A Day By The Bay.....

We are certainly very busy during the regular season preparing telecasts and traveling from city to city. There are times though when the schedule precludes us from televising the game - more often than not it is an exclusive agreement with a network carrier. So when that happens, we have the opportunity to explore the city we are in a little more extensively than seeing the hotel and the ball park.

Coupled with that may be the occasion to visit with friends or relatives in the surrounding area and have a chance for some sightseeing.

While we were in Oakland, staying in San Francisco, I was able to both visit with friends and tour some of the city thanks to them - and we had a great day for it! It was sunny and a little cool, but the weather could not have been better for a day trip in the area.

It started off with a short drive to the Golden Gate Park area. Our first stop was to be the Legion of Honor Museum, which is a part of the San Francisco museum consortium. We were there to visit the Annie Liebovitz exhibit of some her photographs which were from 1990 - 2005.

The museum itself is a beautiful structure, and when entering, you cannot help but encounter the artistic piece from Dale Chihuly. It was a very different and quite interesting piece. You should check his website to see some of the amazing pieces he has created.

If you are a fan of photography and capturing the moment, Ms. Liebovitz's are incredible. She seems to capture the best in lighting, facial expression, and wardrobe on her subjects with just the one perfect frame. It was quite the exhibit and offered a wide assortment of personal and professional photographs.

I was feeling the mood of the morning and preparing
to enter the museum when this lighting scheme seemed
to intrigue me. The shadows of the columns seemed to
perfectly lined up and created an interesting pattern
on the wall. Got me to thinking of a one man, one
photo show... I will have to find the world's smallest
photographic museum. I will let you know how that
works out!

After the tour, we took a trip deeper into the Golden Gate Park. Just like the Emerald Necklace in the Cleveland area, there are many paths and flower beds nestled amongst the trees. And as spring approaches, much of the foliage has come into bloom. You can see here, we have moved into a beautiful array of tulips.

That was just the start of the day! So much so, I am going to have to break this into another section! Stay tuned for Part II!