrito, and it was delicious. To be honest, when I saw the name of the shop, I was expecting your typical shish kebab. After some research (and straight from Wikipedia); “In the Middle East, however, kebab includes grilled, roasted, and stewed dishes of large or small cuts of meat, or even ground meat; it may be served on plates, in sandwiches, or in bowls.” I learned something new today! Below is my Lamb Döner Kebab, which consisted of spiced lamb, a mix of fresh veggies, and a creamy garlic yogurt sauce. I also put some of the hot sauce on for an extra kick.

We returned to the hotel, and I took a quick nap while Victoria went to the nearby mall. She brought back cupcakes. She got me a Thin Mint cupcake, and it was amazing. No picture is shown because I ate it too fast. The Thin Mint is my favorite manufactured cookie, thus the excitement. It was topped with mint frosting and half a thin mint; awesome.

Now the bad news. The MRI results came back, and my doctor gave me a call this afternoon. He said that the MRI showed a bone infarction (INFARCTION, not infection). This is when the blood supply to a bone is blocked, causing the bone tissue to die. The fact that the x-ray hadn’t shown any visible damage is a good sign, and this is something that was caught early. I’m not going to go into too much detail until I talk to the orthopedic doctor. My oncologist said that he wanted me to see them Wednesday, but since I won’t be back until next Monday, it’ll have to wait. I’m trying to take it easy and take as many escalators as possible, so hopefully we can figure out the best course of action when I see them next week.

Despite the news, I was still up for some baseball, and Victoria and I left for the park at 5:30. On the corner of our hotel this was the view. As you can see, it is right down the street from where we’re staying.

We walked down the first base side of the stadium and around towards the ticket windows. They have the player will call set up inside of one of the gates, and once they got the Brewers’ tickets, I found out that they didn’t have one for me. After 15 minutes or so everything was sorted out, and I had my ticket. We were then able to go to the ticket windows and get Victoria a ticket. I knew that the game wouldn’t be anywhere near sold out, so I thought it was safe to have her buy a nearby seat, and then I’d sit with her. It worked to perfection and we didn’t have a problem the whole game, the low draw of 16,000 definitely helped. While we were waiting for the Brewers tickets to arrive, we got game photo number 23 taken care of.

We entered the home plate entrance, which is right behind where I’m standing above. There’s a cool water wall that’s located just to the left of my right shoulder. Below is a close up of said water wall. It’s sad that the Padres don’t draw more than they do, because the park is beautiful.

We went up the steps, well, I went up one step, stepped back down, and then took the escalator. On the main concourse there are lots of food choices, and I decided on the BBQ pulled pork. The menu said it came with cole slaw and a pickle spear. There wasn’t much cole slaw, and I swear the pickle spear had been sitting out for days by the way it looked, but nonetheless. With the amount of pork they put on the sandwich, I’d say it was worth the $10.50 that I paid, especially given ballpark prices. It was good, albeit messy.

The game started as I was finishing my sandwich, and I was looking forward to some redemption. In 2010 I went to three of four games at PETCO, the three I went to the Brewers lost, the one I didn’t go to? They won. The Padres got on the board in the second with a walk, stolen base, and a single, and held the 1-0 lead into the fourth.

As a preface; early on Victoria asked if Braun’s father, Joe, was sitting a few rows behind us (FSN has shown him during broadcasts and she’s observant). I concurred, and in the 2nd inning I went back there, told him how much of a Braun fan I was, and told him my story. He’s a really great guy, and even offered to help out if he could. I gave him web address for the blog, and he asked for my phone number, so I obliged.

Back to the game. With one out in the fourth Braun hit an opposite field home run into “The Beach” section in right center. I really didn’t think it was gone when it left the bat just because it’s so deep in that part of the park, but Braun proved me wrong. The Brewers added two more runs in the fourth on an Alex Gonzalez double. Braun batted again in the fifth, this time with one on, and duplicated his result from the fourth. This was a monster shot to the seats in the Western Metal Supply building down the left field line. My uncle said that Uecker claimed it was the hardest Braun had ever hit a baseball. I’m not too sure about that, but it was a missile. Hit Tracker Online claims that the first home run was 419 feet, and the second was 416. I think the first estimate is accurate, but the second? Not so much. The third deck of the building is a good 90 feet above the playing field, and down the line it’s 350 or so. We’ll never know, but I would say 440. I’m not going to argue too much with their estimates, because I’m pretty sure they know what they’re doing most of the time.

