This weekend over at Petco Park they started gearing up for the opening of the 2015 baseball season. The Padres held their annual Fan Fest and we attended so the kids (and Jake) could get a few autographs from the players.
It was a very early morning start on Saturday. We got the stadium about 7:45AM. We had one member ticket and were hoping they would let us in at the 8AM time slot but sadly that wasn’t the case. I let Jake go in early while I waited outside in the 9AM line with the boys. They were playing “Ninja” while waiting. What are the rules of Ninja, you might ask? I have no idea. It seemed like they took turns making ninja moves at each other. At least they were able to entertain themselves for an hour.
Once you got into the Fan Fest you could get a voucher for an autograph. Each one was for a different time slot and section. They didn’t announce what players would be at which spots like they did last year so it was just a guessing game.
On another note, doesn’t the guy blurred out on the left side of my photo look like the old guy from Jurassic Park??
Oh yeah he does!
The first players we saw were Carlos Quentin and Wil Nieves. I totally got yelled at for taking this photo so naturally I must post it. Actually, it was more like I got screeched at as the lady yelled “NOOOOOOOO PHOTOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSS!” at me. I was like… geez, okay. Chill out. She probably thought I was going to try and take a photo with the players, but I wasn’t, I just wanted a photo of them. At other autograph sessions they were totally okay with people taking photos so I guess everyone got different memos.
I didn’t realize you could get both players to sign whatever you had (it was one item, not one autograph) so T and I just said hi to Quentin while we waited for Wil Nieves to be free. Quentin looked pretty sad that we didn’t want his autograph (we already got it last year). Sorry, Quentin. Didn’t mean to burn you like that.
Here’s a shot of the shiny new scoreboard they that installed during the off season. It’s now the largest scoreboard in the National League and looks like the biggest HD TV I’ve ever seen. Pretty sweet!
Here’s how daunting the scoreboard looks from when you’re standing underneath it.
We also had our first Tri-Tip Nachos of the season. The chips didn’t taste super fresh to me but otherwise the toppings were all tasty and good. I’m sure we’ll have this a few more times this season.
Okay, the boys don’t all look thrilled here but we basically had just spent the morning doing what I called “Disneyland for Autographs” aka stood in a bunch of lines for the small thrill of an autograph.
We did go to Lolita’s right across the street afterwards for belly cravings which did elicit a few smiles since the four of us were totally famished. Jake and the boys shared this plate of Adobada Chips (the guacamole was served on the side so I could eat it). The boys devoured this fairly quickly but I prefer my plain chips with guacamole and hot sauce rather than the big pile o’ meat.
Jake and the boys also had a 2-in-1 burrito. Have you ever tried this before? It’s a little insane. It has carne asada and cheese (and usually guacamole) plus two rolled taco are stuffed inside! You get a mild crunch from the rolled tacos with the shredded beef and then the chunks of carne asada as well. It’s a totally weird texture and mouth feel. I had a bite but I thought it was really dry without the guacamole in it. I prefer my rolled tacos to be on the outside of my burritos, thank you.
We’re looking forward to a new season of the Padres this year! We have season tickets, too, so expect some more ballpark posts from me.
Don’t forget to catch the newest Firehouse Subs locations in Petco Park.
Thanks for the heads up, Charlie! We did notice the new spot when we were at Petco yesterday. 🙂
Seems nobody wants Quentin. He just got traded to the Braves yesterday then got promptly sent down to the minors. I got there at 2pm for the Diablos game. By then all the morning crowds were gone. Stadium was about 1/4 full. They weren’t really checking tickets so we sat anywhere we wanted.
Hi Junichi – Jake told me that this morning, so it seemed a bit ironic! Poor Quentin. We left before the Diablos game even started.
Great choice of Jersey for S – Long live the great Tony Gwynn.
The two rolled tacos in a burrito just seems…wrong.
Loved your shot of the gigantic screen in Petco! That’s amazing!
Hi CC – Those jerseys were from a throwback jersey giveaway last year. Jake worked hard to switch out 3 of our jerseys for Gwynn jerseys! T had already opened his jersey and had to stick with Kevin McReynolds’ jersey (not that you could see the name from the photos).
I love Petco Park. It’s seriously so beautiful. I’m not a big baseball fan but would go to Petco just to take it all in (and sit in the cheap seats). I can’t believe the lady yelled at you like that. Did she think you were going to cash in on taking a few pics at an autograph signing?
The adobada nachos look amazing. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been to Lolitas. The 2-in-1 looks dry like you said – I’d rather have the taquitos on the side too man.
Petco is a very pretty stadium! It almost even feels like a park, especially when you’re wandering around in the grassy area. I don’t know what the lady was thinking but screeching at people doesn’t make them happy in any way!
Yeah, the 2-in-1 isn’t my favorite item. The rolled tacos get all weirdly soggy after a few minutes anyway and that grosses me out. And it feels like waaaaaaaay too much tortilla. It’s like eating a tortilla filled burrito with a little bit of meat.
The bfs little brother gets a similar burrito at a place in Vista called Albertacos, its a taquito inside a breakfast burrito surrounded by a quesadilla! Inception-burrito.
Whoa… that is like a super Inception burrito. Maybe they should also serve the burrito on top of a tostada to complete the circle. I bet Jake would want to try that, haha.
Wow! Season tickets! I used to go when we got free tickets at my old workplace but not as many goodies at my current place. Mmm lolita’s! I have eaten there twice (kearny mesa location) and enjoyed both visits. cali burrito and carne asada.
Hi Lynn – It sounds super special to say we have season tickets but really, we only bought one seat and we trade in the rest of the tickets. There’s no way I would go to that many games and Jake knows it! Lolita’s is pretty good, I really like their carne asada. I wish they put out cilantro and onions though, I want to add that to everything.