Gardner WebLog

Here we are in San Jose.  A cut above Augusta, GA, this place is definitely a ‘big-league town.’  There are over one million people here–from what we’ve heard, they all come to the San Jose Giants games.  OK maybe not, but the fans are suppsoed to be great.  Nice park, good clubhouse, cool uniforms, great free gear, and interesting weather.

It’s been raining since we got here.  Northern California, for all intents and purposes, has had a month-long monsoon season in March.  People look up at the sky with bewilderment, then say something like “It always dries out at some point, we’re just waiting for it to actually happen.”  Not too much stress out here either.  It’s sunny today, however, and I’m fairly sure we’ll play.

I’m staying with a family in Gilroy, which is about a twenty minute drive south of the stadium.  I have no idea what freeway goes there, but I think last night on the way back we were on US-101 for a short time.  Learning the roads here will take a little while.  Everything is something-80.  580, 880, I think I’ve seen a 280.  Then the 101 and some other roads come through as well.  Who knows.  Anyway, the family is very nice, and their house is huge, with a pool in the back, and my roommate and I have a big room upstairs all to ourselves.  Keeping in mind that these people have a lot to live up to after the summer I spent with the Edisons in Salem, I think it should be a fun time. 

We showed up to the field the other day for the first time and were issued our uniforms (I have number 12 this year, down three from last year’s 15…), lockers, and other gear.  The only major letdown at this point has been my pants.  My pants on the road have a huge hole in the knee (you can see skin), and my home pants could probably fit two people.  I guess the club bought new jerseys instead of pants, because these things look like they’ve been through some serious use!

And so it begins.  We have our first game today, and then it’s pretty much non-stop until September, with a few off-days scattered in between.  It’s going to be fun, boring, grueling, and exciting, all at the same time.  However it is, I’ll write about it right here.