Braun stepped to the dish in the seventh and on the first pitch delivered another home run, this run a wall scraper that just barely made it over the left-centerfield fence. A home run is a home run, and Braun now had three. After the third home run I went up to give Braun’s dad a high five, which I did. He then gave me a hug and said I brought good luck, that felt pretty cool to say the least.

I started looking at the outs remaining, and realized the Brewers only needed two base runners to reach (and not get out on the base paths) for Braun to get a chance to tie the MLB record. Fifteen players have hit four home runs in a game, the most recent was Carlos Delgado for the Blue Jays back in 2003. Shawn Green did it against the Brewers at Miller Park back in 2002, and also had a single and a double, going 6-6 with 19 total bases!

The Brewers went in order in the eighth, and they needed two runners two reach in the ninth for Braun to have a chance. Gomez reached after getting hit by a pitch with one out, and I started getting excited. Inexplicably Gomez tried stealing and left on first move, the lefty threw to first, who threw down to second to nab Gomez. I was livid. I joked that Braun was giving him the business in the dugout after that one. The Brewers led 6-3 at the time, so I don’t know what he was doing. Luckily for Gomez (and Brewers fans everywhere) both Rickie Weeks and Nyjer Morgan walked, and the stage was set for Braun. After getting down 0-2 in the count, it wasn’t looking good for Braun. After fouling off a pitch he sent a drive to right on the second 0-2 offering. It fell just short of the warning track and Braun wound up at third with a two-run triple. I got a picture just after he slid into third.

Not quite a four homer game, but three home runs, a triple (for 15 total bases), and 6 RBIs is nothing to shake your head at. Unbelievable.

Dilard came in and retired three of the four batters he faced for an easy ninth inning (compared to yesterday), and the Brewers won. Final Score: Brewers 8 – Padres 3. While walking up the steps I stopped by Joe again and told him to tell Braun “Good Game”. He said thanks and that we’d be in touch. I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the west coast swing, knee problems aside.

One last picture. As we were leaving the park, we saw that the bridge going over Harbor Drive and the trolley tracks was illuminated. You can see that it looks much better after dark (the clouds before the game didn’t do it any favors though):

I did miss one pitch during the game. When the Padres were intentionally walking George Kottaras in the fourth, old habits kicked in. Normally, when I see the first pitch is an intentional ball, and the pitcher is walking a guy on purpose, I let my eyes wander and don’t really pay attention until the next batter is announced. Victoria had the bread bowl left over from her New England Clam Chowder (which was delicious and only $7.50). I was picking off some bread pieces and missed the 1-0 pitch. It’s not *really* important, but I cannot tell a lie.

Ok, I’ve been up for almost 24 hours now, I think it’s time for bed.

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The first thing I did when I woke up was look at the weather. The hourly forecast listed a 60% chance of rain for most of the morning and afternoon. I took a screen shot of the radar, because I thought it was “funny” that there was a general lack of rain clouds in the U.S., except for right where we were.

Victoria and I brought our ponchos, and we left my Aunt and Uncle’s house at 11:15. We were parked by 11:50 and made our way into the stadium. Today’s giveaway was a replica World Series Trophy, which Victoria and I did not want, at all. We were able to sell each trophy for $20 a piece, I found out later I could’ve gotten way more, but I’m fine with a free $20. I also was able to sell one of the hats we got on Saturday for $15.

Twenty dollars of the proceeds went toward lunch. There’s a Food Network hot dog stand where they have different ingredients you can add to a quarter pound hot dog. I added baked beans, corn chips (fritos), and shredded cheddar. I had also asked for the pickled jalapeño relish, but they were all out. The hot dog included chips and cost $11. They could’ve kept the chips and I would’ve paid $9 for the hot dog itself, and it was mighty tasty.

As you can see from the above photo, I had good seats for this game. With taxes and fees they set me back $138.50 a seat. If it wasn’t for the extended protective screen, I would’ve said they were worth it. I hate having to look through a screen, and it prevented me from getting some action shots of the batters. My camera isn’t that great and it has trouble deciding if it should focus on the subject I want it to, or the screen. I can use manual focus, but that is tricky at times as well. I was able to get some decent pictures of things not occurring at the plate. Such as…

Braun getting ready to bat in the first, this was taken when he was in the hole, thus him not being near the on deck circle.

Weeks sliding safely into second base in the first inning on his steal attempt:

Greinke pitching, not sure what inning this was in, because I took pictures of him in multiple innings.

