Play Ball!

June 29, 2012 - San Diego to Las Angeles xxx miles (I forgot to look and am too lazy to go back to the car now).

Today did not go nearly liked I had hoped or planned.  I got a later start from San Diego than I had expected.  Then, I couldn't really find the Pacific Coast Highway in San Diego, so I ended up taking I-5 north out of the city.  I managed to get on PCH just south of Orange County and meandered my way along the coast through Dana Point, Laguna Beach, and Newport Beach.  These towns were exactly what I expected of an Orange County beach town.


My cousin Bob - who recently moved from LA - suggested I get these awesome Korean BBQ tacos from a food truck parked near Universal Studios.  As I needed to get there by 230, I left PCH and got back on the interstate.  When I finally got to the food trucks, the one he suggested was not there.  He had read the website wrong.  I "settled" for some pretty awesome tacos from another truck and then set off to find my hotel.  The hotel should have been a 30 minute drive, but took 90 minutes.  (Driving around LA today confirmed that I wouldn't want to live in the city - too much traffic.  AND, the traffic wasn't even all that bad for LA).


When I arrived, they said they did not have my reservation as they said I had booked for Thursday night, not Friday night.  They charged me as a no-show for Thursday night and couldn't honor the price I had booked at for Friday.  They only had suites available so my $75 hotel room was going to cost me over $200.  I used their phone to complain to the Choice Hotels corporate office and by the time I got off the phone, she didn't even have the suites available.  They sent me to another Comfort Inn, which is actually nicer.  I plan to dispute the charges on my credit card.


So, I was not having a good day when I got to Dodger Stadium for the Met-Dodgers game.  I decided to splurge and bought a ticket right behind home plate.  The seat was phenomenal - about 8 rows back from home plate.  The Mets' knuckleballer All-Star pitcher, R.A. Dickey was pitching and from my seats, I could really see how the ball moved all over the place.  He pitched a fantastic game - with only one base runner through 6 innings and 10 strike outs.  He ended up going 8 innings, no runs, giving up 3 hits, a walk, and a hit by pitch.  Just a fabulous pitching performance.  (and as I didn't care who won, I was perfectly fine seeing the Mets win in a blow-out).  


I kept score by hand throughout the game, which made for a nice and relaxing way to spend the game.  Without anyone else at the game with me, I was happy to sit there and mark the game's progress with pen and paper.  I became the guy who was keeping score in the section.  Two fathers explained to their sons what I was doing.  Several people asked me for stats during the game (particularly how many strikeouts Dickey had).  A fireworks show finished off the night and made for a spectacularly enjoyable evening.