Smashed Pennies: Angel Stadium

I almost missed the machine at Angel Stadium. I barely noticed it hidden in the really merchandise crowded Team Store. It is actually right next to the non-game day entrance to the Team Store, but when you come in through the ballpark it is way hidden behind the merchandise you see. I chose the design with the Halo A logo that says The A Team Angels Baseball. Mik chose the rally monkey Go Angels design.

Accessibility Review: Angel Stadium

Parking at Angel Stadium was nice and close like at Dodger Stadium. The parking is not smack dab next to the entrance, but only because the home plate entrance has a large sidewalk plaza. Leaving the parking lot after the game from here also worked out really fast since the area we parked only had handicap and suite type reserved spaces and not just the general parking traffic, which by the way was not much since most left early due to the 17-3 loss or stayed late to watch the Memorial Day fireworks.

The seats at Angel Stadium were way better than Dodger Stadium, but they have their problems as well. Again we ran into the problem of a bar being in the line of site. That was it for the bad at our seats. The only other accessibility bad was the team store was very cluttered with merchandise and the aisles were barely big enough to navigate through. What made it frustrating, though, was that there were way too many people that worked there getting in the way.

So far the seats we had in section 259 at Angel Stadium are the best seats we have had on the trip. First off we could clearly see the entire scoreboard from our seats and could even easily see the one up behind us if we turned around. We also could see the whole field and even got a great look down into the tiered bullpens below our section. The section was also very clearly a standing section, however, the situation was actually handled very well by a red line a good distance behind our seats. Fans seemed to entirely respect that line and stood behind it and there was also a good usher presence to enforce it and just keep a better atmosphere compared to Dodger Stadium where ushers seemed entirely missing from our area of the stadium.

Mik liked that we actually had cup holders, which were annoyingly missing from Dodger Stadium's handicap seating. However, the cup holder situation was not that great. First off, they did not actually have a cup holder for every seat/space in the handicap section. It worked fine for us as we had two cup holders for our three seats/spaces, but it sure would not work ideally if we each had had a drink. Also, the cup holders were up on the high bar that was in the line of sight and caused even further blockage of the line of sight, especially when you put a drink in the cup holder. I had no idea that cup holders would turn out to be such a hot point related to the accessibility reviews, but it certainly has been an issue at the last two games.

Overall a great accessible experience. The bar and cup holder in the line of sight is annoying, but typical. The fact that there is a cup holder and the otherwise clear view of the whole field and scoreboard make up for that minor inconvenience. The elevators are not exactly that easy to find, but there are plenty of ushers around that are helpful.

Mik's Food Scrapbook: Angel Stadium

Mik's main meal at Angel Stadium was chicken tenders from Ruby's Diner. Mik says they were not very good.

At Ruby' Diner he has had a vanilla shake. They technically only offer the Vanilla Caramel shake, which I got, but they easily accommodate making that as just a vanilla shake. Mik thought the shake was okay, but he did not like that it was impossible for him to suck through the straw. I did drink my vanilla caramel one through the straw, but it definitely takes some sucking power.

Dad got the Barbecue Beef Brisket Sandwich at the Beach Pit BBQ and I had a burrito from Angelitos. Dad liked the sandwich, but it was a little dry. Mik seemed to like the bite of it he tried, but he is kind of partial towards liking chicken more than beef. The burrito was good and like the shake they were accommodating making it. They make it fresh and asked since I wanted without meat if I wanted extra of some of the other ingredients and Dad had them add more cheese.

Mik also had some nachos, but I forgot to photograph those. He said those were good, but there was a lot of them. The nachos can come with a lot of toppings, such as meat, but Mik had them with just the cheese. In the end they would have been a better meal option than the chicken tenders.

Mik's Mini Bat Collection: Red Angels

At the Angel game Mik chose the red mini bat with a white Angels Halo A logo on it for his collection. It is pretty simplistic, but it seems that is about as good as it gets for mini bats almost everywhere. At least it is Mik's favorite color and it was on reduced price.