Part of Braun’s bat after a single in the fourth inning. This half helicoptered after he made contact, and embedded itself in the infield grass.

The game was very close, and the Cardinals held a 1-0 lead heading into the top of the sixth. Gomez singled to lead off the frame, then Braun grounded out, with Go Go advancing to second. Ramirez singled to right and Gomez came racing home to tie the game.

Corey Hart singled, Alex Gonzalez grounded out, but with two outs Lucroy came through with a clutch two run double to put the Brewers ahead 3-1. Veras and Loe kept the Cardinals off the board in the seventh, but K-Rod gave up a run in the eighth. I was looking forward to a shut ’em down type of 9th inning from Axford, but with the way the series had gone, I was a little nervous.

Axford walked the leadoff hitter, definitely a no-no for a closer (and for all pitchers, really), and then gave up a single to Beltran. Just like that the Cards had the tying run at third, the go-ahead run at first, and nobody out. I looked at a run expectancy matrix, and at fan graphs after the game, and in retrospect, the situation was looking bleak. With runners on first and third and nobody out the team will score at least one run 86.8% of the time. That is using MLB statistics from 1993 – 2010. From Fan Graphs; in that situation the team batting has a 65.5% chance of winning. I was thinking best case scenario the Crew gives up the tying run but sends the game to extras. I’ll let this picture explain what happened.

Gotch’ya! Axford struck out Freese with a 98 mile per hour fastball, then struck Yadier Molina on a 98 mile per hour fastball. For some reason Beltran had taken off from first, Lucroy threw down to Alex Gonzalez, who started running him back to first. In the meantime Tyler Greene took off for home. Gonzalez ran at Greene, then threw to Lucroy who made the tag to end the game. WHEW!!! That’s what Axford is doing above. Getting out of that jam was awesome, and it helps to have a 98 mph heater in your back pocket if you need it. Final Score: Brewers 3 – Cardinals 2.

Lucroy was the offensive star of the game, and Axford and him were interviewed on the field after the game.

Victoria and I held off on getting the game number picture, because we were going to wait until after the game, when everyone left. I should’ve known, but the Cardinals also do the kids run the bases thing on Sundays, so there were people all over the place. Oh well, I’ll have plenty more chances to get a better, less populated picture.

We had our minds made up that we were going to eat at Pappy’s smokehouse, and we drove the three miles to the restaurant. When we started getting close we could smell the delicious smells that come from a smoker. We got there at about five o’clock, to learn that they close at four on Sundays. Four in the afternoon on a Sunday? Say WHAAAAAAT!?!? It was very disappointing, and I had Victoria drive away as quick as possible, to prevent drool from pooling on the floor of her car.

Victoria had eaten at a nearby pizza place in 2010, and we agreed that it was a (somewhat) suitable alternative. The place is called Pi (as in 3.14), and the pizza was scrumtrulescent. The best part was that it cost us $5. We placed our order, and after 20 minutes our waitress came over and asked what we had ordered, and confirmed that she put in the wrong order. We told her we would still like what we had originally asked for, and it wound up being free. We still gave her a $5 tip, which seemed weird, since she was the one who messed up, but it would’ve felt strange to not pay anything. Our “East Loop” pizza had mozzarella, pesto, hormone free roasted chicken, mushrooms and onions. Perhaps a little too much olive oil, but overall it was amazing.

Our flight is scheduled to take off at 6am, and after a layover in Las Vegas we’re scheduled to land in San Diego at 10:35am. I’m hoping both flights are on time, California here we come!

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Friday started off with a trip to the Gateway Arch, or more technically speaking, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. As I said in my post from yesterday, Victoria’s mom and her friend were stopping in St. Louis on their way back to Wisconsin. I had been up in the Arch years ago, and I don’t really remember any of it. There is a lot of waiting involved, that’s for sure. We got there around 11:30, and we didn’t get to take the four minute ride to the top until 1:30.

There is a lot to look at, and I kept myself occupied. The Museum of Westward Expansion was interesting, which included an exhibit detailing the Lewis and Clark expedition. I learned that William Clark was a robot!

I asked one of the Park Rangers (since it’s a National Park), and she said they had been doing repairs, and hadn’t put his clothes back on yet. Victoria tried convincing me that he was “naked” because they wanted to show people what was under the clothes, as there are a few other animatronic people for other exhibits. The Lewis and Clark exhibit walked you through their journey. There was excerpts of their journals alongside pictures of the types of things they would have seen on their journey. Going clockwise from top left, the four pictures below are:

1) A map that details the route they took to the Pacific Ocean, which began in St. Louis (obviously).

