Diamond News - From Brian

Baseball 2007

GAME 1 – April 15th - JACKIE ROBINSON DAY
Stacy and I begin our 2007 Baseball season today with a game between the Mariners and the Texas Rangers on Jackie Robinson Day, an MLB tribute on the 50th anniversary of his breaking the “color barrier”. This game will begin a baseball odyssey of 4 ballparks in 2 weeks (not including a Triple A game in Tacoma).

We enjoy our first game of the season with our first visit to the Hit It Here Café. Besides the mid-April chill in our face, the seats aren’t too bad and the food is a little better then the typical ballpark fare.
Seattle 14 Texas 4

April 17th
As part of our “Spring Training” at work, we enjoy an after-work ballgame at Cheney Stadium between the Tacoma Rainiers and the Fresno Grizzlies in Tacoma, Wa. The best surprise of the game is being able to watch the S. F. Giants rookie phenom, Tim Lincecum who strikes out 10 in 6 innings. Unfortunately, his bullpen is unable to protect his lead and the Grizzlies go down to defeat in the 9th inning.
Tacoma 2 Fresno 1




















GAME 2 – April 24th (Stacy’s Birthday)
On a warm, balmy, 80-degree day, Stacy and I visit the park that started it all – Camden Yards. Built in 1992, it is the ballpark that began the renaissance in stadium design that all ballparks built since have attempted to emulate. Its small, intimate feel and the old, converted warehouse – not to mention its proximity to Baltimore’s Inner-harbor – makes this park one of our favorite parks in the country.
Oakland A’s 4 Baltimore Orioles 2








GAME 3 – April 26th
In contrast to a couple of days ago, the weather is cool and cloudy with a bit of drizzle as we visit Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia. As Stacy digests her first authentic Philly Cheese Steak, we enter the centerfield area known as Ashburn Alley named, of course, after 1950 Rookie of the Year Richie Ashburn. Along with a great timeline of Philadelphia baseball, there are a myriad of concession stands and plenty of room to roam. Again, modeled after Baltimore’s Eutaw Street (right up to the old, overweight, ex-ballplayer cooking ribs) it is fan friendly and a nice place to peruse the field. The park itself, for whatever reason (maybe it’s those blue seats), just doesn’t make our top 5. It’s new; it’s clean but it just doesn’t have that classic feel.
Washington Nationals 4 Philadelphia Phillies 2

GAME 4 – May 1st
I visit, without my partner I’m sad to say, Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wi. This park tends to show up on a lot of Top 5 lists and I can’t imagine, for the life of me, why. Grant it, it has all the bells and whistles of the new modern parks but I was exceptionally disappointed to find that the park is… ENTIRELY ENCLOSED! (Memories of the Kingdome still haunt me) It has all the intimacy of an oversized basketball arena when the roof is closed. It has too many flashing lights and the P.A. echo’s inside the cavernous park. It had to be built for the video game generation or those who suffer from A.D.D because you are constantly bombarded with noise and lights.
For the sake of being fair and balanced, I sat in a great area known as the Club on the Club. For the price of your ticket (around $70), you get an all you can eat buffet, 2 free beers and open seating. It was the best special seating I’ve been in.
Milwaukee Brewers 12 St. Louis Cardinals 2



Brian

EAST COAST SWING - PART ONE

It’s hard to believe that we have been home from our trip to D.C./Delaware (and three other states…I counted Virginia on the way to the airport) for over 2 weeks now. We had a wonderful time catching up with family and Brian enjoyed sharing with me the roots of his youth.

Thanks to Alaska Airlines miles, we flew into Washington D.C. on Saturday, April 21st non-stop from Seattle and arrived just after 9PM. As we were walking to baggage claim, in the distance I saw the United States Capitol Building - an awesome sight illuminated in the distance. We retrieved our rental car (from “Little Richard’s” twin brother) and drove to our hotel room which was situated less than a mile from the White House and the National Mall (an open-area national park, it is the site of gardens, museums, national monuments and memorials). Being on “West Coast Time” afforded us the luxury of a D.C. nightcap, which we enjoyed at the Old Ebbets Grill (the best pineapple upside down cake on the planet).

