My friend Lyndsey and I had been 16 for less than a year, and we (actually probably just me since I was the baseball fan) convinced our parents to let us make the 90 mile drive to Angels Stadium by ourselves. We funded the trip (gas, parking, tickets, snacks) with money earned from recycling cans. Plus a little extra help from our parents. Our directions came from Mapquest and had a Thomas Guide Book as backup. We hit the road with Cheeto Puffs, Hot Tamales, and Pepsi and after 2 hours of driving, we made it to the Big A.
I actually don't remember if that's is how it all went down, but recycling cans for money, having a Thomas Guide Book, and Cheeto Puffs, Hot Tamales, and Pepsi are things definitely happened.
Story time. We got to the game early, sat in our seats, and watched batting practice. We sat next to a father and son and the kid who was no more than 10 years old kept saying that A-Rod was a sucky player. I wasn't having any of that because that's when A-Rod was a big deal, and not a pathetic excuse for a baseball player. I started to banter with the kid and eventually told him that he's the suckiest player, not A-Rod. I went there. Maybe getting told I look like I need exercise was karma for that. Full circle. I hope that kid took my statement to heart and used it as motivation to become the next big prospect for the MLB. MAYBE I SAID THAT TO MIKE TROUT?!! OR BRYCE HARPER?!! Probably not. Sorry about being mean, kid. You didn't deserve that. You called it, A-Rod is the suckiest player.
Anyway, I couldn't tell you how I felt the first time I saw Jeter or if he made any sweet plays or pretty much anything about that game. The only memory I have of that day other than everything mentioned above are these sweet pictures captured by Lyndsey.
Crotch grab :] Hahahaha.
That's about all I've got. You're welcome for the picture quality. They're pictures of pictures. It's crazy to think that this was just about 10 years ago. And crazy to think that this guy became one of the most talented and beloved players in baseball history. And lastly...crazy to think he's done.
I'm writing this post as a PSA to the internet because I did my due diligence in researching this place (like I do with anything and everything else I do) before making a reservation for the Monday night game of the Yankees series I recently attended. I found nothing. So I'm putting the info I learned when checking in for our Monday night reservation out in the world so others can learn from my "misunderstanding."
The Knothole Club is a restaurant at Angels Stadium that sits in the club level section above right field. They've got indoor seating and a bar as well as some tables in an outside patio. Looks like a super cool place, with a bomb.com menu. Reservations can be made through Open Table. When you make your reservation, make sure you read and understand the following statement:
"PLEASE NOTE THAT ACCESS AND RESERVATIONS FOR THE FIRST SEATING ARE RESERVED FOR CLUB LEVEL TICKET HOLDERS ONLY. GUESTS FROM OTHER SEATING SECTIONS WILL ONLY BE ALLOWED ACCESS AFTER FIRST PITCH. THE SECOND SEATING WILL BE BASED OFF OF FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE AND NO RESERVATIONS WILL BE TAKEN."
This means that even though you go onto their website and make a reservation you will absolutely not get in at your designated reservation time unless you've got a game ticket in the 300 level sections of the stadium. The only other exception seems to be season ticket holders. That notice above is posted on the first page of their opentable site, and don't see it again until you get a confirmation/reminder e-mail. You've gotta be a REAL SMOOTH (smoother than me, someone who has kind of been able to talk their way into a lot of stuff) to be an exception. Anyone sitting in other sections of the stadium is welcome to come into the place and and out [if room allows] after the first pitch.
