Well, That Sucked or Check Dodger Stadium Off the List! or My First Post-Season Game! or My New Cubs-Loving Pals!

Hmmm, please feel free to choose your preferred title for this blog entry regarding my trip to see Game 3 of the NLDS Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers. It may be best to separate it into parts.

Well, That Sucked
Um, The Chicago Cubs' post-season. 'Nuff said.

Check Dodger Stadium Off the List!
Usually, I am thrilled to report the activities and fun I experience at new stadiums, and will try to focus on the positive (meaning, I'll leave out the multiple verbal assaults from Dodgers "fans"/hoodlums/sore winners and the fact that the seats were not filled until the 3rd inning - not kidding on this one folks - it isn't an urban legend!)


I got there pretty early and enjoyed some food, the pre-game stuff and the introduction of each team. I didn't end up walking around as much as I usually do, I had an awesome seat/view and just enjoyed it. I sat next to an old-timer season ticket holder who was a kind, polite baseball fan - such a relief. I purchased my ticket for face value before the Cubs clinched their division, so on the plus side I didn't pay $150-200+ like some people did. Celebrities spotted: Tommy Lasorda, Vince Vaughn, Jim Belushi, fugly Steve Perry, but no Alyssa Milano.

My First Post-Season Game!

In my history of being a baseball fan I have never been able to see in-person a post-season game, so in that sense, the game was very exciting. I just wish the 97-game winning Cubs had shown up to play it!!









My New Cubs-Loving Pals!
Ever heard of Meetup.com? It is a way to meet people online, then in person, in your city, who have similar interests: for example "Cubs Fans in San Diego" or "Nerdlinger Pomeranian People". Well, I got in touch with several Cubs fans from this site and 5 of us ended up carpooling from SD to LA. We enjoyed talking about baseball and the Cubs, saving money on transportation and then consoling each other on the long.drive.home.

We got into LA several hours early and met up with more Meet Up people in a dark dive bar within walking distance to the stadium, The Short Stop. I happily report on the delicious Guinness ($4/pint...in LA!!) Many of the Dodgers fans there were normal, well-behaved baseball fans - and at one point the place was half full of Cubs fans! We made even more friends and enjoyed the pre-game revelry full of hope. After the game though - since the car was parked nearby - our group did not dare enter as we all agreed we enjoy having our aortas intact.




All in all, it was a great experience, just with a crappy, crappy box score. CRAPPY, I tell you!!!

Check Atlanta off the List

Last week I spent 4 days in Atlanta and traveled virtually free of charge. I flew on frequent flier miles and stayed in my friend's hotel room while she toiled away in an over-air-conditioned windowless conference room hawking her educational television goods.

I was happy to explore the city on my own. I had been once when I was 7 or 8 on family trip, but that barely counts. I was able to choose what I wanted to do and when I wanted to do it - just the way I like to travel. My first day I ate one of the most delicious breakfasts ever at The Flying Biscuit, then ventured to the Center for Puppetry Arts, which I highly recommend if you are ever in Atlanta. It will soon have an entire wing dedicated to Jim Henson, his Muppets and all the other creative beings he imagined and made come to life. (Props to Statler & Waldorf!)

I also experienced the World of Coca-Cola with my friend (who opted to try every single offering & didn't vomit) which included the opportunity to taste Coca-Cola beverages from Asia, Europe and South America. We also experienced our first 4-D film in which we were lurched about in our seats, sprayed with water and finally poked in the back. Fortunately, I got all the Diet Coke (mixed with Vanilla Coke) I wanted after such rough housing. (Also no vomiting)

Another day I was able to swim in the hotel pool without having to share it and check out the Georgia Aquarium. It didn't smell fishy - hooray! I got to see cool beluga whales, many funky colored fish and these crazy dancing eel thingies. Oh, and I got to pet a sting ray (but not the piranha). We later enjoyed an authentic Southern meal at Colonnade (i.e. fried chicken, mashed potatoes/gravy and biscuits). I'd provide a link to their website, but they are so down home that they don't have one - or take them new-fangled credit cards. (Uh, sadly, almost vomited - see entry about GI issues during trip to New Orleans...)

The real motivator for my trip to Atlanta was being able to attend a ballgame at Turner Field, home of my childhood hero, Dale Murphy! I am getting closer in my quest to see a game in every MLB stadium and now I can check the Braves' home off my list. I was able to score a great seat for cheap, enjoy dollar hot dog night and have my photo taken with the less-than-stellar mascot, Homer. All in all, a success.


Peaches consumed = zero.

A Day I Have Been Waiting For!!!

Some girls await the day they get that shiny new sports car with a big bow on top, many girls eagerly anticipate the day they get married, while other girls look forward to their parole date. A day I have been waiting for finally arrived: I GOT MY PICTURE TAKEN WITH THE SAN DIEGO FRIAR MASCOT!!!

True, this specific brother may not have been called to a life of poverty (the Stone IPA I was about to purchase when I spotted him cost 9 bones) but he was called to community service: entertaining me! (And probably some kids who were in the nearby play area, but I wasn't paying any attention to them.)

My love of mascots has a long history: sure there was the rather weak Fredbird in St. Louis, the much more impressive Mr. Met in New York, and the Milwaukee Sausage Race Crew but this tonsured dude was a long-awaited goal. Goal reached!!

But wait, there is still another mascot with which I dream to be photographed: The Philly Phanatic.

Thank goodness the Cubs are so fun they don't need a cartoonish mascot to create enthusiasm for the team -- unless you count Ron Santo.
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Hooray for baseball!! (And my pal Melany for having a camera with her)
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Something Sweet

I got to meet Matthew Sweet.
I got to meet Matthew Sweet.
His show certainly did rock.
It was not a pile of schlock.
A Monday night outing was a superb treat.
I got to meet Matthew Sweet.