Day One: Sunday, April 22nd – Our first stop - the White House. Lots of school groups and tourist for an early Sunday morning. We had beautiful sun and temps rising steadily. Brian had been to D.C. before, but I was amazed by all the sights. Surprisingly, I thought the White House was rather small. It was built of white-painted sandstone in the late Georgian style of architecture. The North façade of the White House, seen from Pennsylvania Avenue is where a visiting head of state would enter (through the North Portico) for a formal state dinner or event and is also most recognizable on TV (where the reporters all do their evening news report).

We walked around to get a good look at the south lawn and past the Old Executive Office Building, now officially known as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (and formerly as the State, War, and Navy Building) which is located next to the White House. This National Historic Landmark was built between 1871 and 1888. I took a picture of a bed of bright pink tulips in front of the building. The Executive Office Building continues to house various agencies that compose the Executive Office of the President, such as the Office of the Vice President and the National Security Council.

From the White House we started down the National Mall to the National World War II Memorial which was built to honor all Americans who served in the armed forces and on the home front during World War II. It is located at the eastern end of the Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. It opened to the public on April 29, 2004. Brian and I each posed in front of our “states” and I took quite a few photos of the pools and fountains.

Next we walked to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that honors members of the U. S. armed forces who had died in service or are unaccounted for during the Vietnam War. The Memorial currently consists of three separate parts: the Three Soldier’s statue, the Vietnam Women's Memorial (which we did not see) and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, which is the most recognized part of the memorial. The Memorial Wall was designed by U.S. architect, Maya Lin.

From there it was a short walk to the Lincoln Memorial. The monument is a United States Presidential Memorial built to honor our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. The building is in the form of a Greek temple and contains a large seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two well-known speeches by him. Brian and I read each one with a tear in our eye. The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream”. It was amazing to stand on the steps of the monument and look across the reflecting pool and scroll the historical images in your mind.

The temperature was beginning to increase as we walked the length of the reflecting pool and back towards the World War II memorial. The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is located directly east of the Lincoln Memorial on the west end of the National Mall. The reflecting pool is approximately 2,029 feet long and 167 feet wide. It has a depth of approximately 18 inches on the sides and 30 inches in the center. It holds approximately 6,750,000 gallons of water.

We continued our journey down the National Mall and to the Washington Monument, a large, white-colored spire at the west end of the mall. It was constructed for our first president, George Washington. The monument is among the world's tallest masonry structures, standing 555 feet, 5⅛ inches in height and made of marble, granite and sandstone. The actual construction of the monument began in 1848 but was not completed until 1884, almost 30 years after the architect's death. This hiatus in construction was because of a lack of funds and the intervention of the American Civil War. A difference in shading of the marble, visible approximately 150 feet up clearly delineates the initial construction from its resumption in 1876.

The sun was high in the sky as Brian and I continued down the National Mall to the U.S. Capitol Reflection Pool, located directly west of the U.S. Capitol Building. The U.S. Capitol is the building that serves as the location for the United States Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government and is located on top of Capitol Hill. The building is marked by its central dome above a rotunda and two wings, one for each chamber of Congress: the north wing is the Senate chamber and the south wing is the House of Representatives chamber. Above these chambers are galleries where people can watch the Senate and House of Representatives. Too bad Brian and I didn’t have time for a tour!

Our D.C. tour on foot was complete. Brian and I estimated that we walked at least 5 miles that Sunday morning. I snapped 3 rolls of film and Brian took 2 dozen pictures on our digital camera. We tried to hail a taxi at the Capitol to take us back to the hotel, but managed to make it back on foot by 2PM in time to retrieve the rental car and head north out of the District of Columbia through Maryland to Newark, Delaware - our next stop.

