I surely do know the way to San Jose. I have called it my home for almost my entire life and don't have plans to leave... at least in the near future.
Obviously... it's not perfect. We have major traffic congestion, insane housing prices, and terrible air quality. However the pro's easily outweigh the con's for me. I have access to beautiful beaches, wine country, ski resorts, and redwood forests all within four hours of my doorstep. It's never too cold in my neck of the woods... and it only reaches triple digits a handful of days each year.
But one of my favorite things about living in San Jose is the number of professional sports teams I have to support. The San Jose Giants are one of those teams.
On Friday a few of my co-workers and I went to the game and watched them play the Visalia Rawhide, which are the Arizona Diamondback's Class A minor league team. I didn't recognize any of the players from either team, but the game was entertaining nonetheless.
One of the great things about San Jose Municipal Stadium is that there isn't really a bad seat in the house. We sat along the right field line, were only five rows away from the action, and had some amazing barbecue from Turkey Mike's.
Since the tickets were free and my friend bought dinner (for my birthday), I felt like I needed to spend money on something. We checked out the team store before the game and I ended up grabbing the 2016 team set. It'll go with the other San Jose Giants team sets I've purchased in the past.
Last night... I took in another San Jose sporting event and attended the San Jose Earthquakes' international friendly match against Liga MX champions, Pachuca.
Across the grass were a bunch of food trucks with stuff ranging from fried pork bellies to bacon wrapped hot dogs. Everything was perfect, except for the outcome of the game. The Earthquakes lost by a goal, but they made things interesting the last ten minutes of the game.
Alright... it's your turn:
What's your hometown? What are some of the best (and/or worst) things about your hometown?
I hope everyone is enjoying their three day weekend. Thank you to everyone who left those thoughtful birthday comments last week. It made my birthday that much more special.
Happy Sunday and sayonara!
7 comments:
Although my "hometown" is Baltimore I've lived here in Houston for the better part of 50 years. Best things about H-town are the number of terrific restaurants here, the exploding craft beer scene, how easy it is to get to sports and cultural events, and the fact that nearly all my family and friends are close by. The worst things are the humidity, worsening traffic/terrible drivers and the fact that success for the local pro teams is pretty elusive.
My hometown of Morgantown is a pretty nice place to live all things considered. Being that Morgantown offers a decent amount of jobs and has a strong economy is saying something considering I live in one of the poorest states in the union. Morgantown is a college town so you take the good with the bad, but my opinion is that the good outweighs any negative.
Sporting wise for being a small town we have it pretty well. WVU is in the Big 12 so all the major sports are played at a high level. We also have a Pirates minor league affiliate (Black Bears) in town. If you desire professional sports or need access to an international airport, Pittsburgh is just an hour or so north.
commishbob - easy access to sporting events? sounds like a winner in my book. terrific restaurants is a nice bonus.
matthew scott - having a minor league team in your town is definitely a huge perk. i hate to admit this on here... but i actually would rather go to a minor league game, than an MLB game. they're more affordable, less crowded, and provide better entertainment. the only major drawback is that i'm cheering for future san francisco giants players and not oakland athletics.
My hometown is a little place carved out of the trees called Terrace Bay on the North Shore of Lake Superior. I miss it there but there's not much.
Sports wise there's a Collegiate wood at team in Thunder Bay. Lakehead University has a hockey team. 6 hours away in Sault Ste Marie is the OHL Greyhounds. Major League Baseball is about 14 hours away with the Twins and Jays being about equal distance.
The place I live now is an hour and a half from Toronto. We have the OHL Petes.
Hometown is Rochester, NY. Love the food and access to the Finger Lakes and Thousand Islands. Hate the winters.
Current home is Norman, OK. Its a college town, so it has a more diverse and open-minded population than most of the rest of the state. Plus, Oklahoma City is a short drive north and has experienced a real revival since we moved here. A ton of great restaurants and entertainment options (Thunder up!). Summers, however, are brutal.
Galesburg is boring, but it's pretty chill. Good place to go for a run. Some nice scenery in places too. Possibly home to the only Walmart to ever have businesses spring up around it instead of destroy them. If you are able to travel, it's almost halfway between all the larger cities. Also, Baked and El Jarochito are quite possibly the single greatest pizza and Mexican food joints in the entire country.
Worst part besides boringness is all the emotional baggage I have here. Also too poor to travel, so being in the middle of everything isn't of much use to me.
mike matson - 14 hours away? i guess i need to show a little more appreciation for having 2 mlb teams within an hour's drive from my place. well... assuming there's no rush hour traffic. i was only six years old at the time and probably would have whined the whole six hour drive... but how cool would it have been to witness the great one skate for sault ste marie.
carlsonjok - everyone who has traveled to new york has raved about the food. one of these days i really need to see for myself. as for ok, i can't stand the heat. however... i'd love to watch a thunder game at the ford center during the winter.
twitch - ever since coach boone took his team for a run at gettysburg in remember the titans, i've wanted to visit the place. so much interesting history. if i ever make it out there, i'd love to try baked and el jarochito
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