Days 7 & 8 - Los Angeles and Hollywood

On Tuesday, we slept in a little and took our time to head out of Anaheim and headed up I-5 into Los Angeles.  We were going to spend three nights in LA and booked an AirBnB to spend a little downtime and recharge our batteries.  The AirBnB was phenomenal and just what we needed after week on the road.  We made a quick grocery run to Target and actually got to cook some home cooked meals for a couple of days.  Since there is so much to see in Los Angeles and we did not have a lot of time nor any local knowledge, we decided to book an all-day tour to see as much as we could.  Tammy booked us a tour with www.adayinlatours.com and we had to drive in to Hollywood to be picked up at 8:00.  We got up early, made breakfast and were parked at the Dolby Theater parking deck by 8:00.  The tour was very good and our guide was excellent.  Colin was very knowledgeable and entertaining and we got to see a lot of the sites!

The tour started at the Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach.

The World Famous Santa Monica Pier inspired by Coney Island in NYC

Tammy taking in the view of her "Happy Place", the beach

Beach Boys

Tate getting in some work at Muscle Beach

And showing off the progress!

The Chez-Jay Restaurant, a half block from the beach which has been in operation since 1959 where just about every big name in Hollywood has eaten.  Legend has it that the Rat Pack hang out here on Thursday nights to play poker and that Marilyn Monroe and JFK would meet here.

Venice Beach, which at one time had over 60 miles of canals just like Venice, Italy.  Now it has about three miles of canals left, but it is very "artsy" and is a popular place for skateboarders.

Venice Beach is a very eclectic kind of place - graffiti on palm trees is okay!?!

Home of the original Gold's Gym, lifting weights on the beach is a thing there.

Tate really enjoyed the souvenir shops - No, he was not allowed to purchase that hat!

Next we went into Beverly Hills and got to walk up and down Rodeo Drive (pronounced RO-DAY-OH for all you that may be unrefined and unfamiliar)

Yes She Is!

The walk down Rodeo Drive. Lot of Palm Trees.

The Via Rodeo, a cobblestone street that runs up from Rodeo where more high-end shops can be seen.

A custom made Rolls Royce owned by one of the owners of The House of Bjan.  This shop had designed the inauguration suit for every President since Richard Nixon.

Then we went to the Hollywood Farmers Market at the Grove for Lunch.

Then we made the drive up to the Griffith Observatory where we took in the beautiful views of the Los Angeles Skyline and got the best look at the famous Hollywood sign.

The best view of the famous sign that used to say "Hollywoodland"

Downtown Los Angeles

The view from the Observatory

Our tour concluded the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Grauman's Chinese Theater where the stars put their hands in cement.  Colin pointed out all the cool places along the way and we were very pleased with what we were able to see in such a short amount of time.

One of my favorite actors who was honored in 2006.

To qualify for a star on the walk of fame, someone has to stay "relevant" for 5 years in movies, tv, music, production, or stage.

After a whirlwind tour of Los Angeles, we headed back to our stay to get some rest for the next day when we would go to Dodger Stadium.

Day 6 - Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach, and Angels Stadium #26

On Monday, we were set to drive up to Anaheim to see the Angels.  Before we left Coronado/San Diego, we found a park where the boys were able to get some throwing in as both are still in the middle of their showcase seasons.

Boys doing a little long-toss to keep arms in shape.

 I was not looking forward to the drive into the outskirts of Los Angeles by taking I-5 all the way in.  So we decided to take a more scenic route via the Pacific Coast Highway, Highway 1.  It was more scenic but the weather did not cooperate.  It was very hazy, or maybe smoggy that day.  We will continue on that road leaving LA heading to the Bay area.  Hopefully the weather will be better.  We did spend some time at Huntington Beach, which was nice but as the pictures indicate, it was very overcast and hazy there too.

Huntington Beach - The water was very cold!

