Los Angeles- Day 1
Sometimes, There's Crying in Baseball
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
It's happening... It's FINALLY Happening!
Backstory
So my dad is the one who had this Bucket List Dream of completing all 30 MLB stadiums before he died and my mom, sister and I were just along for the ride... And what a GLORIOUS RIDE it has been! (THANK YOU DADDY)
I was able to get 23 of these stadiums checked off my "Chase" before "leaving home" in 2001 and getting married in 2006. But towards the end of my "chase", I began to feel the itch to go OUT WEST and get all of the California stadiums but it was so far and we couldn't make the trek. Then in college when I went to the Rose Bowl with the Pride of Oklahoma, we had a marching band rehearsal in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium. I remember a friend and I trying to sneak into the stadium at the end of rehearsal with no luck. I stood in the parking lot and cried thinking "One Day I'll be back". That was in 2003 and I have been dreaming of Dodger Stadium ever since.
That "One Day" was TODAY!
Morning
Our alarms went off bright and early at 4:45AM and it seemed like a typical school day as this is how early we wake up for school each day. But this felt different as it was FOR FUN! Chris did not sleep well due to travel anxiety and said he finally fell asleep around 4AM, so he was very tired. We were out the door by 5:30AM and it is a good thing as traffic on I-45 was a hot-mess. The GPS said I-45 was the quickest route but I should have known better. We were at a stop-and-go traffic inside the loop and what should have been a 40 minutes drive from our home in The Woodlands to Hobby airport turned into over an hour and twenty minute trek.
This was only the beginning of our traffic woes this week!
We got to the Parking Spot #2 at 6:45AM and on the shuttle fast, which was a good thing as it started to rain. TIP- Parking Spot #2 is SO MUCH EASIER and CLOSER than it's sister, Parking Spot #1, when traveling out of Hobby Airport! We were checked into our Southwest Flight by 7:05AM and through security within 15 minutes. We decided to go to Gate #1 to get Chick-fil-A as we thought it would be the best option for our family. And there went half our eating budget for the day... No kidding. The airport food is OUTRAGEOUSLY priced. This standard breakfast meal for our family of 4 was $52. After we finished, we hurried to our actual Gate 48 with a restroom stop before getting in line to board the flight. We paid for the Early Bird check-in and were able to get Group A #42-45. TIP- We almost always pay the extra $15-25 per person/ each way for Early Bird Check-In. It saves so much time and frustration and it really does secure a better boarding spot on Southwest Airlines.
Hello from our row... It feels so good to SPREAD OUT!
A view of the Rockies NEVER GETS OLD!
Hello Long Beach... Long time, no see!
(It's been 5 weeks)
The flight was less than 75% full and we were able to spread out and sit only 2 per row, lacking a middle seat person. This is always such a huge blessing. The flight was not what I would call "an easy flight" as it had multiple babies crying and mom's shhh or singing to them. Plus a very old Asian man who was snoring louder than Chris and Dan combined. AND we were on an airplane so everything was muted, too. Which led us all to question the following:
Would you rather have a less crowded flight OR an adults ONLY (or less noisy) flight? I think in the past I may have had a preference for the space but now... SILENCE please!
We arrived at Long Beach airport just before 10AM, which was about 20 minutes earlier than expected. We got our luggage and then made our way across the street to the Rental Car building. TIP- Long Beach Airport is AMAZING. It is so small and incredibly easy to navigate and explore! I would HIGHLY recommend flying in and out of LGB instead of LAX, any day! Since our flight arrived early, we were able to get an upgrade from our standard size car to a mid-sized ELECTRIC SUV.
I Seriously LOVE the de-boarding of the plane OUTSIDE in Long Beach!
They've done a LOT of work on this old terminal in just 5 short weeks!
(I really thought I had a comparison picture but I do not, you'll have to take my word for it!)
Hello Mitsubishi Outlander EV
(I LOVED this car... I may need to explore buying options!)
We made the hour+ drive to Burbank where our Air BNB was located in North Hollywood. I loved getting to drive this stretch of Los Angeles AND without traffic. I was even able to drive on the 405! It was AWESOME!
