impressions of Safeco Field

The last MLB game I went to was in 1989 at the old Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. I was with my father and our Boy Scout group.

Expos-Phillies.

I remember the traffic and parking near the stadium being terrible, and the seats were so high and so far back that we had to use binoculars to make out the players names on their jerseys. Von Hayes hit two home runs (“Von-tastic!” on the Jumbotron), and the Phils won 6-5.

Mike Schmidt would retire at the end of the season. The Vet, of course, is no more. The Expos would move from Montreal to Washington, D.C. and become the Nationals.

So I’d been away from attending a game for a while. On Wednesday night I decided to wander down Occidental Avenue and check out Safeco Field before the A’s-Mariners game, and maybe get a bite to eat and watch the game at one of the brewpubs in the stadium district.

The first thing I noticed was the amount of foot traffic towards the stadium, and the lack of obvious congestion and parking issues (although this might have something to do with the team being 5.5 games out of the playoffs with only a few weeks left in the regular season).

The seond thing I noticed was how cheap the left field bleacher seats were. Only $14! You can get a movie ticket for a little less, and not be nearly entertained. Although I hadn’t planned on actually going to the game, I whipped out my credit card and found myself in second level in left field, about three rows back from the rail.

Safeco is every bit as nice as it looks on TV.

The sight-lines from the seats are so much better than the Vet; I could see all the action from my seat clearly, follow the ball well as it moved around the field, and read individual player names on the jerseys without straining my eyes. When I left my spot in the sixth inning to grab a Pepsi and some garlic fries, I didn’t miss any of the action on the field because of the open concession concourse.

The trains pulling into King Street Station made to sure really blast their horns, the noise is amplified as it bounces off the retractable roof in right field and rattles around the stadium.

The game itself was fantastic.

Dan Haren started for the A’s and pitched well, but Oakland’s offense couldn’t get enough run support to open up more than a one-run lead early. Ichiro and Raul Ibanez misplayed a fly ball in deep left-center, giving the A’s another lead after the Mariners had tied the score up again.

Alan Embree came in during the eighth inning and gave up a pinch-hit home run to Adam Jones to tie the game at 5-5. J.J. Putz pitched a brilliant ninth inning to hold the tie, and Yuni Betancourt hit a walk-off single to score a runner from second base to win the game for the Mariners, 6-5.

It was fun to be back at the ballpark again.

the Hotel Max is nice

Usually when I go on vacation, the accommodations are an afterthought.

I think I’ve stayed at only two hotels that could be considered close to four-star (the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim and the Bellevue Hyatt in Bellevue, WA). In both cases, I wasn’t the one paying for the room.

For my Seattle trip this week, I had to get a little creative.

I found out that they closed the Youth Hostel of Seattle (only $29 a night, dormitory-style near Pike Place Market) and the other downtown hostel (the Green Tortoise) was completely booked, so I’d have to pay a bit more to make my trip happen. I ended up splurging and picking the Hotel Max, which was about seven times more expensive but completely worth the price.

Someone definitely took their time coming up with the concept for the Max.

The lobby assaults you with a devilishly red-and-plexiglass front desk at the end of the small mood-lit atrium, next to a giant portrait of a topless woman. Each room keycard has a black-and-white photograph of a naked couple on it, photographed from the rear. This should be a good sign to leave the kiddies at home.

The individual floors all showcase a different local photographer; the photographic works are applied to the individual room doors – my floor apparently had a photographer that was interested in shooting street performers and buskers using black-and-white film.

Room interiors are small in size, but large in amenities.

There’s a pillow menu (hard? soft? u-shaped? body pillow? just a phone call away…), a huge “honor bar” stocked with goodies (I ended grabbing the bar and stashing it under the nightstand so I wouldn’t tempt myself with the King Size Snickers), and no Gideon Bible – but you can the have the “spiritual book of choice” delivered (Bhagavad Gita? Koran? Kama Sutra? you choose…).

I appreciated the free copies of Seattle Monthly, Seattle Magazine, the daily delivery of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and the wall paintings (also by local Seattle artists).

Things start to take a turn for the sexy when you open the little hidden drawer next to the mini-fridge, you are greeted by a nicely arranged set of wine glasses, a corkscrew, a small bottle of merlot, and … a mini-vibrator (with extra batteries) and a tin of condoms, all with the “M” hotel logo on ’em. No, I didn’t use any of this stuff, but it’s just another one of those things that fills out the attitude that the designers were clearly going for. If anything, the Max tries a little too hard.

The important things are all there – the beds are soft and comfortable, the showers are hot, the coffee service is good, and the iron/ironing board is clean and in working order.

Four-star hotel? Not quite. But close.

more Seattle updates to come…

shockingly disturbing thing heard while walking around Seattle

“You know what the best thing about tits is? You can hang a chick from the ceiling by ’em!”

“Seriously! You could even hang a 250-pound woman by her tits from the ceiling if you wanted to!”

Thanks, random street kid. That totally RUINED the rest of my morning. EEECH.