Day 4.5 San Diego-All Star Game

Today my goal was to wait patiently for ticket prices to drop. I went to Old Town, a great place if you need some root beer, ice cream, or if you want to dip your own candle 

Then I went down by the airport to hear some airplane noise 

The USS Midway is a museum now so I went inside

Feels like work....

 

3 hours prior to game time I still didn't have a ticket. I was hoping prices would drop a but. I then got a text from the group I met at the Home run derby and they said they were saving me a seat in the same section as the night before. Seating there was not assigned and first come first served. So onto stubhub I went and grabbed a ticket. 

The opening ceremonies were impressive 

In the 7th inning a friend of one of the people I was with called to say there were empty seats behind them over by 3rd base, so we upgraded ourselves 

The game was good, the NL was behind by 2 and had the bases loaded in the 8th but lost anyways. So I guess I will only watch 3 World Series home games at Wrigley in October. There are no games the next two games due to the All Star Break, so I'm on the train to Oceanside tomorrow for a couple beach days, or whatever they do there.

 

 

 

 

Day 4 - Home Run Derby

Today was the All Star Home Run Derby in San Diego. I took the train down the coast to San Diego and arrived just after 1000. I grabbed some lunch. The San Diego waterfront is awesome, lots of big boats, people watching, and airplane noise. 

The San Diego Ballpark is even more awesome, there's a large picnics area past centre field 

Stanton actually hit one in the derby that landed out here. The view from inside is pretty cool. 

My seats for the derby were in LF. 

This whole section got peppered anytime Stantom or Trumbo were batting. Although when Stanton batted the energy was electric and people were losing their minds anytime a ball came near. Large scrums for balls by over a dozen large men were not uncommon, the crowd went nuts, beers were spilled, furniture was broken, but everyone was enjoying it. 

This table and chair died heroes 

The Wester Metal sign took a few hits and Stanton and Trumbo both cleared it on multiple occasions 

The section that the sign is on is actually an old warehouse made of brick. They left it up and made it part of the ball park.

I go some rv time, I'm in the top row on the right next to the pose

Again I met some cool people. There were a bunch of Cubs fans, real Cubs fans. I had some good conversations with a few of them. A person overhearing a conversation between two Cubs fans would be confused, it starts with what's going good and some optimism. Then someone usual says "well yeah, but they are the Cubs...." Then the conversation gets a little depressing as you talk about the issues and what ifs. 

I also met these people 

He was drafted by the Yankees a few years ago as a CF but was blocked by Bernie Williams, got injured and had to retire after a brief stint in the minors (if you have to ask who Bernie Williams is....) 

Today is one of the funnest experiences I've had at a ball park. Tomorrow I'll stay here and try and find some tickets for the All Star Game. I should probably do some laundry, I'm starting to stink. 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 3 -Los Angeles

I took  6am flight from San Francisco to LA and arrived shortly after 9. I dropped my bag off at the hotel and went for a walk tutu downtown LA.

Game time was 1pm so I started the long walk to Dodger Stadium. It wasn't far, but it's in a ditch(they call it a ravine) and you have to do some climbing.

I arrived via Vin Scully Ave (if you have to ask who Vin Scully is, shame on you ;) 

Dodger stadium isn't the nicest stadium but I'm sure it's not the worst. 

The game was a good one and the Padres had 9th inning rally that was exciting. Dodgers fans are strange (another stereotype confirmed) the majority don't arrive until the 3rd inning and start leaving in the 7th. They probably spend more time stuck on the freeway than at the game. 

It's now 630 on Monday morning and I'm at Union Station (which is really cool) about to catch a train to San Diego. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 2- San Francisco

I arrived in San Francisco at 9am and proceeded downtown to get my obligatory streetcar photograph

I then went to a bar a few blocks from the ball park and ran into "Front Row" Keith

Keith has been a season ticket holder for 30 years. He gave me his extra ticket and insisted that I join him at his seats in the front row of left field.  All the ushers and vendors know him and he and his buddies have a well oiled routine when it comes to heckling the visiting left fielder. 

I almost got a home run ball, look for the blue shirt in the front row above the T in Toyota

Meeting guys like Keith is one of the reasons I'm doing this crazy thing. 

Before joining Keith in his seats, I spent the first two innings wondering around the ballpark

Kayaks beyond the right field wall waiting for baseballs 

Now I am back in the airport at 430am to catch a flight to LA. Dodger Stadium is next, game time is 1pm.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day one-Kansas City

Day one started at 2355 with a flight to Kansas City via Toronto. I got into Kansas City just before 1000.   I hear Kansas City loves their bbq, so, when in Rome.....

I

Turns out they do know how to bbq and the local boulevard brewing company is awesome.

If you every hear anyone complain how far their airport is from town, they've never been to Kansas City. I've quickly learned to love Uber.

The tail gating started 2 hours before the game 

There's a cool vibe here, people are relaxed and having fun. But they were reluctant to share anything with some guy wearing a Cubs hat.

 

My seats were lower down but I walked up to the top to check out the view 

In the end the Royals lost, I got back to my hotel at 2315 and it's now 445 in the morning, I back at the airport waiting to catch my flight to San Francisco. 1st pitch is in 10 hours.

 

 

 

I've crammed my life into a 16x18 backpack

My trip starts tonight and I've managed to cram everything into this 16x18 backpack.   

I released my inner geek and had some t-shirts made up:

So if your at a game, be nice to anyone wearing one!

To those that are curious about how much weight I'll gain, I weighed in at 211 today. 

You can track my trip via Facebook, Twitter (@cdn_bakon), or on Untappd (Canadian_Bacon)

All that I have left to do is stop by the passport office and apply for my passport.

Next stop, Kansas City.

 

 

An man has got to eat...

I'll be honest, 33 days of eating ballpark food scares the crap out of me.   Check these out:

St Louis has fried chicken between two waffles.....and tater tots....

Houston has the Chicken and Waffle cone...

The Cleveland Thomenator.....a hot with all the fixings plus three perogies 

The Washington Strasburger, eight pounds of beef.  

Texas has the Wicked Pig 

And then there's the Burgerizza from Atlanta, the top of the bun is a pepperoni pizza...of course.  

I'm afraid that if I eat at least one of those item I'll never make it back to Edmonton alive.  Rumour has it that there is a "How much weight will Garnet gain on his trip?" pool starting up at work.   

Challenge accepted. 

I will weigh myself before I leave and I will come back at or under my pre-trip weight.