May 8, 2021--Oakland
I can't even believe this trip is coming to an end. It has been one of the most memorable trips I've taken in years, and I'll be reliving so many moments for the next few months at least.
This morning, we packed up our bags and left Fresno. We had three hours to get to Oakland to catch an A's game which wasn't a problem, considering we were leaving four hours early BUT Ethan decided to check if there was a promotion, and he found out there WAS! A free hat to the first fans. How many "first" fans, we didn't know, so I literally BOOKED it on the back roads through the grasslands and vineyards of central California. It was a side we hadn't seen yet, and it felt like a completely different state! And once I hit the highway, I did my best Cruella de Vil impersonation and FLEW into Oakland, sometimes driving 90 mph. John dropped us off (thankfully so I didn't need to walk far), and we walked in. I could've cried when I saw the pile of hats still sitting on a table past the ticket checkers. Seriously, we Kennedys LOVE free swag, and finding out that Ethan had bought us tickets on the top tier, we knew we were going to need hats BAD to protect us from the California sunshine! They are great-looking hats too, and they did just what they needed to do!
The Coliseum (yes, that's how it's spelled) is I guess kind of a one-of-a-kind arena, but I kid you not, the ATTITUDE of the arena felt very familiar! I could've sworn I was at a Pistons game for all the rap music playing ;-) But wow, what a great game. The seats were in the sun, yes, but there was a cool breeze blowing almost the entire time. And unlike our bottom-of-the-league Tigers, the A's are a GREAT team. We saw all the things we never see at home: steals, home runs, bases loaded, a close game, and excited fans! And in the end, the A's beat the Rays, 6-4! I just kept smiling and cheering because it was so much fun.
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| There's the Oakland temple, like all temples, a light to all nations <3 |
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| This is how scared my kids are of getting sunburned.! |
Yep, see that? Bases are LOADED with OUR team. It's a miracle that we NEVER see in Detroit. And yep, Glo was up late....
Afterwards, we were supposed to head back across the bay for dinner, but I kid you not, from our seats in the Coliseum, we could see the Oakland Temple! Yep, there it was, up on the mountain, and Glo asked if we could go see the gardens. She took a couple of her newly baptized members to the temple when she was a missionary, and she promised us it was beautiful. I said a prayer during the game that we would be able to make it work with our schedule, and it honestly felt like God stopped time so that we could go. What a beautiful temple. I couldn't get over how much it felt like Glo belonged in that temple; she has so much love for it, and it has all the beautiful details that Glo always appreciates. I had a twinge of sadness, thinking of my girls possibly not getting married at all, but as always, I tried to brush it aside without saying anything. I will continue to trust in God's plan.
Then, it was Cruella all over again as we headed across the Bay Bridge to the Pier section of San Francisco. For the first time in eight days, we hit traffic! Crossing that bridge was crazy, and yet doable. Ethan found us parking close to Pier 39, and we booked it over to Hard Rock Cafe. We didn't really need to go there, but it's kind of a tradition for us, especially for the six of us who visited as many HRCs as we could while living in Europe. I mean, it was always a treat to find a restaurant in Europe that served American food ;-)
While Ethan was waiting for us to buy souvenirs, he discovered that there were sea lions on the same pier where we were, so we walked out to the end of the pier. By golly, there they were! And they were so funny to watch. Seriously, we were already talking for them (and laughing AT them) that we probably could've stayed there much longer, but we were tired.
At dinner, we had gone around the table sharing what we would be glad to see or have when we got home, and I think we have filled our vacation/trip cups to the brim (again, we don't really take vacations--we take trips).
We drove deep into the heart of downtown San Francisco where we are now packing up everything we've taken out or bought over the past week. We have one more activity in the morning, but we should be to the airport by 11:00 to fly home.
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