Another "It's happening" moment for me!
Hello snow-capped mountains! This was unexpected as these didn't have snow on them (to our recall) when we were here in February 2024). This was GORGEOUS!
Hello downtown Los Angeles!
This Air BNB was a decent find. The location was PERFECT and I would stay there again SOLELY on this factor. If you are doing movie studio tours, Universal or anything north of Downtown LA, this is a PERFECT LOCATION. However, the Air BNB itself was nothing short of a single man's apartment. It was listed as a "cozy 1 bedroom apartment" and it was just that. The Bedroom had a QUEEN size bed and decent floor space. The living room had a MASSIVE sectional, which was nice but cumbersome at times. The kitchen was full sized and offered bar seating. My Biggest Complaint= The place was not "Monica Clean" and I was not happy about that. The bathroom was just standard clean and the bedspread had a questionable stain on it. We actually brought blankets since Luke was sleep on an air mattress and used those instead of the bedspread. I was a little disappointed in the Air BNB overall but again, the price was great and the location was PERFECT for our 3 night needs; plus the owner allowed early check-in AND late departure. This allowed us to keep our luggage in the apartment and not risk car break in and etc. Thank you to our host!
North Hollywood Air BNB Listing
Our host Danelle had (CHEAP) wine waiting for us, which was a nice touch!
A view of the kitchen from the bedroom!
The standard bathroom.
A view of the spacious bedroom with a large smart TV.
A view of the living area from the kitchen!
This couch was HUGE and very comfy.
Natalie was able to sleep here each night with no issues!
We definitely had an OFFICE and Dwight Type moment with the bedspread.
"God, I hope it's Urine"
This made us laugh way too much!
The bedspread stain upon arrival!
Afternoon
We changed into our Dodger game apparel and then made our way to UCLA for lunch and an afternoon of strolling this gorgeous campus. We made at stop at FAT SALs near UCLA campus for our traditional Diner's Drive-Ins and Dive experience. We try to always experience a DDD at each city we visit and this one looked promising. TIP- Fat Sal's was a YOLO type of meal that feature sandwiches that included topping of everything but the kitchen sink type of mentality. The sandwiches were really only "decent" at best and overall they left much to be desired. It felt like just a bunch of ingredients thrown onto a sandwich. This meal cost $100 with tip and was hardly worth it. BUT... YOLO and that is always our mentality when traveling to a new city!
Hello Fat Sal's!
The Full Menu at Fat Sal's!
Chris, Luke and I ordered the Fat Jerry and Natalie ordered the Fat Sal.
A view of the inside of the Fat Jerry!
This had too much stuff for my liking... Mozzarella sticks IN a sandwich!
It was a fun experience but I wouldn't order it again!
This was a FUN experience!
After lunch we found a great parking spot thanks to a local whose son was on an "official visit" to UCLA to play football. This allowed us to park our car for a few hours and explore UCLA. We started by getting a glance at the State-of-the-Art football practice facility. We then walked all over campus exploring buildings. Of course, no college trip would be complete without a stop at the MUSIC BUILDING. In fact, UCLA had 2 music buildings. And this trip Luke was even excited for locating this building. Once inside, we looked all around and finally found the Saxophone, Horn and Bassoon studios. In fact, we were even able to talk to the Bassoon profession- Johnathan Davis. This was a really neat experience for Luke. We also found the Bio-Medical Building for future Dr. Natalie and the Math Building for Chris. We made a pit-stop at the Campus Store and got our souvenirs before going back to the car.
Hello UCLA Medical Center- Dr. Natalie may be here one day!
(I hope in TEXAS not California... but still)
UCLA practice football facility!
We all loved this experience!
Dr. Natalie- Ready for college!
(BE STILL MY HEART.. MAMA AIN'T READY!)
Our traditional Music Building picture!
(STOP GROWING UP)
It's official... I AM RAISING BAND NERDS!
AND I LOVE IT!
Natalie was not as thrilled taking this picture but I thought it was cool!
