A Winning Combination

On Monday, August 6th, we had the pleasure of meeting up with friends at the Phil’s BBQ tailgate and San Diego Padres baseball game.  We did it for the first time last year.  For $25, you get a fabulous BBQ dinner from Phil’s BBQ, and a ticket to the Padres game. And the whole proceeds go to Big Brother / Big Sisters of San Diego County.  This year it was Padres vs. Cubs.

Todd had taken the day off work because he had just gotten back from Denver.  I left work a little bit early and we headed down to Petco Park.  We always park at the parking garage next to the Hilton, because they you are just a bridge walkway away from the stadium.  Super convenient!


Petco Park!  This was newly built in 2004.


Getting down there was easy, with no traffic, even on a weekday at 5. Parking was easy, and getting into the Phil’s BBQ tailgate was super-easy, with no lines!  We got our food in a jiffy and found seats at a table.


Someone loves Phil’s BBQ… and Coke.


Each person also got a cup of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, with a choice of Cherry Garcia or Cookie Dough.  Cherry Garcia is my all time B&J’s favorite!


We found Cassi & Dan in the tailgate, but they had gone ahead of us into the stadium.  Here are Gilbert, Anne, Todd, me, and Victoria.  Victoria’s friend Greg took the photo for us.


Inside the stadium, from our seats, with the sun going down.  I love the feeling of being inside a baseball stadium. Have loved it ever since I fell in love with baseball when I was 16 years old.  I went to many Oakland A’s and SF Giants games as a teenager.




We had specified group tickets, so we found Cassi & Dan at our seating section.


Play ball!


Pretty soon it was night time.  Love the lights from the nearby buildings downtown.


Randy and Rena showed up as well.  It was so fun to chat with everyone and catch up, and enjoy an unusually warm night in San Diego, watching baseball.  What’s more American than BBQ, ice cream, and baseball? 

After the game we walked back across the sky bridge, now lit up in the dark.


One last view of Petco Park at night.  That was one spectacular summer night with good friends, good food, and the Padres beat the Cubs 2-0.