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The game
The second leg of our journey began with the 4 1/2 hour trip from Vegas to Los Angeles, with nothing but desert to look at virtually the whole way. We got a little bit of a late start after Enterprise didn't have a vehicle to fulfill our reservation. They tempted us with a Mustang convertible, but we had to fight off our dreams of cruising down the coast of California in such a hot rod and think more practically — there was no way we could fit our luggage in that hot rod.Enterprise upgraded us to a small SUV if we would drive a larger SUV to another Enterprise location. Of course it was the opposite way we intended on going, but we had no other option. In all, the mishap added about an hour to our trip.
It was late in the afternoon when we finally arrived at Nate's Aunt Shelley's house, where we were staying for the next two nights, and after catching up and receiving some last minute advice on getting to the stadium, we hit the busy streets of L.A. to go the game.
The traffic wasn't as bad as we thought it would be, though there was no shortage of commuters by any means. We started questioning where our phones were taking us when they said we were right by the stadium but still in a park (called Elysian Park). But after following the windy road thick with trees on both sides, the parking lot for the stadium seemed to come out of nowhere to surprise us. It was $20 to park, which was about what we had expected.
The outside of the stadium wasn't too flashy. Early on, we believed it to be similar to Wrigley Field in that much of the mystique about Dodger Stadium was due to the history and tradition it has — after all, it is the third oldest stadium in the majors (built in 1962).
Upon entry to the stadium, we received our Don Newcombe promotional bobble head — the Dodgers organization also honored him before the game. Our seats were Section FD41, Row C. The seats were pretty decent and the weather was perfect, so we knew we were in for a treat.
One of the first things we did after finding our seats was make our way back up to the concourse to get something to eat and drink. You can't go to Dodger Stadium and not get a Dodger Dog, so of course we got one each. But on our way up to the concession stand, we saw an L.A. helmet full of nachos and knew we had to split one.
The food was pretty reasonably priced, but buying a domestic beer was going to set you back $11.50 with a craft beer being even more than that. Needless to say, the choices were sodas and only one beer for the night.
The game was a fun one for anyone that loves a pitcher's dual. Starting on the mound for Colorado was Chris Rusin, and for the Dodgers it was Kenta Maeda. Both pitchers went at least six innings and gave up a combined eight hits and one earned run. Maeda struck out nine during his outing, including the first four Rockies hitters of the game.
In the top of the seventh inning, Colorado's Gerardo Parra doubled, and with two outs, Daniel Descalso singled home the first, and ultimately only, run of the game.
The Dodgers had their chances, squandering a bases loaded, one-out situation, and stranding two in the seventh, but the Rockies' pitching staff held the boys in the white and blue scoreless. The L.A. fans were loud and very involved in the game during those scoring opportunities, but it was a little disappointing to see so many leave throughout the ninth inning, with their team down just one run.
The coolest part of the game was when the Dodgers honored an Navy veteran in between innings. The man, who was in his older age, was so moved by the standing ovation by everyone in the stadium that he had to fight back tears. It was a great scene.
We had to stop by the fan shop to get our souvenirs, so by the time we left the stadium most of the parking lot was already empty. It took us an hour to get back to Shelley's house — though the trip back did include another stop at In-And-Out Burger (see our Vegas trip for more on that) — so we didn't arrive at our destination until midnight. Given the amount of driving we had done that day, we decided to call it a night.
L.A. day two
Our first full day in LA began with us going to visit Shelley's place of work, the California Institution of Arts (CalArts), where she is a graphic design professor.
One of the school's biggest donors was Walt Disney, and the group that created Pixar studied in the same studios we got to visit. Shelley told us how she has seen movie stars such as James Franco and Shia Labeouf attending classes at the school. The school also hosts one of the first modular theaters and a big amphitheater for outdoor performances. It was a fun experience for us to get to see one of L.A.'s prominent art institutions. And being in the hills of Los Angeles, it had quite the view, too.
After visiting the school, we set out for the beach. We had heard good things about the Carpinteria beach area, so that was our first destination.
Our first priority was food. We stopped at the Rincon Brewery, a small local brewery with a restaurant in it. Ben and Nick got the beer samples — four 4 oz. glasses of your choice of Rincon beers — and we all got some form of fish for our entrees.
The food and the beverages were wonderful, as was the service. The setting was great, as big glass doors were left open to let the cool ocean air and warm sunlight in, while also allowing customers to eat outside if desired.
With full stomachs, we mustered our way to the beach. There were plenty of other beach goers, but it wasn't as if it were crowded. We dipped our feet in the Pacific — cold at first but mild after the body adjusts — and just sat down to enjoy the atmosphere. It really was a peaceful and enjoyable experience.
We were told the city of Montecito boasted some pretty spectacular houses, including that of one of the most powerful women in the world: Oprah. Trying to not be too stalker-like while also fulfilling our curiosity, we drove by. We could only see the gate, but it was enough to let our imaginations run wild about the residence and its features.
By the time we got back to Shelley's house and rested our bodies for a bit, we were ready to try some more food local to L.A. We tried a smaller Mexican restaurant, but the wait was going to be a half hour and we were getting pretty hungry. Instead, we went to Baja Fresh, which is almost like a Subway but with Mexican food, all of which is prepared in front of you. Again, we were treated to another delicious dining experience.
After our late dinner, we were still tired from the day's activities. We said good night to our second day in Los Angeles and rest up; because day three of L.A. had more in store for us, including a trip to Anaheim to see the Angels.
Standings
This was a unique grading system for us, because for the first time, we'll be visiting two ball parks in (technically) the same city. Because of that, we separated the nightlife into two days: one when we visited the Dodgers and the other with the Angels.Starting with the ball park at Dodger Stadium, we were all left wanting a little more from the appearance and the upkeep. The food was good, though there wasn't much of a variety. The crowd was great for the most part. They were involved in the game, until the last inning when a lot of people left to beat traffic.
As far as nightlife, there are few places that offer as many opportunities as Los Angeles. We were all left in awe with just how many things there are to do. Transportation poses a problem. It often takes so long to get to one place — because the city is so spread out and because of the traffic — that it would take a week or more to make a dent in your list of things to see. Overall, the people of L.A. were pretty great. They were easy to talk to and gave us great advice on things to see and do.
Overall, we gave this trip a 6.2, with the "sex appeal" of the stadium and the traffic being the major downers.
| Rank | Stadium | Rating |
| 1. | Kauffman Stadium (Royals) | 8.4 |
| 2. | Target Field (Twins) | 8.3 |
| 2. | U.S. Cellular (White Sox) | 8.3 |
| 3. | Wrigley Field (Cubs) | 8.3 |
| 4. | Miller Park (Brewers) | 7.2 |
| 5. | Coors Field (Rockies) | 7.1 |
| 6. | Dodger Stadium (Dodgers) | 6.2 |
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