2) The instructions they received from President Jefferson in 1803.

3) They had these excerpts next to the murals, and I’m pretty sure they are the actual words that Meriwether Lewis had written in his journal. They didn’t correct the spelling or grammar, and I’m glad they didn’t. I think it adds to the authenticity, and makes you appreciate your education. I like this one because of the last sentence regarding him and bears.

4) Getting to the Pacific Ocean was the goal of the expedition, and [Spoiler Alert!] they made it. I thought this was a funny picture because of the wet floor sign. It was a really beautiful photograph, and it was extremely realistic. Who knows, maybe water splashes out of it from time to time, either that or some of the staff wanted to give people like me something to chuckle about.

There was also an American Indian Peace Medal exhibit, which was cool, and sad at the same time. I love America just as much as the next guy, but how we went about getting all of the land was a little unfortunate. The three parter below is as follows, starting from the top left and going clockwise:

1) The wall of the exhibit, complete with pictures of American Indians wearing the peace medals.

2) The first presidential peace medal (picturing George Washington, and a Native American). The custom of giving out peace medals was adopted from England. The earlier ones, like this one, were all hand engraved, so each one is unique.

3) The peace medal while Lincoln was president. As you can see, using a press creates much more legible and consistent medals.

Our ticket was for the 12:55 trip to the top, but that just meant you had the honor of waiting in line for another 30 minutes. We finally got to board the tram, I definitely forgot how small they were. With five adults in one capsule, it gets a little crowded. Luckily it’s only four minutes up and three minutes down. The observation windows at the top are a little small, and make it a difficult to get a good view/picture. I guess it makes sense though, as you can’t make them large enough for people to fit out. If they were large enough, people would find a way to open/break them, and possibly plummet to their death (either purposefully or not).

Getting right up to the window gets you a much better view of the city. I must admit it’s pretty cool. With a decent pair of binoculars I could probably enjoy a game from up there.

After taking the tram down, we wanted lunch, but before we left I had Victoria take a picture of me showing off my incredible strength. Don’t ask me how I do it, practice and good form are a good start though.

Victoria and her mom had both been to a nearby Oyster Bar, and suggested we go there for lunch. The place doesn’t wow you from the outside, but it makes up for it with the food. The four parter below is as follows, from top left going clockwise:

1) The exterior of the building.

2) The stage where bands play. Victoria told me that in high school she went down to St. Louis for show choir, and parents went with. The bus driver went to the Oyster Bar, and so did Victoria’s mom, as well as another student’s mom. Apparently the two moms wound up on stage with the band (after maybe too much to drink). The bus driver informed the kids as they got back on the bus, which of course was rather embarrassing.

3) An “encouraging” sign. Notice the writing on the railing in the lower left

4) My lunch; fried shrimp Po’ Boys and spicy cole slaw. Victoria got the Jambalaya, and I wasn’t too impressed.

After lunch Victoria and I took a quick walk up to Busch Stadium to get the game number photo out of the way, since we weren’t sure about the weather.

We still had plenty of time before the game, so we decided to go on the Budweiser Tour. Victoria had been on it back in 2010 when she was driving the Wienermobile, but was fine with going again. The tour was free, and we saw/learned some pretty cool stuff.

The six part picture below shows some of the stuff we saw. Again, starting top left and going clockwise you have.

1) Bruuuuuuuuce! One of the Clydesdales that they have on site.

2) Victoria and myself (I’m on the left), in front of the Budweiser wagon. I wanted to climb up and sit in the coach seat, but that probably would’ve been frowned upon.

3) The lager tanks, our tour guide said they have 375 on site. Combined, they can hold 20 million gallons.

4) The Brew House, with a born on date of 1892.

5) Two eagles perched outside the Brew House.

6) The bottling plant, the tour guide said the plant, operating at full capacity, can bottle 16.5 million 12 ounce servings in a 24 hour period.

As for the game itself; the good news was that the Brewers held a 1-0 lead after the first inning. The bad news is that they gave up ten runs over the next two innings, and lost 13-1. It wasn’t pretty, and today’s game cannot start soon enough, for more than one reason. I’d like to get the shellacking out of my memory as soon as possible, and because there’s rain in the forecast starting at 4pm. The game starts at noon, so hopefully there aren’t any issues. Sunday is looking worse, with a 60% chance of rain.

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