I was fortunate enough to get Monday off to observe the Easter holiday. One of the little benefits of working for a Christian non-profit. The downside is that my paycheck is no profit.

As soon as i found out I had a free day Monday, I got some tickets to the Giants home opener. Standing room only was good enough for me. Pat and I stood behind home plate looking down the 3rd base line for the 1st four innings and Barry's first 2 at-bats. (We were also about 100 feet behind The Great One, Wayne Gretzky.) When it got too cold in the shade, we decided to make our way around to the sunny arcade area in right field and get in position to catch the 660th homerun of Barry Bonds' career.

The plan was for Pat to dive and knock down the row of people in front of me so I would have a clear shot to catch the ball. However, Bonds drove the completely out of the park into McCovey Cove. It flew by about 10 feet away where I was standing. I tried to run over closer, but all I got was a couple of beers spilled on me. (That makes 2 of Bonds' historic homers that have come within 15 feet of me. Number 71 was the other one.)

After the game, Danny and I went out to have dinner with Andy and Pam at McCovey's restuarant in Walnut Creek. That place is amazing. There were enough autographs, jerseys, trophys, photos, and baseball memoribilia to make a baseball fan like me drool. Good thing they have napkins there.