Stace

April 15th 2007 - JACKIE ROBINSON DAY

A long over due post! I am going to hit you with a couple today! These photos were taken on April 15, 2007 at Safeco Field - our first Seattle Mariner's game of the year versus the Texas Rangers. We sat up in the Hit It Here Cafe for the first time and had a great view of the entire field (with no one in front of us). The food was good (check out the chocolate cake). It was a bit chilly until the sun finally hit us, but we had a great time watching the M's cream the rangers.

Stace

NCAA PARTY WEEKEND (A.K.A. good people and bad disco)

Howdy!

We had an awesome party weekend the first full weekend of the tourney. Sweet 16 in place and the first elite 8 entrants won last night. Brian's still in there with Kansas. Sandra's backing the Oregon Fighting Ducks, my Dad's still hot for Florida and I am hanging on with Ohio State (does anyone know how they came back from being down 20 points? AMAZING is what I say).

These pictures are crazy! We watched basketball for 12 hours on Thursday and Friday and on Saturday night we let it all hang out.

Go Ducks!

Stace

NCAA - Let the MADNESS Begin

Howdy!

In just a little more than 12 hours the games will begin! Pop is up from Eugene and we did our picks last night. Here is how it went down:

Pop (in no particular order)

Florida, Butler, Maryland, Winthrop, Kansas, Kentucky, Virginia Tech, Indiana, Mich St., USC, N. Mexico St., Georgetown, Tennessee, Texas A & M, Nevada,

Stacy

Purdue, Oregon, UNLV, Wisc., So. Ill, Duke, Pittsburgh, UCLA, North Carolina, Texas, Wash. St., Boston Coll., Ohio State, Xavier, Virginia, Louisville

The first games start at 9:15 tomorrow. Pop is making a big pot of bisquits and gravy! YUMMO!

Stace

HAPPY FRIDAY, PART 2

Website of the day!

Is anyone interested in doing this? This looks really scary to me! Cool video on the website on how they made it. Enjoy! Stace

www.grandcanyonskywalk.com/home.html

HAPPY FRIDAY

Here is a really neat quiz! www.ironicsans.com/state22.html

How many states can you name in the next 10 minutes? It's harder than you think! I'll be honest, I had 7 missing states. UGH! I thought it would be easier. Give it a shot!

Stacy

MORE Olympia Pictures

SATURDAY IN OLYMPIA,WA

Brian and I had a wonderful time exploring Olympia, Washington on Saturday. It was the first time I had ever been to downtown Olympia or explored the waterfront area and I found it to be a very unique and artsy little city.
We started off having a look around the legislative buildings on the state capitol campus. The Legislative Building is the crowning piece of the Washington State Capitol Campus and is home to the Washington State Legislature and the offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, and State Treasurer.
Completed in 1928, it boasts one of the tallest free standing masonry domes in the world and houses the largest chandelier ever made by the Tiffany Lighting Company! Brian and I didn’t take the organized tour, but we were amazed that they let us go ahead and wander freely all over the building.
Brian and I took a couple of pictures on the steps of the capitol. There are 42 steps that ascend the main entrance, which represent the 42 states that were in the union when the State of Washington became a state on November 11, 1889. The building is comprised of more than 173 million pounds of stone, brick, concrete, and steel.
The fourth tallest masonry dome in the world, rising 287 feet high, tops this magnificent edifice (it is only surpassed by St. Peter’s Cathedral, Rome, St. Paul’s Cathedral, London and St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Russia) The Legislative Building was a remarkable achievement founded in the era of "American Renaissance," and still stands as a symbol of American ideals and architectural grandeur.
We also walked around the campus which is home to many veterans’ memorials including the Winged Victory, Vietnam Veterans, WW II, and Korean War monuments.
After we left the capitol we strolled along the Percival Landing Waterfront Park, named after the old commercial steamship wharf, a well-known maritime landmark in the Pacific Northwest owned by the Percival family. Brian took me to lunch (steamer clams) at Anthony’s and we enjoyed watching all of the boats heading out for an afternoon sail.
We then drove to Priest Point Park and had a quick look around and realized it will be a great place to explore this summer. Instead of turning around and heading back to Tacoma, Brian and I continued up the road to Boston Harbor, Washington, a quaint little waterfront town with a small marina and picturesque views of the Puget sound. This summer we will definitely be going back for a dockside picnic and maybe a try at kayaking.
What a nice weekend! Stace

