Giants game at AT&T park

The weather on Sunday morning was gorgeous - sunny with not a cloud in the sky. We started the day by walking from our hotel all the way down Market Street to the Ferry Building.

In the early 1900's, the Ferry Building was the transportation hub of San Francisco. The building housed a train station and also served as a major connecting point for transportation by ferry across the bay. Once the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridges opened later in the century, however, transportation in the city focused more on automobiles and the Ferry Building became less important. Almost 15 years ago, the building was renovated and it currently houses a marketplace.

There were about 30 or 40 market stalls inside. Most were focused on either food or other home goods. I loved walking around the Ferry Building, for its unique atmosphere and cool vibe. We didn't visit this area much when I was a kid traveling to San Francisco, so this all felt so new and fresh. Scott and I enjoyed delicious empanadas for breakfast, which I believe was the best breakfast I ate on this vacation.

After we were finished exploring the Ferry Building and the surrounding area, we walked south along the Embarcadero. Again, I don't remember that we visited this area much on the trips I took to San Francisco when I was younger, so it felt like we were seeing a whole new side to the city. The architecture and art along the Embarcadero was beautiful. It was especially enjoyable on this gorgeous day. 

Lots of people were out and about on the Embarcadero. Like us, most were headed to AT&T Park for the San Francisco Giants 1:00pm baseball game against the Miami Marlins.

We arrived at the stadium about an hour before the game started so we decided to explore the park. We started just behind home plate and then walked counter-clockwise around the perimeter. Looking to the large scoreboard behind centerfield, notice the large Coca-cola bottle on the left. There were several kid's slides inside the bottle. John tried the slides later during a break from the game.

This is the view from the first base line. There are a few things to note about the photo below. First, there is a large ferry approaching the end of the pier. The ferry was full of Giants fans that were traveling from across the bay to attend the game. That must be such a fun way to travel to the ballpark! Second, notice the orange and yellow kayaks in the water. These men stayed there for the whole game, hoping to catch a ball hit out of the park. There were more kayaks positioned father back near where the ferry is approaching the pier.

This is the marina entrance to the ballpark. Look at all the boats docked in the marina!

This photo of the Bay Bridge was taken behind the third base line.

This is the view from our seats. Scott purposefully selected tickets on the third base side so that we would have a view of McCovey Cove. The view around the park was wonderful.

It was a magnificent day for a baseball game. While the sun was unexpectedly hot (the conditions were so much different in our seats in the sun than in the city where it was sometimes chilly), we all enjoyed the experience. The atmosphere in the park was exciting and entertaining. Scott concluded that this may be his favorite ball park ever, and the rest of the family agreed that the park provided an amazing experience.  

We stayed in the ball park until the 10th inning, when the score was still tied 7-7. Unfortunately, the Giants couldn't keep up with the Marlins and they lost the game 10-8.