Monday's seats
Okay, now that I'm done with that PSA, let me tell you how I learned this zero exception lesson: I bought nosebleed tickets for my friend and I to the Monday night Yankees game. The plan was to just get in and wander around the stadium instead of sit in our seats. I researched some SRO (standing room only) areas at the stadium and came across the Knothole Club. I did some Yelp reading and saw mentions of reservation trouble but it was about opening day. It's been a month since then, so I figured all the kinks had been sorted out. I didn't rely on that though. So I called all the available numbers. One is disconnected. Another is the general number to the stadium and was told they don't have the option to transfer to the club and anyone who could be reached didn't have/know any information. The last phone number was some sort of manager. I called 3 different times, no answer, get a voicemail. Left one message, never heard back. Figured we'd take a shot, make the reservation and hope everything works out. We get to the stadium Monday night at like 4:40 pm because our reservation is at 5:00 pm. Well...the main stadium gates by the huge helmets open at 5:00 pm on the dot, and all the other side gates open at 5:30 pm. There is a long ass line in front of the helmets about a 20 minute wait. Now I'm super concerned that even though we were at the stadium on time, we might lose the spot because of the line. Once we get in to the stadium, we book it to the place, ride the elevator, am told I look like I can use some exercise, and get to the door of the restaurant. In front of us are 2 other groups of people who had reservations without club level seats and either skipped the above notice, misunderstood it, or were just trying to talk their way in. Well the other two groups of people were able to swing it in their favor because they USED to be [*are not currently] Angels season ticket holders. I tried to make my Padres season ticket membership work, no dice. That's when we went to complain to the "captain" [who has not contacted me since the "incident"] and then carried on with our night. To make matters worse, Yankees lost. It was not a good Monday.
That's it. Hopefully people trying to get in come across this and learn from my mistake, and avoid getting called fat. I'm just super bummed that it didn't work out after doing tons of research, including Twitter and Instagram stalking, and was not satisfied with the level of customer service throughout the whole process. And obviously, this isn't something I experienced by myself because I'm dumb, because we walked up to the entrance and found two other groups having the same issue I was about to have. I understand why they have a restriction and limit entrance to certain people at the beginning, but include something on opentable where people either have to check a box saying they've read the notice, or have people type in or reply to an e-mail with their seats and make them aware of not being able to come in at a certain time despite the reservation. I just think it could be handled a lot better than it was.
Next time, on the blog: a recap of the rest of the series. It got better.
Yes, I made it out alive. Real life just gets in the way of blogging. Oops. Anyways....BASEBALL!
Opening Day Night. The tailgate/barhop started at 10:30 am...for a 5:00 pm game. We were ready to party. The season ticket crew plus a lame-o Dodger fan packed into a truck and headed towards downtown San Diego. We parked in the tailgate lot and used our pre-purchased parking ticket because planning ahead rocks. Cruised over to Bub's and met up with some friends for some breakfast and Mama's Peach Tea. And Fireball. And life size Connect 4. After that, we headed to Barleymash...because St. Germain Sangria. It was a little different than the time before, but still so good. After thattttt...Titled Kilt. More booze. After thatttttttt, back to the tailgate lot to meet up with more friends, close out the party and head into the game. Photos of the same 8 people in similar poses for your viewing pleasure:
I'm not a fan of repping your gang with peace signs in photos...Chels knows this, but it happens. And this is the look you get from me when it happens. Whatever. She gets a pass for it today A) Because everyone does it now just so I can get upset. I've learned that no real reaction (or vocal scolding for it) is the best reaction. B) Becauseit's Chelsea's birthday todayand she gets to do whatever she wants...within the law. Or without, as long as she doesn't get caught. Happy Birthday ChewSaw <3
We scored probably my most favorite Opening Day tee's, camouflage print and a Jerry Coleman star. Headed to our seats, watched the opening ceremonies, PLAY BALL! Wandered around the stadium, saw a tri tip sandwich sign, spent $10 on a sandwich, and was left very disappointed. Sat in front of 2 very annoying, sort of racist dudes. Padres took the lead and won the first game of the season. Headed back home in the most awkward ride home ever. Being nice to a veryyyy drunk girl who is in love with one of the dudes in the truck makes for some great jokes that will never get old. And that's it.
Did you go to Opening Day? Or any of the games played thus far this season? Do you plan to? You better! Because BASEBALL!
Also, a super sweet giveaway where you can use your winnings towards sweet stuff to wear to your next game! Make sure you check everyone who is part of it out and of course, make sure to enter! P.S. Guessing game time! I'm on the bottom left...can you guess what stadium my photo was taken at?! The winner gets nothing extra other than the satisfaction of knowing you get it right!
