There goes the weekend

Spontaneity is fun. Things are always more exciting that way ...

For the second weekend in a row, Kates and I blew off any plans we had -- which weren't much -- and went with the flow ...

On Friday night, we were in Chicago with Steve & Emily. Having dinner and drinks in their backyard. We could hear the symphony playing in the park down the street. And little six-week-old Ellie, who Kates and I were meeting for the first time, slept beside us in her stroller ... Afterward we took a walk downtown where Harry-Potter mania had taken over. Dozens of kids dressed in their wizard garb and gold and brown Hogwarts scarves were strolling the streets with their parents. Dozens more had already lined up outside the book store to get their copies of first of the new Harry Potter books to come out of the box. And almost all the storefronts had changed their names to play with the Harry Potter theme, in addition to offering deals. A sight to see, we mused more than once about how one book, especially in these times, could stir such interest and hype ...

On Saturday evening Kates and I went to my parents, and settled in with them to watch The Princess Diaries as it was just beginning on TV -- Cute movie. I liked it. Anne Hathaway was charming. Julie Andrews is an icon in an all-star cast that also features Hector Elizondo, Mandy Moore, Sandra Oh, and the girl that played Hathaway's sidekick friend was HA-larious ... And on Sunday we were joining the big family for my cousin's wedding shower in my uncle's breath-taking, botanical backyard (Yeah. We're talking rainbows of colors, waterfalls and a school of real live fish in the pond ...) We ate lots of good food, played ladder ball -- the game that seems to be sweeping through backyards everywhere this summer -- and a good time was had by all ...

Still, the sweet spot of the weekend was being at Miller Park on Saturday afternoon. Brewers-Giants. Barry Bonds. A chance at seeing history, perhaps ... whether we like it or not.

After Bonds came out of nowhere on Thursday and hit #752 and #753 at Wrigley, I started plugging for tickets. And on Friday night, I got lucky -- our friend Tiffany called and had one extra ticket to Saturday's game. I didn't hesitate; I seized it.

Since it was nationally-televised game, start time was an odd 3:05 p.m. Kates dropped me off and headed to her parents for the rest of the afternoon; I got inside the stadium, got my polish sausage with a souvenir Mountain Dew and found Tiffany and my seat just as the first pitch was being thrown ...


The stadium was packed. The press box was as full as I'd ever seen it. And the increase in security was noticeable ... T-shirts and signs were plentiful too. Among my favorites: "The Hunt for Ned's October" and "Aaron Forever, Bonds Never." Our seats were on the third base side of the second deck; we had the perfect balance of sun during the game's first half and shade for the final innings. The atmosphere in the stadium was, well, electric ...

To no one's surprise, Bonds was booed every time he stepped to the plate. He struck out his first time in the first inning, grounded out to the pitcher in the fourth, walked in the sixth and was intentionally walked in the eighth before he was pulled from the game. The funny thing about that intentional walk: the fans booed that one too. They're not happy when comes to the plate; they're not happy when teams walk him.

Yet, while it wasn't Bonds' day, it certainly wasn't the Brewers' either. The Giants jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning, thanks to a two-run bomb by Pedro Feliz. And then wheels fell off in the top of the ninth when Chris Spurling could got just one out and loaded up the bases. Derrick Turnbow relieved him and promptly gave up a base-clearing double ... And the Brewers buried themselves, 8-0.

On one other note, I lost my bet during the sausage races. Turned out, Tiffany and the other ticket holders in her group place $1 bets during each game's race. This was a new concept to me, but I was intrigued nonetheless. I was assigned the hot dog, which actually is leading this year's sausage race standings. So my odds were good ... but the Italian Sausage won, and my $1 went to Tiffany.