TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME!

Most of you know I am a total sports nut & thoroughly enjoy all types of sports. The clichés about frustrated women upset with their husbands or boyfriends for camping out in front of the TV all weekend could easily be reversed with me.

Being a full time, stay-at-home mom was my passion in life! BUT, if I had chosen to pursue a high profile career, I would have attempted to be a sports announcer…..or a sports writer……or a sports photographer!

When we attended the Giants versus Arizona Diamondbacks game a couple days ago, I took my camera to AT&T Park with the intention of capturing some action shots of my favorite players. I had a ball (pun intended)! It was a beautiful day & unfortunately we lost in extra innings, but nevertheless I had a great time snapping about 90 photos of our World Champion Giants & their gorgeous ball park.

My Canon Power Shot camera with its 35x zoom did a pretty good job of catching some fun shots from our third deck seats behind home plate.

We've visited quite a few baseball parks now & AT&T Park is arguably the best view!

The 2012 World Championship flag flies over centerfield - our second championship in three years!

Players & coaches are ready for the first pitch.



Pablo "Panda" Sandoval prepares to take a swing - you can see the ball on its way.



Brandon Belt is poised to make a play with a runner on first.

Belt taking a cut in the batter's box.

A pensive fan (AKA Lou) intently watching the game.

It's not peanuts & cracker jacks but the cotton candy vendor's wares were colorful.

Kayakers in McCovey Cove wait for a rare "splash hit" homerun to snatch out of the bay.



I worked all day to finally get this shot of Gregor Blanco diving back into first base.



The infielders - Pablo Sandoval, Marco Scutaro, Brandon Crawford & Brandon Belt - watch relief pitcher Sergio Romo warm up.

Left-handed pitcher Javier Lopez has a distinct delivery when he pitches. I like that you can see the ball & its shadow in this picture.

GLASS HOUSE & FOREST HOME FARMS

Less than three miles from my father's home in San Ramon is a restored Victorian, the David & Eliza Glass House, which is open for tours the second Saturday of each month. It is part of Forest Home Farms which is run by the City of San Ramon. Lou & I took the tour this past Saturday.


The exterior of the David & Eliza Glass House.

Here is the website history of the home: In 1877, David Glass, who was prosperous but never wealthy, opted to build a home with an imposing exterior design. The style of architecture was Italianate, a sophisticated new fashion that had been introduced in the Bay Area during the mid-1860's by architects who migrated to San Francisco from the East Coast. An impressive two story, nine room structure, prominently situated in San Ramon between Dublin and Walnut Creek, the Glass house would have stood in proud contrast with the modest homes of most of its neighbors in the small, rural community that existed in the San Ramon of the 1870's.

The formal parlor where the Glass family met their guests.

 

The dining room where the family of nine had their meals.

 

They have done a wonderful job restoring the home & furnishing the interior.

 

Many of the artifacts are not original to the home but are authentic to the era.

  

Forest Home Farms has several small museums, a garden & live farm animals as well as the Travis & Ruth Boone House along with the Glass House which was moved to the current location from 1000 feet down the road.

The Boone House which had been divided into apartments is now office & meeting space.

Some of the beautiful wisteria in bloom on the Boone House arbor.



This was a working farm that butchered its own meat in the smokehouse.



I was impressed with the number of artifacts acquired by the farm.

I liked this display with the old Coca-Cola bottles.

A barn dating back to the 1800s.

PRESTON CASTLE

Near the gold rush town of Ione, about 30 miles from Sacramento, is a long ago abandoned building known as Preston Castle. The castle, part of a reform school for boys built in 1894, has been slated for demolition several times but always managed to escape the wrecking ball. The once beautiful building is in dire need of a major restoration. 

A volunteer organization gives tours for a few hours on the 1st & 3rd Saturdays of the month. Lou & I made the short one hour drive this morning to explore the castle. It is said to be haunted & ghost hunters have filmed TV shows there. An overnight paranormal tour is also offered.

Preston Castle is an imposing structure that dominates the surrounding skyline.

Just a few of the rooms have been somewhat restored so far. Most of the building is in terrible condition. I can hardly imagine what a daunting job it will be to get the castle back to any semblance of its former self.

The staff dining room.

The infirmary where surgeries were even performed - yikes!

A staff apartment - they could choose either a fireplace or a toilet. Most chose the fireplace since it was freezing in winter & the toilet was just down the hall.

Most of the rooms are in this condition.

A large basement room where fund raising events are held.

I liked this rather unique use for a kitchen fork.

The fire escape - a spiral slide is in this cylinder & was accessible from the rooms to escape.

Some famous "residents" of the reform school include actors Rory Calhoun & Eddie Anderson (Rochester on the Jack Benny Show), tennis pro Pancho Gonzalez & country singer Merle Haggard, who said he will never set foot in Preston Castle again. It was a horrible existence for most of the wards as they were called.

After our tour we wandered around the small towns of Ione, Sutter Creek & Amador City. It seems that each of these small towns have several antique stores along with restaurants & the obligatory old hotel.

Downtown Ione, California.

The main street of Sutter Creek.

The Imperial Hotel in Amador City.

The overcast skies finally started to break up on our drive back home. Springtime is beautiful in the foothills with the green grass & trees getting their leaves. We had to pull off the road a few times to capture the gorgeous scenery on film.