Root, root, root for the visiting team...

For the last few years, we've been sure to buy a couple of tickets to a Padres game while we're down in San Diego. Daddy has always taken Smunch to Petco Park for the game while I stayed with Mam, Aunt Karen and SPENCER! This year was special. First of all, I got to go, while Mam stayed with Aunt Karen. Second, however, I got to go wearing this:because for the first time in the history of our visits to San Diego, the Giants were in town. We caught the last game of their four-game series with the Padres.

I admit it felt a little weird to be wearing the orange and black in a foreign stadium...although I'll add that I think Petco is a beautiful stadium. Maybe not as picturesque as AT&T from the outside, but just awesome in the corridors (which are open to the air and draped in vines) and in the park itself...but I was far, FAR from alone. Not only were Smunch and Daddy there, but I'm pretty sure there were at least 10,000 other people dressed similarly. It was a little hard to tell just who the home team was!Matt Cain pitched a great game and the score was tied at 3-3 at the end of the ninth inning. I texted Aunt Karen to let her know we'd be a bit late for dinner. Predictably, Smunch didn't mind the extra baseball time.Finally, in the 11th, the Giants' newest catcher, Chris Stewart, squared up for the perfect suicide squeeze bunt, scoring the runner from third and ensuring that we got to see this guy...Yep, that's Brian "The Beard" Wilson. And in typical fashion, he made the last inning torturous. But it was over. The Giants won and the three of us...and our new 10,000 closest friends, went home happy.

Daddy and Smunch went to visit the USS Midway museum for the third time the next day while Aunt Karen and I hung out waiting for Lucas to nap and finally made it to the poolin time for Daddy and Gavinto join us. And that? That was it. A yummy breakfast, some fond farewells and off we went...home again, just in time for Aunt Karen, SPENCER! and LUCAS! to come visit us!

So close, and yet...

Continuing our theme of falling short of our goals, Daddy took Smunch to the San Francisco Giants FanFest yesterday. We did NOT play this up at all...because I sent them off with my fingers crossed that it wouldn't be too much of a disappointment. Because, Smunch's idol, Tim Lincecum was going to be there. And I already knew that the chances of meeting Timmy were going to be slim. But I was hopeful...'cause who doesn't want their little boy to meet his baseball idol in real life?

I didn't go, even though I would have liked to. But I had a birthday lunch and massage scheduled. I might've put it off if I didn't know that my birthday partier in crime was desperate for some pampering. And I wasn't feeling great, so I figured some pampering wouldn't hurt me either. So...I'm writing a blog post about stuff I didn't even see. Descriptions and photographs provided by Daddy.

The photo at the top was the scene at 9:40am or so from where Daddy and Smunch waited in line to get into the park. Everybody there no doubt wanted to see Tim Lincecum. They all wanted his autograph. They all wanted his photo. Daddy estimated there were 15-20,000 people there. Sounds about right.

Fortunately, there were other cool things to do, like walk around out on the field, that totally capture an almost-7-year-old's imagination.Then Smunch and Daddy went over to the kids' area where only kids could get autographs. This was a calculated play on Daddy's part, knowing that Lincecum really likes kids and might start off in the kid area. Once they were in the autograph line, they couldn't see who they'd be able to meet at the end. There was a sign with a list, but they couldn't see it until they were almost in. Turns out, Tim Lincecum was right there on the bottom of the sign. He was right there...until about 5 minutes before Smunch's turn at the autograph table.

This just kills me because I've actively fostered Smunch's love of this guy and because I knew it would be something he'd always remember if he got to meet his baseball idol. But in the end, I wonder if it's not better that he didn't.

Smunch ended up having the guys at the table autograph his Giants jersey...which is cool, but when I think how much we spent on that jersey, I'm not sure it's that cool. I mean, a Tim Lincecum autograph would have been worthy of never wearing the jersey again, but instead, he got autographs from the first base coach and a hitting coach (neither or whom ever played for the Giants, although the hitting coach was Carney Lansford, who I used to watch playing 3rd base for the As), he has one from Pat Misch, a relief pitcher I'd never heard of...sorry, Pat!
and the highlight was an autograph from Fred Lewis, one of the Giants' starting outfielders, who looks pretty mean in his official team photo, but turns out to be a super nice guy.


Still, it kind of would have been a bummer to have Tim Lincecum's autograph on a jersey with a bunch of random people who may or may not play for the Giants. It really needs to have an item all of its own. Next year, we'll buy a baseball and hope for better luck.

Smunch didn't whine or cry when Timmy's name came off the autograph list while they were standing in line...unlike some of the other kids there. I think somehow he was prepared for that disappointment (unlike the Pinewood Derby loss).

And after he was finished with the autograph line, it turned out that inside the "Kids Zone", up on the stage there was the man. The Franchise. The Freak. Timmy in all his 24-year-old, skater-esque glory, live in the flesh taking questions from his fans up on stage. At least he got to see Tim Lincecum from about five feet away. There's something to be said for that.

