Darrel Dominguez and his brother Dee missed the 2010 World Series parade, but they weren’t going to let that happen again. This time, the brothers traveled nearly 1,100 miles by plane, car and train to get to the corner of Market and Main streets by 6:30 a.m. Wednesday for the parade’s 2012 edition.

“We moved to Albuquerque in 2009, and in 2010 they go and win the World Series,” said Darrel Dominguez, who still lives in Albuquerque, N.M. “That was heartbreaking.”

The Dominguez brothers were among the hundreds of thousands of fans who descended upon San Francisco for the second parade in three years.

Click on the photo to see the Giants World Series Parade slideshow.

Among those showing their support and appreciation for the players were Janet and Don Clark, who drove the 169 miles from Paradise, near Chico, to be at the Civic Center celebration.

“It’s the best seat in the house,” said Janet Clark, wearing a straw hat covered in Giants pins. “We plan on being back here next year. We’re not just going to win the even-
numbered years, we’re going to throw in lucky 13, too.”

The Clarks arrived early enough to park their car in the Civic Center garage and walk the parade route a couple of times to get a feel for the atmosphere before settling in against the barriers directly in front of City Hall. It’s the same location they secured in 2010 — but this time they arrived by 7 p.m. the day before.

A season ticket-holder, Janet Clark attended as many home stands as she could during the regular season. Although she missed the World Series, she was present for the division and league championship series. She said every game was worth watching.

Fan Jeff Morgan, 49, agreed.

“It was the greatest 10 days of baseball in Giants history,” he said of the postseason.

Morgan brought his daughter Dani, 12, to watch the parade. Dani would have been attending math class in San Rafael at the time, but she said being in San Francisco was more fun.

The fans weren’t the only ones who had fun Wednesday. Players did, too.

Giants reliever Sergio Romo, for instance, hopped out of the Lexus convertible he was riding in and walked from Market Street to Civic Center Plaza with hordes of fans screaming the entire way. Pitcher Brian Wilson encouraged fans on each side of Market Street to cheer louder than the other.

Several players signed autographs before the parade began and most recorded videos of the screaming fans along the parade route, which began at the Ferry Building and ended at Civic Center Plaza.

Thousands more people dressed in orange and black packed the plaza to hear speeches by the team thanking the fans for all their support.

But as soon as the celebration fittingly ended with Tony Bennett singing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” the Dominguez brothers headed to Oakland to catch a plane back to New Mexico.

“We wouldn’t have missed it,” Darrel Dominguez said.

akoskey@sfexaminer.com