Thank you for your patience as pictures are loading.
My husband Bob and I have a quest to visit each Major League Baseball stadium. After much Internet research, we found 3 consecutive days in which we could catch all 3 Southern California teams. In July of 2009, we traveled to see the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Los Angeles Dodgers. We crammed into our visit not only the games, but trips to Disneyland, Hollywood and the Santa Monica pier.
Day 1 - San Diego Padres
Rather than fight more freeway traffic by driving continually through to San Diego, we stayed in Anaheim and took the 9:10 am Amtrak train to San Diego. We arrived at the Santa Fe station in downtown San Diego and caught the San Diego game trolley to PETCO Park just in time to catch the first pitch at 12:35pm. Even though we were a little delayed due to a high number of passengers taking Amtrak to the opening day at Del Mar racetrack, thank goodness for the train! Unbeknownst to us, we were arriving on the opening day of ComiCon, being held at the San Diego Convention Center, which is across the street from the ballpark. Traffic would have been a nightmare! Instead we were dropped off by the trolley right at the park's entrance.
We had great seats, just 18 rows up from the field on the first base line. Unfortunately, we brought no luck to the Padres and they lost, 5-0 to the Florida Marlins. Still, a great way to spend a Wednesday afternoon. We returned to Anaheim later in the day via Amtrak.
Day 2 - Disneyland
Our second ball game of the trip, the Anaheim Angels vs. the Minnesota Twins, wasn't until 7pm and since the hotel was within 10-12 blocks of the stadium and Disneyland, what better way to spend the early part of the day then by being a kid again? So, off to Disneyland we went.
We hit classic rides such as the Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain and the Jungle Cruise. Since our last visits (Bob in high school, me in 2001), the Pirates of the Caribbean had been refurbished to take after the Johnny Depp movies, so we were able to take in some of the changes in the park as well.
Day 2 - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
By far, the most exciting game of the three. The Angels were down 5 to 3 at the bottom of the 9th. They scored two runs to tie the game and take it into extra innings. Needless to say, the Angels rally monkeys were in full swing at Angel Stadium of Anaheim!
The Twins took the plate in the top of the 10th and the Angels shut them out - three batters up, three outs. The Angels' Mike Napoli hit a two-out, RBI single to win the game in the bottom of the 10th to win it.
Day 3 - Sunset/Hollywood Boulevards, Santa Monica pier
To help us avoid traffic, we transferred hotels from Anaheim to Downtown L.A. for the final leg of our trip. Again, the baseball game was in the evening, leaving us the better part of the day to explore.
We drove the mustang down Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards, taking in the Grauman's Chinese and Kodak Theaters, along with the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Later, we lunched at the Santa Monica Pier.
Day 3 - Los Angeles Dodgers
Manny Ramirez lives and plays in Dodgerstown, U.S.A. (a.k.a. Dodger Stadium). Unfortunately, it was an off night for Manny as he only saw a base after he was hit by a pitch.
Things didn't fair any better for the rest of the Dodgers as well and they lost to the Marlins, 6-3. However, it was a gorgeous night for a game and we got our first taste of a famous Dodger dog!