But it didn't stop Tate from taking a swim - He loves the Beach!

After some time at the beach, we head into Anaheim and check in to our hotel to rest up before we go to Angels Stadium.  This was a game the boys were looking forward to because they were going to see two of the best players in the Majors - Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.

Angels Stadium was surprisingly a very nice ballpark.  It was a little dated, but some of the features there in the design, especially the outfield, make it very appealing.

The entrance to Angels Stadium with two caps size 679 1/2!

Another cool feature at the Homeplate Gate

The boys had to get a Shohei Ohtani Jersey - and yes, we have been asked if they are twins (which Trey does not appreciate!)

The rock formation structure with waterfall feature is quite impressive.

Better view of the rocks - its hard to make out the water falling but its there

Mike Trout - he had a rough night going 0 for 5 with three Ks - even the greatest in the game can have a bad night!

The Angels were playing the Chicago White Sox with Noah Syndegaard (LAA) taking on Lucas Giolito (CWS).  The game went back and forth.  No home runs were hit although there was an exciting play in right field that appeared to be a homer but was challenged and determined to be a triple.  The Angels went ahead in the 7th and held on to win the game.  As seen in the pic below, the rock feature is also highlighted when the Angels win!

This was very cool!  Fireworks and flames to punctuate the victory!

As I said earlier, Angels Stadium is most impressive.  It is somewhat dated and they are hanging on to their last World Series victory, which was in 2002.  This season they are celebrating the 20th anniversary of that accomplishment.  I would think it is very hard to compete with their next door neighbors just 30 miles up the road (The Dodgers), but the fans that were there are devoted and the employees are very friendly and helpful.  We had an issue with our tickets and Patti at Guest Relations went out of her way to accommodate us.  I was pleasantly surprised with this park and would probably have to put it in my Top 10.  We headed back to our room which was a mile walk.  The next day we would be driving up into LA.

Day 5 - San Diego's Petco Park #25

Sunny San Diego and #25 - Petco Park was one of the stadiums that we were really excited to see.  It has hosted the All-Star Festivities in the last few years and has a reputation for being a really nice ballpark.  We were set to see a Sunday afternoon game against the Philadelphia Phillies.  When we scheduled the trip, this game was one that we were excited about because of the major talent that would be on the field.  The Padres have one of the most exciting players in the Majors in Fernando Tatis, Jr and another young star in Manny Machado.  The Phillies have the reigning National League MVP - Bryce Harper.  Unfortunately, neither of those guys played because they are injured.  That didn't matter, the ballpark was going to be exciting.  We got up early, had breakfast, and got on the Ferry to ride across the Bay to the San Diego Convention center and made the short walk to the Park.

Tate and Trey on the Ferry to cross the Bay with the San Diego Skyline in the background.

Petco Park in San Diego street view.

Once inside the Park, we decided to walk around and check out the amenities.  It was very impressive!  The layout of the mezzanine was very "fan friendly" and the concession choices were endless.  The highlight of the concession stand was "Bottomless Souvenir Sodas."  Very useful for a Sunday afternoon game.  After getting some food (a "Friar Frank", we made our way to our seats.  We split up again and the boys were on the front row in the outfield which was exposed to full sun.  Not great for an afternoon game, but the temp was only in the low 80s so they were okay.  Tammy and I sat in the 200 level close to the Western Supply Building, which was an old warehouse that they built the stadium around and it blends in with the rest of the building.  A neat feature of the architecture.

The view from where Tammy and I sat.  We were in full shade - which was nice - except for Tammy who got cold!

The Western Supply Building on the Left

The mezzanine behind the stands - notice the Southwestern style which was prevalent throughout.

The game was very entertaining.  We got to see Yu Darvish pitch for the Padres.  In the end, it was the Phillies who pulled out the victory, but we enjoyed the game and thought the ballpark was amazing.  It may be in my personal Top 5.  We will have to see when we complete the task.