FIELD OF DREAMS

Brian and I went to Safeco Field on Saturday for the annual Mariners Fanfest. It's a great opportunity for fans to get a behind the scenes look at the M's before the season begins. I think it just made Brian and I more excited for Spring Training to begin (Pitchers and Catchers report on Feb 12-13). We got to walk right out on the basepaths and put our foot on first base just like Richie Sexon (I am taking a lead at second base). We also got to sit inside the visitors dugout and take a tour of the M's clubhouse and weight room. As part of the "Select-a-Seat" weekend, fans also got to walk around the stadium and "try-out" seat locations for all ticket packages, which is a great idea! Go M's!

Stace

OAKLAND

Brian and I had a WONDERFUL time in the Bay Area over the weekend as guests of his Brother, Ken, Sister-in-law, Amy and Nieces, Alex (15) and Carrie (11). Thank you all for your generous hospitality!

We finally arrived around 11PM on Friday night having given up our seats on Alaska Airlines to buy new seats on Southwest Airlines avoiding arriving after 1AM (if at all). Our weather couldn't have been better! Tons of sun and temps in the mid-50's (however freezing at night), which we thought was just perfect given lows of between 15-25F in Tacoma and Portland this past week!

Saturday, Brian and I drove over the Bay Bridge into San Francisco, parked along the Embarcadero and walked along the waterfront to Fisherman's Wharf enjoying the beautiful views of the SF Bay and Alcatraz. In the early afternoon we drove south into Redwood City to the Savvy Cellar Wine Shop and Bar www.savvycellar.com owned by our friend, Jenny. Brian and I enjoyed catching up with her and experiencing some wonderful wines. Saturday night we headed back to Alameda (where Ken, Amy and the girls live) and had a very nice dinner at Cafe Enrico.

Sunday was our adventure into the wine country of Sonoma County. Brian and I enjoyed the wines of Ravenswood (http://www.ravenswood-wine.com/, Arrowood (http://www.arrowoodwinery.com/, Kenwood (http://www.kenwoodvineyards.com/, Chateau St. Jean (www.chateaustjean.com/stjean/home.jsp) and Blackstone wineries (http://www.blackstonewinery.com/. Each winery had something unique to offer our palate's and I came home with three bottles of wine which I look forward to enjoying (take a look at each website for information on each winery along with vineyard pics). Sunday night, Ken and Amy treated us to a wonderful dinner at Horatio's in San Leandro(www.r-u-i.com/hor), a great seafood restaurant with views of the San Leandro Marina. Brian and I had a wonderful appetizer of mussels in tomato and basil broth and my entree of almond and asiago crusted sea scallops was delicious! It was really nice to have dinner with the whole family.

All too soon, our journey to the bay was over. Brian and I flew back on MLK day and Brian immediately drove north to Tacoma. Both of us are so thankful to have arrived they day before the next winter storm, which arrived about 5AM Tuesday morning! We both look forward to our next trip to the Bay area!

Stace

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Look what we woke up to this morning!!!!! It started snowing at 5AM and it's been officially declared a SNOW DAY in the Portland area. No school and no work (unless my boss comes and gets me).
Brian had an additional 2-3 inches in Tacoma, but drove into the office for at least part of the day. We are both so grateful that this latest winter storm didn't hit 24 hours earlier when we were flying home for the bay area.
Stace