Go ahead, call us crazy, reckless parents. Yes, we lugged our 15-month old toddler downtown to party with 1.5 MILLION of our good friends at the Giants' victory parade yesterday.
I know, that defies all common sense of being a responsible parent. Loud scary crowds? The danger of being trampled? The risk of losing your child? Yes, we've considered them all, in fact, I did get separated from hubby and Eva for almost an hour, it was kinda scary and unnerving at the time (and how we got separated is another whole blog post- perhaps one entry from each parent). But how can you resist?
The Giants winning it all is truly a historic moment. It was over 50 years ago that we won the last World Series, and if history predicts the future, I may not see another one in my life time (especially if I keep polishing off those leftover Halloween candies...)
Plus, it was hubby's birthday (happy 21st, hon!), and coming from the man who's a lifelong, die-hard Giants fan, who schlepped a 9-month-old by himself to a spring training game in Scottsdale back in April (I was in a meeting in Phoenix), this is the holy grail of holy grail, the day he'd kiss the ground any Giant walked on (I don' doubt that).
And I guess I've always wondered what it really looks like being rained on by confetti (it was beautiful, by the way, and of course I took home a few pieces for keepsake).
Eva, on the other hand, had no comprehension of why we were there. I just hope that some day she'll find these pictures meaningful/ amusing in some way.
Just look at this crowd- this was taken at Montgomery and Market, where the crowds completely jam up every inch of asphalt, spilling into stores, onto scaffolding and even traffic lights. And where this was taken was considered a "front-row" seat; for every person you see here in front of us there are probably another 10 behind us.
In the end, it was a blur of sights of the back of people's heads, random folks waving from floats, deafening cheers and chants, smells of Prop 19, excitement mixed with panic (while looking for husband and child) all rolled into one... but the electrical energy, the pride and the sense of the entire city as one, it was one heck of an experience I'll never forget.
And while we're on baseball theme, I have to post these pictures from Eva and Bryson's first baseball game together this past August at the Giants' Dogs Day of Summer. This is the one day you can bring your dog to parade on the field and watch the game with you. We did it a few years ago with just Bryson, remember?
This year things were a bit more "interesting" with an Addison dog and a restless baby (we triple-dosed Bryson's steroid)...
Yes, that's a real cable car parked at the ball park you can climb on for photos. You can also watch the game from there. How cool is that?
I can't believe it took me 2+ months to post these pix (which actually has been on my flickr album for a while now).
And you know what else was unbelievable? Right after this game, the then 13-month old Eva shocked us by finally achieving independent bipedal locomotion that same afternoon. I tell you, there is magic in the air with these Giants.
