The Big A

I found myself down in Anaheim for the week so I thought I'd check out Angel Stadium of Anaheim, home of the Los Angles Angles of Anaheim.





















No, I'm not an American League fan. And I really didn't know who I'd root for since the Angles were playing the Swingin' A's. But I wanted to check out an unfamiliar ball park, so I headed over from the Anaheim Convention Center Marriott. My cab dropped me off right at the yard, and the driver gave me some tips on how to get home after the game.

The first thing I noticed about the place was the number of tailgaters. I had a flashback to my Candlestick days, and realized how much I miss a good tailgate party. I scouted the place for ticket scalpers and saw none, so I approached the ticket booth to see what I could get. Apparently the first place Angels are drawing pretty well this year, so I didn't have a lot of options. Turns out I was able to get a ticket behind the plate, the only problem it that it was in the upper deck -- Section 520. I was hoping for Section 420, wink wink...

A friend told me that the Angles lowered beer prices when the new ownership took control a few years ago, but I really couldn't tell. A Coors Light was $6.50, which might be slightly lower than my home town Giants charge, but I didn't feel like I was getting any great deal.

I toured the park, first sitting out in Center Field where the sun was still hitting. As the stadium began to fill, I got bumped out of my seat, so I knew it would be a full house. I refueled my beer and headed to my seat in section 520.






















The place was filled with red, Angles fans everywhere. And attempts at The Wave started by the third inning. It was amazing how white the place was, too. Not a whole lot of color in the OC, apparently. The ball park was bland, too. Sort of what you might expect from a remodeled 1960s era yard.

The A's got out to an early lead due to Bartolo Colon's lack of control in the first inning, but then the Angles got a few runs back. The the A's scored more, and it became obvious the Angles would not win this one. The stadium that was at capacity in the 4th inning was nearly empty after the 7th. It was amazing. I guess the fans needed to beat the traffic.

The Flume Trail

It was a beautiful day up at Lake Tahoe, so it was a tough choice between the beach or a bike ride. Mike and I opted for exercise and headed up to Incline Village where we dropped a car, then made our way to Spooner Lake State Park where we unloaded our biles and started our ride up Lake Tahoe's famed Flume Trail.

The beginning of the ride is a butt-kicker with more than 1200 feet of vertical climbing from a starting altitude of over 7000 feet. But once the hard part is over, the fun begins.

Once we reached Marlette Lake, the views on the old Flume Trail become amazing -- some of Lake Tahoe's best.

You can see more photos here.

Tails from the 4th o' July

The 4th of July came pretty unceremoniously this year. Being on a Wednesday, most employers, including mine, gave only Wednesday off. Therefore I made no plans to head out of Dodge. Jeff and Shannon called me a few days beforehand to let me know they planned to have a small BBQ at their compound in Redwood City, and they had invited Angela and Tom as well.

I started the day by hopping the 11:19 a.m. Caltain up to downtown Redwood City, where rumor says the largest 4th of July parade in Northern California is held. On my train ride, Jeff sent me a text message telling me that he and his wife were on the parade route across the street from Redwood City Jail and in between a Bail Bonds shop and a bar. From that, I knew they were in the heart of the action.

I decided to cruise the scene a bit before finding the crew, and I bought a soda en route. After a flurry of cell phone conversations, I found the gang. Some members of the group were a bit saucy, and one of them admitted to already have consumed a Bloody Mary and several beers. It was hardly noon.

The town was bustling, and the party on the pavement was hot. After consuming a beer or two, we headed over to Milagros for some shade and refreshment. A couple margaritas later, we shoved off and headed back to the comfort and safety of Jeff & Shannon's compound.

We enjoyed the summer day and admired some of the recent compound upgrades. After a while, someone noticed a "mole" chomping on some grass in the back yard. Everyone thought he was so cute until Tom pointed out it wasn't a mole at all. After all, moles don't have long tails...