July 11th, 2010
A few months ago I put myself in the running for a chance to purchase tickets to the 2010 All Star game in Anaheim. I'd been to the park in Anaheim before so I thought this would be a good way to check them off the list this summer. I wasn't able to get tickets to the actual All Star game, but a couple days before the event I received and email saying I could get tickets to the Home Run Derby. A quick call to my pal Jason and it was settled, we were headed to Anaheim!
The flights were pretty full that day so rather than flying into Orange county as I had hoped I had to go into LAX. Not exactly the closest airport to the Angels stadium. Jason met me there and we had to take a cab to the park because public transportation that far was nil. Only as the cab dropped us off near the park did we realize it might have been a good idea to book a hotel in advance. Banners from the light posts, streets closed off for parades, thousands of people wandering around for the various all star events... We began walking from hotel to hotel searching for vacancy and hoping not to get fleeced in the process.
We ended up finding this really neat little motel that had clearly seen better days. The two guys behind the desk were our age and super laid back. That and an old brown lab sleeping behind the counter gave us a good feeling. I say old because he had more gray hairs than brown but we were told he's only 5. That's two years younger than old Duke. I asked what time their pool closed and was told "never". Perfect.
The actual Home Run Derby was pretty lame. The $99 tickets were by far the most I'd ever paid for a game. Those were the cheapest available and obviously not great seats. I choose to sit in right field hoping Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers would hit some up our way. He choose not to participate because it effects his swing. Lame. It was a cool experience. Something fun to say I've done, but I wouldn't go to another one. The stadium is pretty nice. There is a water feature in center field that's unique. Nothing remarkable.
After the game we went for a couple drinks at a bar across the street while we waited to hear from a coworker of ours that is now living and working at the Orange County airport. He picked us up and took us to Huntington Beach where he lives to check out the nightlife there. This is where my memory gets a bit fuzzy and there aren't any pictures in my camera for this portion of the night...
Maybe I should transfer to Orange County...