There’s a few different “Opening Day” celebrations happening this year. The first is the officially
official Opening Day of 2014 which actually happened a week ago when the
DBacks played against the Dodgers in Australia. The second is Opening Night which is this Sunday, March
30th, Padres v. Dodgers at Petco Park…the game I’ll be attending :] The third
is Opening Day which is Monday,
March 31st. The last "Opening Day" is your respective team’s Home Opener which might happen Opening
Night/Day orrrr you might have to wait at least 3 games for their away series to finish
up before they head home and have their Home
Opener. Regardless of what Opening Day you’ll be attending, baseball season
is starting and that’s a wonderful thing. So there’s some things you should
know for that first home game of the year…
BUT FIRST! Let’s start with a small font
disclaimer. I might not be totally qualified on advising of things to know for
Opening Day. Even though my friends and I have been to first home game of the
season at Petco Park for the last (at least) 4 years…I wasn’t totally “there”
ifyouknowwhatimean. #toodrunktofunction. Also...these suggestions are based on opening day and busy games at Petco Park. Some suggestions might totally apply to your
local stadium, others won’t. Sorry ‘bout it.
Tickets. Do you have any? If you’re
planning on going to the game, I’d suggest getting some. At this point, it
might be a little too late for some of you because Opening Day might be sold
out. That’s the case with the Padres…Opening Night sold out about a month ago,
so anyone looking for face value tickets is kind of SOL. The remaining options
are overpriced Stubhub, unknown third party ticket sites, sketchy Craigslist,
or scalpers. If you find a sweet deal, awesome! You can totally keep reading. If not, and you don’t have tickets, bookmark this for next year when you plan ahead! If you don't have tickets but still want in on the action, head to a bar near the stadium and watch it on tv! You'll most likely be among others who failed in getting a ticket having just as much fun!
Parking. I haven’t had much trouble with this, but I know how much of a pain in the ass it can be. For starters, consider traffic. Leave with enough time to either totally avoid traffic altogether, or budget enough time to be okay with be moving at a crawl…or slower and maybe miss some of the game. Everyone and their mom goes to Opening Day, and since everyone is headed to the same area, the roads are gonna get backed up. Also, because everyone is going to the same area, everyone is probably going to be parking in the same area too. Don't get stuck without a parking spot! If you can, buy parking passes in advance. That way you know you've got a guaranteed spot no matter how late you leave and how much traffic you sit in. You don't want to spend 40 minutes looking for parking half a mile away and pay $40. Transportation. How are you getting to the game? And home from the game? Alive? I hope so! The most important point with this is to make sure you've got a sober driver. To and from the game. If everyone wants to party, look into public transportation or hiring a driver! 3 years ago my friends and I took the train and trolley to Opening Day. From what I can remember, it was kind of a blast. We were able to bring booze on the train, party on the way down, and had reliable transportation! If you gave your limo driver the night off, download an app (Uber/Lyft...whatever) and have someone pick you up! Or book a night at a hotel in the area and walk/cab it. The other thing to keep in mind with transportation is to make sure you think about traffic. If you're anything like me, you'd rather be an hour early than 5 minutes late! You don't want to leave home/work too late, get stuck in backed up rush hour and game day traffic, and miss the first pitch!
Pregame. Load up a truck with some tailgate necessities: booze, food, bbq, tables, corn hole, etc. Head to the stadium early and party before game time. Why? A) Getting to the area early enough to tailgate means you've most likely avoided backed up traffic and have a better chance at being on time to the game! B) If you're there early, that means parking lots aren't crowded yet and you've got a better shot at getting a spot! C) $15 bottle of Fireball for everyoneeee beats 2 $8 shots of Fireball at the stadium/bars. D) PARTY! Just make sure to drink responsibly. And if you don't, hopefully someone is keeping an eye out for you making sure you're safe! Thanks friends for helping me with that last year!) Our Plan. Season Ticket Crew+1 are headed to Opening Night. The game is at 5:00-ish, but we're headed down at 10:00 for some brunch. Followed by some bar hopping for sangria!. Followed by some tailgating. Followed by the game. Followed by...work Monday morning. Hopefully we make it out alive!
