My most recent trip was to Oakland. I was planning on seeing the A's play before heading to Anaheim to see the Angels the following day. However, the U.S. vs. Ghana soccer match and several pints of Guinness had different plans for me. As I left the airport I knew I needed to find a good spot to watch the soccer game and fast. It was about an hour before the game was to start so I googled "pubs" in my phone. The only one that came up was about an hour away via train and some walking. Perfect. I made it just after the game started and just as I hoped for the place was packed. Standing room only. I made my way towards one of the televisions and immediately order myself a Guinness with no regard for the fact I last ate almost 6 hours ago.
As you may know the first have of the game was horrible. We were losing and not playing well at all. The second half was as if a whole different team came out and it was once again a pleasure to watch. After several close chances we finally scored the equalizer and the pub went wild! I believe it was at this point I began losing my voice. Such a great atmosphere to watch the game in, I was very happy with my decision to watch the game there. The euphoria and buzz in the air continued for another 45 minutes, through a few more pints, until the U.S. ended up losing. I stuck around the bar for a few more hours drinking and chatting with some locals about the game, baseball, traveling, etc. Very drunk at this point...
By the time I got to the ballpark I was tired and hungry and since I'd seen this park before and since it's one of the worst parks there is I was losing interest quickly. Not to mention starting to feel hungover in a bad way. I ended up missing my flight to Anaheim the next morning, instead wandering my way to In-N-Out for a burger I'd been anticipating for a long time. Even that wasn't as satisfying as it should have been. I decided to cut my losses and just go home. The flights from Oakland were very full so I went from there to Vegas then onto Denver. Not an excellent trip by any means but it still counts.
This is so fun!
ReplyDeleteBUT. If I find out this was the same weekend as the Sonoma race at the Infineon track... I will weep at the thought of missing out on some mother-son bonding time - you at the stadium and me at the track.