Our weekend hasn’t all been the glamour and excitement of steam-cleaning the carpets, although I did do the stairs today. No, instead last night we shlepped our way up to the city to go to AT&T Park (home of the Giants) for the Genentech holiday party, Genentech being Debbi’s employer.
We ended up leaving about 45 minutes later than usual, but we still got to the park 35 minutes early, which was even early enough to park at the optimal parking lot. We met up with a couple of Debbi’s friends, and in fact we were the first ones in line to get into the park.
It was a pretty neat party: They’d set up an ice-skating rink and a little sledding hill on the field, along with a large dance floor. They had caricature artists and photo stations around, lots of food, and beyond the outfield bleachers some fire pits set up to making s’mores.
(Click for larger image)
We indulged in several of these activities – with no lines since we’d gotten there so early – and especially enjoyed making s’mores. We also had a snowball fight when we got down to the field near the sledding hill. Plus, I got to enjoy some parts of the park that are usually covered in kids and have long lines when I go to a ballgame there. The cable car, for instance:
Around 9:30 there were fireworks!
I also astonished Debbi (and a myself a little, too) by running into someone I knew at the party – a woman who used to come to my book discussion group. Seems I know a lot of people out in this little Bay Area place!
This was a novel event, making good use of the park’s space for something pretty neat in the temperate climate. I was a little disappointed in the food, which often seemed on the cold side, but otherwise it was a fun time. And a lot less crowded than I’d expected – although some lines got long, there was plenty of elbow room and even places to sit.
And Debbi was happy because she got to hang out with friends, and see snow and fireworks. It helped make up for not going to Disneyland for Christmas this year.