Is anyone going to Opening Night/Day or your Home Opener? What are your plans for the day? Let me know!
Also, can I just mention how excited I am to be co-hosting Fan Friday this week? Other than my love for baseball, I'm kind of obsessed with Sarah over at Venus Trapped In Mars. I kind of love sports a lot. So when I started blogging, and reading blogs, my main search was for other bloggers like me who love sports too...with no luck. Until my friend Kayyyyyy did a guest post for Sarah and the rest is history! Because of her Fan Friday link up, I've been able to find so many other sports loving bloggers like myself! And I love it!
TL;DR: I love sports. I'm obsessed with Sarah, her blog, and Fan Friday. Thanks for letting me co-host!
If you're sharing anything baseball related today, make sure you link-up!
"Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means 'a whale's vagina.'" -Ron Burgundy
San Diego is a place I consider to be heaven on Earth. I am a born and raised San Diegan (San Diegoan?) and could never imagine leaving this wonderful city permanently. Erin at Two Thirds Hazel mentions in THIS POST that even though she's lived in NYC for a few years, she has yet to visit a lot of the great tourist attractions that surround her and she plans on changing that. I will too, in regards to San Diego. I've seen a good part of the beautiful city that is San Diego, but when it comes to the actual tourist attractions...I fail.
Why? San Diego is big. And the town I grew up in is kind of far from anything worth seeing in San Diego...according to those all these different "must see" lists. Other than that, life and other priorities like school, going to baseball games, concerts, and bars got in the way. So I've been inspired to create a (multi-part...because it's kind of late and I want to go to sleep) San Diego To Do List for myself of places or things I have heard so much about an never visited or done, or I visited/did these things wayyyy back when.
Petco Park Tour
Yep. I've been to Petco Park at least 60 times since it opened back in 2004. What I've never done is an official tour of the park. Other than my own drunken wandering, I have sort of gotten to do mini unofficial tours when we've been invited to the park for season ticket stuff and seen the club house, dug out, press box, underground restaurant, batting cages, super secret Sony (I think?) Club. It seems like a lot, but I feel like they're hiding a lot more stuff that I need to see! My friends and I have talked about doing a tour, but we've just never been able to make it happen. Hopefully it happens this season!
Balboa Park
This place is incredibly beautiful. And so big. It's a park, has museums, theaters, gardens...the list goes on and on. I've made quick stops to the outside parts of Balboa Park and driven by plenty of times, but never made it my sole destination. I really need to make some trips to see all the great things this place has to offer.
It's world famous. I visited as a kid and haven't been back since. The pandas are kind of a big deal and I know nothing about them. The San Diego Zoo is actually part of Balboa Park but I felt like it deserved its own bullet on my to do list. The great thing about adding this to my list is that now that I'm working at the Safari Park...I'm pretty sure I can get into the San Diego Zoo for free :] This visit is most def. happening this summer.
This is a place I've definitely been recently. Did some Day Of The Dead volunteering and have had dinner and drinks at a few of the restaurants here, but they've also got a park, museums, a haunted house, and a bunch of other points of interest worth seeing but never really spent time at. According to the internet, Old Town is supposedly the birthplace of California and what it was like back in 1850. A visit needs to happen ASAP since I'm kind of obsessed with California.
A super dope aircraft carrier. Or at least I think it's super dope. I've seen it from afar while driving around downtown San Diego but I've never visited it. The USS Midway is a museum where you can see military sleeping quarters, the engine room, jail, and so much more. Having not visited the USS Midway is kind of unAmerican. Oops.
Have you been to San Diego as a tourist? Any must see places I should add to part 2 of my list? Let me know!
----------------------------------
In other super exciting news...This Friday, I'm co-hosting a special MLB Opening Day edition of Fan Friday with pretty much my favorite blogger ever and baseball soulmate, Sarah over at Venus Trapped In Mars.Soooooo, if you're just as excited as we are for baseball to (un)officially start MAKE SURE YOU GRAB THE BUTTON AND LINK UP FRIDAY! [Ignore the fact that the button says April. This is happening March 28th!]