The Proverbial Ballpark Pic with Tate and Trey wearing their newly purchased Fernando Tatis Jr. Jerseys.

San Diego did not disappoint.  The Park was beautiful with lots of things for the fans to do.  There is even a grassy berm beyond centerfield for those that wanted to sit on the grass.  Unfortunately for us Braves fans we did not want to see the Phillies win, but we had a great time.  San Diego is a nice town and to sum it up, I will quote Alejandro, our Lyft driver who took us back to the hotel.  "It is pretty chill" to live in San Diego.  I couldn't agree more.  For those of you that know me and my humor, I'll wrap up this post with another quote, this time from Anchorman Ron Burgandy, "You Stay Classy, San Diego!"

We went back to the hotel and watched the Braves take on the Dodgers on TV.  That game did not end well either.  The next day we would head north on the PCH to Anaheim for a game at Angels Stadium.

Day 3 - Phoenix and Chase Field #24

After leaving the Grand Canyon, we made the 3.5 hour drive back to Phoenix where we would go see the Diamondbacks that night.  We made pretty good time getting into the city and had some time to spend before we could check into our hotel.  The temperature in Phoenix when we arrived was about 104 so there was nothing that we could do outside so we decided to go see a movie.  The boys went to see the new Jurassic World movie and Tammy and I went to see Elvis!  It was outstanding!  I give it two thumbs up.  Austin Butler nailed the role.  He will win the Best Actor Academy Award.  Write it down!

So after the movie, we checked into the hotel and set out on the half mile walk to Chase Field.  Not the best idea as the temperature was pushing 106 on the walk, but we got in and basked in the AC at Chase Field!

Chase Field - Home of the Arizona Diamondbacks - Ballpark #24

The Diamondbacks were taking on the Detroit Tigers so the number of people in attendance was kind of small but the fans that showed up were very supportive of their DBacks!  And there were a few devoted Tiger fans in attendance as well, many sporting Miguel Cabrera jerseys.  It was kind of cool getting to see the future Hall of Famer (Cabrera) play and get a hit.  The highlight of the game was watching Tiger infielder Javy Baez hit a Grand Slam!

The Tigers went on to win the game although the Dbacks put up a pretty good fight.  Our seats were in the outfield as we had 2 seats in left field and 2 in right. Below are some of the views that we had.

Our view from the Left Field Bleachers - we had a great view of the Grand Slam!

Chase Field - from Home Run Porch in Center Field

Tate's view from Right Field - We were on the front row in each section - Nice!

Tate and Trey with the proverbial Ball Park photo - sorry about the lighting - Tate sporting his Serpientes (Diamondbacks Spanish Heritage) T-Shirt.

Trey's T-Shirt from Arizona repping Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, "The Big Unit"

So Chase Field is a nice ballpark.  It is like an Oasis in the middle of a desert - literally!  The amenities were very nice.  I don't think they could play unless it was indoors because the heat would be unbearable.  The people were friendly and they are very supportive of their team.  It's challenging for them in that they play in one of the most challenging divisions in all of Major League Baseball having to battle the Dodgers, Giants, Padres, and Rockies.  It's a nice place to watch a game.

We headed back to the room again walking the 1/2 mile at 9:30 and it was still 97 degrees.  Unbelievable!  The next day we would head to San Diego!

Day 4 - Driving to San Diego and Coronado Beach

On Saturday we left Phoenix to make the 360 mile drive to Sunny San Diego.  We knew it was going to be a grind because of the heat outside and the fact that the scenery did not change much.  Kudos to the Toyota Company who make the Highlander.  I have to say it is a pretty nice and reliable vehicle.  The temps were climbing almost up to 110 degrees as did the elevation change.  We reached as high as 8000 feet in California and then descended all the way down to sea level during the drive.

A sight we have not seen before!

Actual pic of the Temp taken during a stop near the California border.