Kj's Baseball Collection: Silver Angels A ball

Angel Stadium is the first stadium I was unable to find a stadium ball at. PetCo Park at least had then even though I chose the 40th Anniversary Padres one instead. I almost had to settle for a very dull white baseball with a simple Angels Halo A logo, but at the checkout we found a few more interesting balls. They had some other special ones like a Torii Hunter one and an Opening Day 2009 one, but neither of those meant anything to me. The silver one with the Angels logo and with the word Angels also did not strike me as all that special, but it at least looks way cooler than the plain one I almost ended up with.

Car Stickers Update: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The American League side of the car finally has a sticker on it. Dad put it on right when we got back to the hotel after the game. The sticker is of the A Angel logo on a baseball. Tonight we should get another American League sticker at the Oakland Athletics game.

Game 4: Chicago White Sox 17 @ Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim 3

Tonight's game was again with the Angels, but this time at their home stadium. Again our choice of team to root for was the Angels and again they lost. This time, though, it was pretty apparent throughout that they were going to lose and they really never had much of a chance. It started out like they might though, as the White Sox score 3 in the top of the first and then the Angels came back to tie it up in the bottom of the first inning. The White Sox, however, quickly pulled away with 4 in the second and 4 in the third. They continued to put runs on the board almost every inning. I think the only innings they did not score were the 6th and the 8th.

The Angels might have lost, but it was overall a much better game experience compared to the other day at the Dodgers. The seats were way better, although they did have an annoying bar in the line of site. There were at least sort of cup holders for the handicap seats and better yet for once we actually could see the scoreboard. It was also cool that we were right above the bullpens and that both bullpens are in left field (where we sat) instead of one in right and one in left like most parks. Lastly, Mik was on his best behavior tonight and did not complain at all for once. He might not be actually watching the games, but at least he is finally starting to get into being well behaved and entertaining himself with his iPod and DS during the games. That certainly helps make the games more enjoyable for Dad and I.

Tomorrow it is off to Oakland and our first night at a campground. It will be a late night since the campground is an hour north of Oakland and we will not be able to go and set up the tent until we get there after the game, but at least we are at the same campground for two more nights and it is not one of our one night stays.

Game 3: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 4 @ Los Angeles Dodgers 5

We are just now leaving the massive parking lot from the game at Dodgers Stadium. The game was not too bad, but we certainly were not impressed with the park due to our seats. I did not mind overall, as the seats were right were we entered the park and the handicap parking was literally right in front of the entrance to the area we sat in.

The main issue, though, was it being a cross town game and the crowd being louder and more over the top than usual, which really pissed Mik off. He is barely into this trip in the first place, so it really does not take much to make him throw a fit about us staying until the game is over. It certainly did not help the game did not end with 9 innings. At least it was only 10 innings, but it was kind of a pathetic ending with them winning with a walk bringing in the winning run.

Despite the less than dramatic actual end to the game it was a good game. The Dodgers took an early 1-0 lead in the first. The Angels later tied it up with a home run in the fourth. They then scored three in the fifth to lead 4-1. The Dodgers quickly closed to gap to 1 with 2 runs in the bottom of the fifth. They then tied it up in the bottom of the 8th.

Mik might have hated the extra inning of the game and well actually kind of hated the last three innings once he stopped playing his DS and let the noise get to him. I on the other hand liked seeing an extra inning game, but would rather have seen the Angels win. Mik would have liked that, too, since the Dodgers in the lead in the division his Dbacks are in, but he was just relieved to have the game over in the end. At least borrowing my phone learning his Dbacks won while the 10th inning was going on got him to behave the last few at bats of the game.

Tomorrow should be a good day for him with no baseball. Of course, I love Disneyland, too, but I am also loving the baseball games despite the poor handicap seats at Dodger Stadium.

Update May 24, 2009: I now have the photos from the game uploaded here.