Safeco Field, Home of the Mariners- Game 1

They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, but I’m not sure how much truth there is to that statement, especially when it comes to me and my mom.  She’s awesome- selfless, patient, affectionate- and I’m… not.  She decorates her house for almost every holiday and/or season, and I had a Christmas tree this year for the first time in four years (because she came over and put it up when I was out of town).  Another area where we differ is travel- she has her spots she likes to go to and will go back whenever she gets a chance and won’t fly over water.  I, on the other hand, had a conversation with Joel the other night where we agreed we have a lot of places we need to go before we go back to Boston (which is easily our favorite spot) and am planning a trip to Europe next summer. 
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Taking into account my mother’s travelling preferences, it’s not surprising that a lot of our vacations growing up were to landlocked places we’d repeat, and Seattle was not on the list.  So despite it being a direct flight or a terrible but doable drive, I found myself at 27 years old never having been to the Emerald City, and I probably would have made it to 28 or even beyond if not for my younger sister, Bailey.  She’d traveled with us on our long Boston/New York trip, so I knew she could hang for a trip with Joel and I, and an adventure seemed like a fun gift for her 18th birthday/graduation.  (Remember that note about my mom being selfless?  Yeah, a lot of the gifts I give also involve me doing the gift with them.  I don’t even leave the “no truly selfless act” argument up for debate).  I gave her a few options and thought she would for sure choose concert/Padres game/zoo in San Diego, but she surprised me and opted for a Red Sox series in Seattle.  She’d actually been to Seattle before, but as a baby for a heart surgery, so Joel, a frequent Seattle visitor and reformed Mariners fan, was in for a long weekend with a couple of Seattle newbies!

The Seats

We flew out Thursday night, so we unfortunately missed the Thursday night pitching duel between King Felix and David Price.  We hoped, though, that we’d see a similar duel between Ricky Raindrops (aka Rick Porcello) and The Big Maple (aka James Paxton).  We had our cheapest seats of the trip, but they were still really nice- 19 rows up just past first base with a great view of the Seattle skyline peaking over the Safeco Field sign.   These seats became even better after the game when the firework show started.  We had the one of the best views in the house of the fireworks going off behind the sign post-game.

I love fireworks night, and we did have a great view, but it was soured just a touch by the end of the game.  Ricky struggled in the first couple of innings, giving up one run in the first and two in the second.  But just when we were losing hope of coming back against one of the league’s ERA leaders at the time, the Sox offense exploded for six runs in the 3rd.  Mr. Raindrops settled in, going 6 strong and only giving up one more run, and the Sox had managed to get to the Mariners bullpen in the 3rd.  Going into the 7th, we were feeling good the outcome was going to go our way.  Heath Hembree came in to pitch the 7th, and I started feeling slightly less good when he gave up another run.  Then, who trotted out for the 8th but Matt Barnes, the talented but unbearably inconsistent bullpen arm who is the bane of my Red Sox fan existence.  Predictably, he gave up two runs and the lead in the 8th, and the Sox weren’t able to score another run.

Honestly, the best pitcher we saw the whole night was probably some guy who is a part of the Yankees organization.  Yep, who threw out the first pitch but Seattle’s own quarterback superstar Russell Wilson!  One of the coolest first pitch throwers we’ve seen to date!

The Eats

In the morning before our field tour, we stopped at a bagel spot near-ish Safeco called Blazin Bagels.  Bailey and I each chose from their 30 bagel flavors and 11 cream cheese options, while Joel went with a bagel sandwich.  Billings has pretty limited bagel selections, and I don’t think we’ve actually ever been to a bagel spot during our travels, but despite it being a somewhat empty victory, these were hands down the best bagels we’ve ever had.  Joel and I even wanted to stop there again later in the trip, but Bailey talked us out of it.  Always good to have a voice of reason to remind us we are in a new city and need to try new things!

Before the game, we spent some time exploring the city and stopped for some seafood at a terribly touristy but fun spot called The Crab Pot.  I’d wanted a spot near Pike’s Place, and I wanted the “pour a pot of seafood on some butcher paper with a mallet” experience.  Joel and I went with The Alaskan, while Bailey, who wasn’t eating meat at the time, opted for a salad and picked off some of the corn and potatoes that came with our pot.
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We just snacked a bit at the game, but there was one game-changing stadium offering- Frosé.  Basically, it’s a rosé slushy, and it changed my life.  They’re perfect for a wine fan on a hot day at the ballpark.  I need to buy my own Frosé machine.

Other Deets
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Our first full day was packed with activities and a lot of walking.  After our tour of the stadium, we walked to Pike’s Place market and wandered around there for a while, mostly people-watching, although we did stop at Le Panier for some legit macarons.  We did the touristy pictures in front of the Market sign and the gum wall, loitered around the fish stands hoping they’d toss a fish to each other, and checked out all the flowers for sale, but my overall feel of Pike’s Place is that it’s fairly overrated.  Maybe I did it wrong?

After Pike’s, we wandered down to Pier 57 and took a ride on the Seattle Great Wheel.  A ride is relatively expensive, but we had to knock it off our list, and you get a decently long ride with some awesome views of the city.

Between our early dinner and the game, we didn’t really want to go back to the AirBnB (which was about 20 minutes from the stadium and super tiny but perfect for what we needed- a place to crash at night).  It seemed like a waste of time and also we’d paid $10 to park in a garage a block away from the stadium because we got there early for the field tour.  Instead, we wandered around the blocks surrounding Safeco, checked out the football/soccer stadium we’d be touring the next day, and went to a memorabilia shop where I got jersey to wear the next evening.  Then, we went to the field and found spots to sit and watch batting practice.  We even sat by the season ticket holder who had the Ichimeter (the Ichiro hit meter back in the glory days).  It was hot, but a good spot to soak up some sun and enjoy a Frosé or two while learning about the Mariners from one of their super fans.
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Despite the Red Sox loss, Seattle day one was a win.  We knocked out some tourist stops, ate some good food, and had a great view for some fireworks.  And we still had 3 days left in the city!