It’s fall! Well…sort of. Sunday
night was the first time since April that a chill rolled into my bedroom and I
had to sleep under the covers. San Diego doesn’t get too much change between
seasons, but hey, it’s something!
I absolutely love summer, but
there’s something about fall that makes everything feel so…cozy. Red and orange
color schemes have taken over Pinterest, people are losing their minds over
Pumpkin Spice Latte’s and Pumpkin M&M’s, and an outfit that consists of leggings,
and oversized sweater, boots, and a messy bun is acceptable again :]
Today’s post is kind of a random
compilation of things I love and look forward to doing this fall!
-Playoff Baseball.
Did anyone really expect anything
else to be at the top of this list? I’m pretty positive neither of my teams [Yankees
& Padres] will be playing in the fall classic this year, but it makes my
heart happy to know that I’ll be able to turn on the TV when I get home from
work or school and baseball will be on. Unfortunately the rivals of my favorite
teams did make it to October. That doesn’t mean I won’t be watching…I’ll just
be rooting for the Red Sox and Dodgers to not win!
-Apple Beer.
I learned about Apple Beer/Cider [whatever
it is] earlier this summer when I had it at a BBQ and liked it a lot. Since
then, I’ve had it here and there…but I plan on fully embracing it this fall. I
think one of the reasons I like it so much is because it reminds me of
Manzanita which is apple soda…a staple in Mexican households! It’s like the
grown-up boozier version of Manzanita! Both are worth checking out!
-Salted Carmel Hot Chocolate.
Pumpkin Spice Latte’s can take a
seat, my favorite seasonal drink from SBUX is the Salted Carmel Hot Chocolate!
Heavenly is probably the best word I can use to describe the way it tastes. I
don’t know enough coffee connoisseur approved adjectives to properly describe
it…just take my word for it, it’s damn good.
-Abuelita’s Hot Chocolate.
I you know, you knowwwwwww.
-Comfy Clothes.
If you’re looking for a fashion
blog…look elsewhere. I endorse leggings and sweats. I live in leggings. So I’m
happy that it’s we’re in the season where it’s acceptable to wear them again!
Oversized sweaters go well with leggings and adds to that comfort level. Put on
some calf length boots and throw your hair in a messy bun and you’re good to
go! Can’t forget about seats though! I have a large collection of sweats, they’re
one of my favorite things to wear…around the house, to run a quick errand, head
to school. Pretty much to do anything but go to work.
-Cinnamon Roll Crust Apple Pie.
I learned to make this like 2
years ago. It was pretty freaking delicious. Can’t wait to make it again :]
-Pumpkin Picking & Pumpkin
Fudge.
So I’m from a small country-ish town
in North San Diego county. It’s famous for its surrounding casinos…and that’s
about it. The only time traffic gets crazy is in October when pretty much all
of San Diego flocks here to pick pumpkins in the crazy awesome pumpkin patch
Bates Nut Farm has…better known to the locals as Nate’s Butt Farm :] Haha. I
actually haven’t picked pumpkins here for like 6 years, but I’m making it
happen this year! Bates has like 20 different flavors of homemade fudge in
their shop which is ridiculously rich and soooo good, but the best flavor is
Pumpkin fudge which they only roll out every fall!
-Dia De Los Muertos.
It’s a Mexican holiday that
honors and celebrates deceased relative and loved ones. I’m kind of infatuated
with sugar skull art, and if I ever get courageous enough to get a tattoo, the
first will definitely be a sugar skull and some roses. Old Town in San Diego
has done this cool event thing for the last few Dia De Los Muertos and I really want
to make it out this year!
