Oakland A's vs. Detroit Tigers 5-11-12

The front of O.Co Coliseum, home of the Oakland A's

So much to blog and so little time. I am way behind here but I know I will catch up. On Friday, I took the kiddos to the A's game. Growing up in the East Bay I went to many games. When I was about 12 during the Billy Ball era, I started taking BART to games by myself. Well, 30 years later I am still going out there. I am one of the those rare Bay Area people, I root for both the A's and the Giants to do well.

A view from the third deck from behind home plate

I have a love/hate relationship with the O.CO Coliseum. As a kid I loved it. I thought it was the greatest place on earth. It stayed that way as a teen-ager and as I got older I still loved that place. In my senior year of high school (1987), Peter Gammons called it the best stadium in baseball. It was a great place and it had a beautiful view of the East Bay hills. Well, in 1995 the Raiders came back and they built what is called Mt. Al (after Raiders owner Al Davis) as you can see in the outfield (above) and ruined the place. I still think it is great that I am lucky enough to have a Major League Baseball team close by.

O.CO Coliseum before the A's game

Still the place is old and needs to go. With the Raiders return, the sight lines were killed and in the fall the field becomes all torn up with the football lines. But the one of the major problems with the place is that getting around is very difficult in the main concourse section of it. The A's crowds are not that big these days and it is difficult getting around (if you want a beer, food or to buy something), imagine if the A's got the crowds I was used to back in the day.

People trying to make their way around O.Co Coliseum

The good folks of the Coliseum have added a few modern touches for today's fan, there is a pub inside the stadium and they a nice East Club where one can dine in style while watching the game.

Inside The Field, the Irish Bar inside the Coliseum

People dining in the Club

But one thing about the A's, no matter where they are in the standings and no matter how outdated O.CO Coliseum is, there is a hard core group that will always come out to see them. As I said in the beginning I have a love/hate relationship with it. I hate it because the A's owners are horrible and will not do anything to upgrade the place and therefore leaving it outdated, I love it because I love Major League Baseball and feel honored to have a team close by,

Showing the A's colors

Blue Sky Day

I was walking around Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco about a week ago and they had a huge event called Blue Sky Day going on. It was held in the middle of the afternoon. It was to promote a low carbon future and to educate us on how to get us away  from oil and climate change. Here is what my trusty camera picked up:

Trying to get off bottled water and drinking from the tap to save from making  plastic bottles

Waiting to educate us about the stuff we use

Environmental basketball

It is time to do what they say

Lawyers, I guess we need them

They had the best organic juice

The main stage and the new BART trains

Even though, I try to watch what I do in regards to the environment, I learned at this event that there is much I can do to help the earth. I am no hard core environmental activist but there is much more I can do to leave this earth a better place when my time is done than when I was born.

California State Railroad Museum

A Pacific Rail Road Depot sign

 I have always like trains and the history of the railroad. I guess it because I heard that my grandfather on my mom's side worked on trains for something like sixty years. I never got to ask him about his travels because I only saw him twice in my life before he died when I was 11. I guess the seed was planted. I am not into trains like some people I know, but I like them and the history behind it. I guess it is because railroad was huge in the making of California and the West. 

Recently I visited one of my favorite museums-The California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. I like the job they do in telling the story about railroads. Here are some pics that I took:

Central Pacific's First Locomotive

1876 North Pacific Coast "Sonoma Locomotive

1908 Northwestern Pacific No.112 Locomotive

1954 Southern Pacific Diesel Electric Locomotive

A replica of a kitchen on a Santa Fe Dining Car

A Pullman Porters uniform

The front of an 1876 North Coast Railroad "Sonoma"

The inside of a 1950 Great Northern Railway Postal Car

A view of the museum 

A Pre-1890 Seth Thomas Railroad Clock-Santa Fe

An undated Sacramento Southern passenger car

May Day/Occupy Protest

Yesterday I was in San Francisco and ended up in the area of the Montgomery Street BART station (Montgomery and Market streets in Downtown San Francisco). I was there about 1:00pm in the afternoon before a lot of the craziness began. There was at least a thousand or more people out there when I was walking around taking pictures. Here is was I observed in in pics:

San Francisco's finest observing the action

Shades of the 1960's

A little artwork on the street

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Taking a smoke break while protesting

Part of the crowd

Another shot of the crowd

A New Place to Eat

Pappy's on Telegraph in Berkeley 

The inside of Pappy's

After the Cal Softball game, we were going to head to Smart Alex's for a little dinner. Instead we decided to try Pappy's Grill and Sports which is next door to Smart Alex's on Telegraph. It replaced one of my favorites Blakes on Telegraph. One of the first things that I noticed was that it was sparse with tables and there was a lot of room to move around and you did not have that cramped feeling as you get in many places. It seems like that a lot of places try to cram as many people as they can in a place.Pappy's does not which is good, I like the room to move around.

A couple of pool tables at Pappy's

Another about Pappy's I liked was that they had a downstairs area that was a game room. Again it was roomy an allowed someone to move around. It had a couple of dartboards,pool tables and other gaming equipment which is nice to enjoy a big win by Cal in any sport.

A blow-up of a 1964 Cal-Navy program

One that I like is the memorabilia on the wall's. I guess I am pretty big in places that have really cool stuff on the walls. That always interests me. I guess it is just the way I am hardwired-lol. But Pappy's has a lot of cool Cal stuff on the walls.

Some of the old Cal Football clippings on display at Pappy's

In having a lot of cool stuff, I guess that is ok but if the food sucks then you will be out of business really fast.  Pappy's has good food. It is basic stuff: Sandwiches, Burgers, Salads and such, but it is good. Sometimes a limited menu does not work, but in this case it does as they can do the simple things well which makes for an enjoyable meal that tastes good and the beer and soda cold.

A Pappy's double cheeseburger

My Yummy Tri-Tip Sandwich

A Bacon-Cheeseburger and Fries

So if you are Telegraph-Pappy's is worth stopping at.

Cal Softball

So much to blog about. I haven't been blogging because I have been so busy being out and about. I have had so many adventures that I can't keep up-lol. I need to slow down.

Levine-Frickle Field-Home of Cal Softball

On Saturday, The kiddos and I went to Levine-Frickle Field to watch the No.1 ranked Cal softball battle UCLA as you can see by the scoreboard Cal pretty much took care of the Bruins. Levine-Frickle Field is a great place to watch a college softball game from. It is in a picturesque setting with all seats being good. I always have a great time. After the game the players are very accessible and so nice. They actually thank the fans for coming out to the game when you meet them. This coming from the No.1 team in the land. It is just a great time out for the whole family. Here are some photos from day:

The view of the field from behind home plate

Cal's Valerie Arioto after a pitch

From the right field bleachers

From the left-center bleachers

From the left field bleachers

The No.1 player in the nation: Cal's star Valerie Arioto after the game

Cal's great Head Coach Diane Ninemire

Hoping to add another banner this season.