FIRST GAME OF 30 IN THE BOOKS

On Thursday, April 6 we attended the Diamondbacks Opening Day, the first game on our tour of 30 stadiums. Jim's brother Dan who lives in Arizona attended the game with us along with his son-in-law Quinn. Our experience at Chase Field was exceptional for many reasons. First and foremost, the Diamondbacks played the Dodgers and the Dodgers won. "Yeah!" said no Giant fan ever!!! Well Jim was beyond happy and I had to uphold my marriage vows. Our vows included we must cheer for each other's teams as long as they are not playing each other. Let's just say Jim was cheering way louder than I was cheering! LOL Other reasons that made our visit to Chase Field so memorable were the people who worked there. From the gate attendant to the concessions stands workers, everyone was extremely friendly. We were even given a big bag of popcorn for free by a staff member. Remember Jim is wearing a Dodger shirt! One staff member in particular, Jeanette, our section usher, was so welcoming, helpful and friendly. As an example, Jim has a bad back and we forgot to bring Advil, she kindly directed him to the first aid center where he was given Advil at no cost at all. We gave Jeanette one of our gifts we brought along for the ushers. We wanted to bring something that represents where we live in San Clemente so we brought bags of salt water taffy and surfboard keychains. The food choices were plentiful around the stadium. Jim is on a mission to find the best hot dog on this trip so he began his first hot dog review with the Dbacks Dog. If you haven't seen his video review on Instagram you need to follow our Instagram: ourfieldofdreams2023. Let's just say it is very entertaining. I am not quite the hot dog fan that Jim is so I stuck to a delicious chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A. I know boring and I promise to be more adventurous at future stadiums. Now on to details of the game attended by 48,486 people, a sell out crowd. The national anthem was played on the trumpet by Jesse McGuire which was spectacular! The first pitch was thrown out by a Phoenix police officer Tyler Moldovan who was shot multiple times in the line of duty and continues to recover. Of couse there was a military flyover and the roof was open so we could see, hear and feel them up above. Well done Dbacks!!!! Unfortunately for the Diamondbacks the magic stopped there when the Dodgers took the field. Dustin May the Dodgers pitcher looked great and had 6 dominant innings. Freddie Freeman hit a solo homer in the seventh inning and the Dodgers won 5-2. I must also say the Diamondback fans were great sportsmen. There were many Dodger fans at the stadium for the Diamondbacks opening day and the Diamondback fans were very respectful and kind even though the scoreboard was not in their favor. All in all a great first game on our tour.