Last But Certainly Not Least…
-SYTYCD Tour
One of my favorite things of the
summer is So You Think you Can Dance. One of my favorite things of the fall is seeing the top 10
contestants on tour doing my favorite dances of the season. Amy, Jasmine, Nico, and Tucker were some of my favorites, but my #1 of the season was Aaron. He's such an incredible dancer anddd I might
have fallen in love with him. I was so sure he was going to go
from not making the cut [again] during the green mile to winning the whole
competition. When they said Fik-Shun’s name as the winner, I immediately yelled
“SHUT. UP.” I couldn’t believe Aaron lost. It broke my heart and I am still not
over it. If I make to the tour this year, you can bet everything in your pocket that I will camp out for hours after the show for a shot to meet him!
<3
That’s it folks. Or at least
everything that came to mind when I made this list. What do you think of it?
What’s on your list? Anything missing that should be on mine?
P.S. I'm not one who uses the word "cozy" regularly...so don't judge me based on my use of it in today's blog. Ha.
P.S.S. I'm gonna mention that I don't own any of these images, all were stolen from google and pinterest...please don't sue me.
It’s been 20 longggg days since my last
blog post. Oops. Life’s been a little crazy and school started…so blogging took
a back seat. But, I’m sure you’re all having Marty withdrawls. Riiiiight. Ha. Anyways…I’ve done lots of cool
blog worthy things, just never had the time to write about it. Gonna split it
into a couple of posts though, because it's sort of a lot.
Luke Bryan-
I had been looking forward to this concert for months! Luke has a comfortable spot in the rotating top 3 favorite country music artists alongside Dierks Bentley and Lady Antebellum. A buddy of ours hosted a tailgate that started 7 hours before the concert! Got there around 1:00 pm and partied until 7:00 pm when the concert started! Florida Georgia line was the the 1st opening act and they totally won me over as a fan! I was kind of meh about them before this show, but they lit up the stage, and they had the lawn area filled up like I’d never seen it before…for an opening act! Thomspon Square came on stage after them and rocked some, but not as hard as FGL. Luke Bryan was the main event and I think my super duper high expectations of this guy blew it for me. It was a good show, he preformed all my favorites and shook his booty…but I was left a little underwhelmed. Oh well. Not a lot of pictures from this night because they were mostly on my camera instead of my phone.
SELFIEEEEE.
LIFE SIZE INFLATABLE BALL!
The crew :] Jessica and her peeps chilled with us too!
Padres v. Mets-
The season tickets crew (minus
Ashley because her job is lame) caught a Thursday night game against the Mets.
I got a call from our ticket rep while I was at work asking if we wanted to do “Friar
Feud” and I said I’m sure one of the five of us would be down. I ended up being
the one that did it…was asked to name two brothers that have both played for the
Padres. I ended up losing and won this random consolation prize. You’ll hear
more about this injustice on Friday…
ON TV/THE BIG SCREEN!
Random consolation prize for losing. Haha.
Stone17 Beerfest-
Stone is a local craft brewery in
San Diego that tons of people love. I don’t drink beer, so I’m kind of meh
about it…but their restaurant is pretty beautiful. They do an annual beerfest
fundraiser for the local Boys & Girls Club, YMCA, Surfrider, (and a 4th
organization I don’t remember) as their anniversary party. I had a friend who volunteered
to be a beer pourer but couldn’t do it. It sounded like a cool event so I said
I’d be down to do it! I learned that beer people are super serious about their
beer. Haha. It was a lot of fun, hopefully I get to do it again next year! And
I totally recommend any beer drinker friends to buy a ticket for next year…super
fun and super cool event!
Padres v. Mets-
A friend from NY was in town for the week and we arranged to catch a Padres game together. We had brunch on the field and all the players and coaches were out to sign autographs for everyone. We got to meet Padres manager Bud Black a second time, 1st baseman Yonder Alonso again, and our favorite bullpen catchers Justin Hatcher and Griffin Benedict! The NY-ers in town got lucky because the players rarely come out to say hey. Haha. It was a good game, Padres won with a walkoff!
Brent & I
Lime & I with Bud Black!
With Yonder Alonso!
Lime & I with Hatch & Benny
Oh! And met this super hot Mets catcher!
Mmmmkay. That's enough. Good stuff, right? Check back tomorrow for part 2!