During the drive on Interstate 8, the elevation changed a lot more than I expected which I thought would just be flat desert.  Just over the California border past Yuma, we could see the US/Mexican border as seen in the following pic.  You can see the border wall.  We went through two different checkpoints to the Border guards could check to see if any illegals were on board.  That was kind of strange.

In the distance, you can see the border wall.  We were within sight of Mexico on Interstate 8.

Not exactly desert flatland, more like a lunar landscape!

But we made it to San Diego in about 5 and 1/2 hours and headed across the bay to Coronado where we had hotel reservations.  It turned out that Coronado Beach is a very popular place for tourists and locals as I think most of the people in San Diego decided to go to the beach that day.  As did we,  Tate could not wait to go to the beach.  So we checked in and headed out.  The temperature was in the low 80s with a nice breeze.  The boys said the water was cold and did not stay in very long.  

A picture taken from the bridge crossing over into Coronado from San Diego where we stayed.

The boys playing around on the beach (Trey getting dunked on by Tate!)

Just two lovebirds on the beach!

And two weak, little boys!

We spent about an hour and a half at the beach and then went back into downtown Coronado for some pizza for dinner.  The next day (Sunday) we would get up early to take the ferry across the Bay for the trip to Petco Park to see the Padres.

Days 1 & 2 Flight to Phoenix and The Grand Canyon

On Wednesday, June 22nd, we flew out of Charlotte to Phoenix where we picked up a rental car and headed North toward the Grand Canyon.  Fortunately, we had no problems this year with getting a one-way rental.  I don't care what anybody says, Phoenix is a very hot city.  I think it was 104 degrees when we landed (and again I don't care - it may be a dry heat, but it is still too hot).

Our view of Arizona just before landing.

So, we had decided ahead of time that since we are going to be in Arizona that we should make the drive North and see the Grand Canyon.  It was a 3 and a half hour drive up to Grand Canyon National Park, which is a very interesting place.  I'm sure seeing the Grand Canyon is on most people's bucket lists and it certainly was on mine.  The boys did not seem to interested in it - besides we are out here to see baseball games.  But I think they were pretty impressed!

Our view just before Sunset.

On Wednesday, our first day in the Park, we went immediately out to see the Canyon.  It did not disappoint!  It is magnificent.  I don't think the pictures do it justice.

Tammy, Tate and Trey taking in the sights.

On Thursday, we decided to make a day of visiting the park and we wanted to do a hike down into the Canyon.  The boys were in good shape and Tammy works out and I had been walking some so we thought we would start out with the 1.5 mile Blue Angel Trail.  Now, 1.5 miles does not sound like a lot, but when you are descending 1000 feet during that 1.5 mile hike, it can be quite a challenge.  And as you would imagine going down was not too bad.  But coming up was VERY DIFFICULT.  It took about 40 minutes to go down and about an hour to come back up.  Needless to say, we were drained!

Tate and Trey at a little tunnel going down the trail.

Tammy at the beginning of the descent.

The views were breathtaking (or maybe it was the walking!)

We encountered a Mule Train hauling supplies up the mountain.

It was not uncommon to see Elk in the park - even in the town of Tusayan, AZ where we saw this very tame 7X7 Bull Elk eating grass along the sidewalk.

Needless to say, the visit to Grand Canyon National Park was definitely worth the extra effort.  After our hike, we headed back to the hotel and cleaned up and got some dinner and decided to go back to the Grand Canyon for an event called the Grand Canyon Star Party.  We were able to see a pitch black sky with more stars than I had ever seen.  There were over 50 astronomers who had set up telescopes focused on various stars and constellations.  We go to see some pretty cool views of stars and also got some lessons in astronomy.  I thought it was interesting.  The rest of my family was not as impressed.  So we headed back to the room and bedded down to head back to Phoenix the next day.  My take on the Grand Canyon - It was awesome!  Next up - back to Phoenix for the Diamondbacks game.