I found the Saxophone Studio!
The Horn (and Tuba) Studio!
And even Luke found the Double Reed Studio!
My little BAND NERDS!
Hello from UCLA- We LOVED this campus!
Evening
We realized during our walk back to the car that we were not going to make the planned stop at USC before the Dodger Game as the traffic said it was going to take an hour and a half to go 12 miles to Dodger Stadium. WOW... This traffic was a complete nightmare and everything I envisioned for Los Angeles traffic. The interstate was backed up and the GPS had us go the main streets these twelve miles and it was torture.
At least the drive to Dodger Stadium was pretty... There's that!
We finally arrived at Dodger Stadium around 5:45PM for our 7:05PM game. This had my anxiety sky high as this was THE stadium I have been looking forward to for years... DECADES.
WE HAVE ARRIVED!
We got parked and made our way up the hill to the ticket gate where I purchased a Dodger's shirt to complete the experience. Once ready to go inside, I stood at the gate and tried to take it all in. We made our way to the escalators that would lead to the top deck and got scanned in with our tickets. Once inside, the tears started flowing and they would not stop. I know there is "no crying in baseball" but this felt right. The massive amount of emotions just kept coming and the moment was absolutely prefect.
I only have TWO LEFT... I am almost done!
This moment was so special to me!
I loved the Upper Deck area!
It's OPENING WEEK and I AM IN DODGER STADIUM!
Dreams do come true!
Hello Golden Glove!
Picture Prefect!
We went up to the upper deck and got a Dodger Dog for Chris and 4 Waters, which was another $50+ tab. Then we explored the upper decks before going to our seats in Section 430 right behind home plate. TIP- While Dodger Stadium is old and certainly showing it's age, I personally LOVED it and it lived up the "Classic Stadium" hype I had heard about all those years. The Upper Deck was laid out way better than other stadiums I loved the view of Downtown Los Angeles as seen from behind home plate. Not to mention the view of snow-capped mountains from our seats. We did not get to explore the Center Field area of the stadium, which was a little disappointing but time was not our friend due to the traffic.
The main menu of the concourse on the Upper Decks!
A view from our seats in Section 430!
It's happening... IT'S FINALLY happening!
Just 2 left!
My heart is SO HAPPY!
The game itself was fun and exciting. We got to see Mookie Bets hit a homerun and his 1,500th Career Hit, which was awesome to see! We all enjoyed a traditional Dodger Dog for dinner and Luke got a Dole Whip for dessert. We left our seats in the 7th inning as it was very breezy and cold and the boys were tired. I enjoyed the singing of the 7th Inning Stretch before we all went back down to the valley and our parked car.
It's hard to believe this guy (and Natalie) are already on Stadium #20!
We made a pitstop at the Team Store to get our classic souvenirs including her FOAM FINGER to her collection!
Our first OFFICIAL view of the Hollywood sign!
This was a picture perfect evening!
My heart is SO HAPPY!
NOTHING makes me happier than getting to do this "CHASE" with my family!
THANK YOU for chasing with me!
Good Night Dodger Stadium... It's been MAGICAL!
I will ALWAYS LOVE YOU!
BEST. DAY. EVER!
I absolutely LOVED Dodger Stadium and it will probably land in the Top Ten of my list (or close to Top Ten). I realize it is old and does not offer much in comparison to other, more modern stadiums that my kids (and Chris) are used to, but it will always hold a special place in my heart! I now wish we would have gotten to experience 2 games in Dodger Stadium as well!
We left in the middle of the 8th inning and we had zero traffic getting out of the stadium and back to our North Hollywood Air BNB. We made a quick stop at the Ralph's Grocery store across the street from our Air BNB to get snacks and water bottles for the week. Once we got back to the apartment, we were all so tired. We took very quick showers and were all in bed, asleep by 11:30PM.
This was a very long but GREAT day spent in Southern California. Dodger Stadium was EVERYTHING I imagined it would be and I LOVED the experience!
Up Next- WB Studios, So-Fi Stadium and MORE!
Stay Tuned for Day 2!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment