Re-LA

When we got back to Los Angeles, we had a couple hours to relax and shower before the Dodger’s game. We decided to take public transportation into the city (which is pretty much unheard of in LA) – now we know why. We left Nate’s at 4:30 and got to the field just before 7. We didn’t want to bother driving in the LA traffic, plus we were hoping to go out to the bars around Dodger’s stadium afterwards. Well it turns out there was nothing around Dodger’s stadium as well as nothing in it, as far as we were allowed to see. We bought left field bleacher seats, and stood in line for two different entrances before getting told we weren’t allowed in. Finally (third time is the charm), we made it to the correct entrance and were allowed in. Underneath the bleachers was a sea of I-beams, under which Ben had to constantly duck. They were only 6 - 6 ½ feet of the ground. We tried to walk around the Stadium but literally weren’t allowed out of our section. There was security everywhere (unnecessary), and we joked throughout the game that we were afraid to stand up at the wrong time in fear of getting ejected. The Stadium (from what we could see) was really plain, although the outfield bleachers sections were packed. Dodger Stadium received multiple awards: “Worst Stadium thus far” agreed on by all three of us, “Most sporadic wave attempt stadium,” because random people in different sections would just stand up and try to start a wave just about EVERY inning, and “Stadium most like a prison.” I think Oakland would rival this because of the dull concrete structure that is McAfee Colliseum, but as I mentioned since we were on lockdown we didn’t really get to enjoy the ballpark.

Afterwards we walked for a mile or so before determining we were in the middle of nowhere, even though Dodger Stadium is in downtown LA. So we took a solid $75 cab back to Redondo Beach where we bar hopped for a little bit, found a Irish pub with live music, and eventually made our way back to Nate’s.

(Ohbytheway, I lost track of the number of games I went to - should be 8, not 7. Props to Andy & Ben for remembering correctly every time)

My last day of the trip was Saturday. We went to Venice Beach and enjoyed the relatively nice weather. We were eating outside at a bar when it started raining. People were so startled they didn’t know what to do. One person thought they got pooped on by a bird, another thought he got spit on. Everyone was scrambling and running for cover as if the rain was dangerous (it was a drizzle). On top of that they were recounting what happened for the next 20 minutes like it was some sort of phenomenon. We certainly got a kick out of that.

I wish I could stay and join Ben and Andy on the rest of their trip, but work on Monday and lack of money make that pretty much impossible. They’re taking it easy in LA for a few days and are headed to the Home Run Derby in Anaheim on Monday night. I’ll leave it for them to fill you in and finish up the last month of the trip.

Thanks Ben and Andy and everyone on the trip!! I had an amazing vacation.