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Almost famous
We had big plans for our second day in Los Angeles. We were going to see all of the touristy sites and walk the same sidewalks as movie stars before heading to Anaheim for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim game at Angels Stadium. But first, we said goodbye to Shelley and thanked her for graciously letting us stay at her house.
Our next stop was the famous Hollywood Sign at Griffith Park. We took a long, winding road that went up the mountain to the Griffith Observatory. Along the way, there was parking for people taking one of many trails that hiked up the hills.
Next on the list was the TCL Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame along Hollywood Boulevard. Driving down Hollywood Boulevard, it was not quite what we expected. There was lots of traffic, people flooding the sidewalk (both of which we did expect), but the streets were filled with small shops — many of them nothing we would go into.
We drove by the theatre and the entry was overflowing with people. With parking being virtually impossible, we decided that we had seen all of Hollywood that we needed to and that we would rather explore Anaheim a little more.
It turned out to be a good thing we left when we did because traffic was even worse than we had imagined. But when we finally arrived in Anaheim, we were pleasantly surprised that our hotel was right next to Downtown Disney, which is part of Disney Land. We had a little time before we could check in, so we went to Anaheim's ESPNZone, which is part of Downtown Disney.
The game
We were really excited for this game, because it was one of the few times our seats were not in the same general area as the other games we've been to. We were lucky enough to get seats in the first row of right-center field — Section 239, Row A.
Los Angeles cut the lead to 4-1 after an RBI groundout by Mike Trout, but Cleveland added a pair of runs in the second. The Angels scored another run on a wild pitch, but the Halos found it difficult to get any offense going against Indians' ace Corey Kluber, who tossed a complete game and allowed two runs on three hits while striking out eight.
We received another promotional gift — the second on the trip — an Angels cooler bag. So before we headed out for the night, we stopped at the hotel to drop our stuff off. We got another uber — which was really easy to get throughout our trip. Nate was feeling pretty tired, so it was Ben and Nick that left the hotel, heading for the Fullerton area, which was about 15-20 minutes away.
The main strip of bars in Fullerton is on Commonwealth Avenue. It had a very college bar scene feel to it, but since school is out there was a little variety in age groups roaming the street. There were bars that had big dance floors, some had live music, and there was even a dessert bar. But we decided to try a bar that seemed a little more laid back — the Oddfellow Drinkery.
We tried a local beer called 805, which is made by Firestone Walker Brewing Company, and it was very good. We stayed for a couple of beers and sat outside in the patio area before heading back to our hotel in Anaheim. Resting up was a good call, as we knew we'd have to deal with more traffic the next day on our way to San Diego...
The standings
The Angels trip actually tied with our journey to Target Field, U.S. Cellular, and Wrigley. But after much deliberation, we ranked it third overall, falling right behind Minneapolis and ahead of both Chicago trips. During deliberations, we also elected to get rid of ties by settling the scores of each trip among each other.The biggest thing Angels Stadium had going for it was its "sex appeal." This ball park was beautiful, our seats were great, the inside of the stadium was clean, and it offered just about everything you could ask for to make for a great game experience.
The main negative the trip had was how spread out surrounding restaurants or bars were to the stadium. There were chain bar and grill places (like Hooters) near the stadium, but if you're looking for more of a local bar scene or restaurant you're going to have to travel a little ways from the stadium. There was one bar across the street from the stadium, but it was still in the process of opening to the public, so the surrounding area may be a little more lively in the future.
| Rank | Stadium | Rating |
| 1. | Kauffman Stadium (Royals) | 8.4 |
| 2. | Target Field (Twins) | 8.3 |
| 3. | Angels Stadium (Angels) | 8.3 |
| 4. | U.S. Cellular (White Sox) | 8.3 |
| 5. | Wrigley Field (Cubs) | 8.3 |
| 6. | Miller Park (Brewers) | 7.2 |
| 7. | Coors Field (Rockies) | 7.1 |
| 8. | Dodger Stadium (Dodgers) | 6.2 |
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