Sunday, August 22, 2010

Minor league trip


It's the annual minor league trip, which means swimming at a motel, then a minor league game. This year, it's Stockton.

Buster doles out the rules of the card game Speed to Dad. He explains a little at a time, and then whenever Dad gets an advantage, suddenly remembers another rule.

Sunshine. A strange and exotic thing for a couple of San Francisco kids to see in July.

Dinner for 21 at the Old Spaghetti Factory. The 21 include Buster, Max, Posie and Daisy.

On to the ballpark.

It's the Stockton Ports vs. The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. The Ports are the Oakland A's Single-A team. Here's shortstop Grant Green, the top prospect on the club, about to have a rough night in the field. The Ports are wearing special Cal-themed uniforms rather than their usual red and blue duds.

Some of the crew: Jill, Mike, Marty.

Jennifer, Kati, Taye.

Lynn, and a little bit of Tony at right.

Jorge, just before he was drawn up into the mothership. With Buster, Oliver and, of course, the kid in the orange shirt.

Funnel cake.

Day 2. After breakfast, a stop at a local park before the drive home for some whiffle ball.

Crack! It's a worm-burner!

Each kid got one souvenir. Buster chose a baseball. Daisy went for a Stockton Ports helmet. It comes with a set of stick-on numbers so you can put your favorite player's number on the back, just like the real helmets. First, Daisy put Buster Posey's number 28 on, but on the ride home she decided to add some other numbers. Here's the work in progress at a bathroom stop somewhere on Interstate 580.

The finished product. Daisy: "It's a math helmet."

7/17-18/10