When I got back, all nice and relaxed from my massage and a nice lunch with my friend, Smunch didn't really have a whole lot to say about FanFest. I think I was more disappointed for him than he was for himself. He says he's going again next year. When I asked if he was so excited about it that he couldn't wait, he said, "Yeah." Hmm. Guess we'll see how he feels about his favorite players next year!

The laws of physics and unleashing a hitchhiker

Guess where we went today? Give up already? Yeah. I know. So many people in the world recognize this photo that it's almost ridiculous to ask, huh?

Last month, Daddy and I felt compelled to go to one of Smunch's school fundraisers...the school auction. We didn't "win" much. (Do you really win at auctions?), but we did come home with a pair of tickets to the Exploratorium in San Francisco. Despite the fact that it was cold and windy here, we decided to go today. 'Cause face it. Is it going to be nicer in The City? No.

I haven't been to the Exploratorium since I was a kid, but I kinda know the jist of the place. It's largely about the wonders of physics. See? Here's Smunch catching sparks with his bare hand.And this? This is Mam getting to understand the physics of acoustics, the science of musical composition and possibly the meaning of "cacophony".Oooh! And this. Here they are learning how to generate electricity with their grubby little hands. I wonder if I could just put together a giant hamster wheel. Who needs solar? And here, Mam discovers that there must be something that makes a rainbow. Maybe. Or maybe she thinks she's mysteriously turned into a rainbow herself. Not sure.I majored in genetics and then journalism. Tell you anything? The truth is, I took a year of physics in college. I appreciate the everyday practicality of physics...that there's friction to ensure I can walk, there's potential energy when I'm sitting like a couch potato, or standing, say, on the Golden Gate Bridge. I like that there are rainbows. I like that I can hear my kids when they're strangling each other. Yes. I like physics. But the sad fact is...I don't care how it all works. I just need it to work, O.K.?

So...let's see. We're going to a place where I'm going to be somewhat bored (although Daddy and the kids were very happy, particularly Mam, surprisingly). And, I've got this new hobby that I've claimed one can do ANYWHERE. I'm not even gonna say the word because I know what you're thinking. I'm at this great museum and I'm going to abandon my family to hunt for rubber stamps? And lady, are you crazy? You're in a friggin' museum! Do you really think there's a letterbox in there?? Hell, yeah! And there isn't just one of them either.

Unfortunately, the museum updates its exhibits with some regularity and the boxes were hidden almost three years ago. The clues were impossible to follow...they involved counting items in pictures that were no longer on the wall and things like that. But, you know what? I found them anyway...even the one that had had a wall constructed around it! That and the tiny little life sciences exhibit totally made my day. Well, this was kinda cool too. In this photo, Mam and I were sitting in a similar structure to the one pictured, talking to Daddy and Smunch from across the cavernous museum, in just a regular talking voice. Cool.This would come in handy if it worked in my house, I think.

And, here's a shocker for you...although it came as no surprise at all to me. Mam and Smunch can whip up a tornado all by themselves. It's abundantly obvious that this happens daily in the back of my house, but this is the first time its been caught on film.When we were finally done with the museum, Smunch really, really, really wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge. Well...what he really wanted to do was drive across it, but that seemed a little ridiculous since we had nowhere to go over there and there's a $5 toll. So, we went to a park by the beach. And it was WINDY! I've never seen so many windsurfers in one place in my life.The kids didn't really seem to care about the wind except that Mam was wearing a dress and kept complaining that something was hurting her legs. Judging by the sand flying around, it was hardly surprising. They still made a great show of running around on the beach. Although Mam finally conceded that she was too cold.Smunch still wanted to go across the bridge. So, in my addict-like manipulative way, I told him that we'd drive across the bridge if he'd let me find just one more letterbox. Because, of course, I'd brought clues to a few more. I was satisfied with just one though...especially when we were faced with just what this one was going to entail. Not a long hike, but...Well, it is San Francisco, after all. There were about 250 stairs like this, literally. Surprisingly, the kids did really, really well. I didn't hear a single whine. My own calves hadn't quite forgiven me for the Pacifica trip, so they'll doubtlessly punish me tomorrow. It was a clear day and the fog was out, so the views from the stairs were fantastic.Another place I never would have gone without my insane new hobby. We got to walk right through Dianne Feinstein's front yard too!

It turned out this box was a little more roomy...and more accessible than the ones at the Exploratorium. It also so happens that I recently carved a little hitchhiker stamp for myself. So today, I launched our first hitchhiker out into the world. Happy trails, little pinwheel stamp!And that should certainly be the closing line of this post. Goodness knows it's long enough, but I wanted to make sure you knew I made good on my promise. After descending all those stairs, we packed ourselves back in the mommymobile for a trip across the bridge...and you know what? It was worth every bit of that $5.