Getting There Is More Than Half The Trip
No, I was not suffering from a high fever, nor was I kidnapped and spirited away there in the trunk of somebody's car. I actually went to a Dodger game of my own volition -- invited by my friend Debbie, who's had season's tickets there her whole life.
She's an actual native Angeleno: Her grandfather was Chaplin's cameraman...hence the rather fabulous seats -- although we used to sit three rows up, right behind the dugout, until some new dude bought the team and put in the three rows of "corporate seats," as Debbie's boyfriend Glenn called them.
It took, and I'm not kidding, three hours to get to Dodger Stadium from the beach. I think we spent a 20 minutes on just one block downtown, at the base of the Chinatown subway stop.
Somebody's got to do something about this traffic already!
Doesn't this guy look like he was born to work in a ballpark?
I called him "Mr. Nuts," because he was selling them. For the record, he hates George Bush and recommends that everyone read John Dean's book, Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush.
Here's the guy everybody came to see:
His name's Barry Bonds, and he plays for the other team.
And here's Alyssa Milano and a guy with a weird eight-ball cane.
And no, I did not know it was Alyssa Milano, and would not know if she bit me on the ass with tiny sharp teeth...and would not have known except that the lady sitting behind me told me before my butt even hit the chair.
And this is interesting because?
Todd at April 27, 2007 1:07 AM
Our blogger went to a ballgame. This is what it was like.
Crid at April 27, 2007 7:34 AM
For me, this is kind of like taking a moon voyage. I guess, for a lot of people, there's not a lot of novelty in it.
Amy Alkon at April 27, 2007 7:36 AM
I'm pretty sure the peanut guy is Mort Rose, a close second to Roger Owens in terms of Dodger Peanut Guy fame. He cracks me up with his "Nuts! Nuts! Nuts!" mating calls.
I may be wrong about this, but I think he was also involved in something of a peanut scandal a few years back. Accused of skimming off the top, I believe. I believe he was eventually exonerated of all charges.
snakeman99 at April 27, 2007 7:46 AM
Somehow that makes him even cooler... Amy's right about his face, it's a classic. And nothing's as classic as corruption!
Crid at April 27, 2007 7:49 AM
if she bit me on the ass with tiny sharp teeth...
*Snark On*
With the way her career is going, that may be her next gig!
*Snark Off*
RedPretzel in LA at April 27, 2007 8:05 AM
Amy- did you get a world famous Dodger Dog? Does anyone know if they are still made by Farmer John?
eric at April 27, 2007 8:10 AM
"And this is interesting because?"
Your comment, you mean? No idea.
Was that Alyssa Milano, or a pretty girl who kinda looked like Alyssa Milano?
Jim Treacher at April 27, 2007 8:35 AM
I did have a Dodger dog. I love hot dogs. They're one of my favorite foods. Have no idea about the Farmer John angle...I stayed behind to banter with Morty the nutman.
Dodger dogs weren't actually the plan, initially. It was Debbie's bday, and we had reservations to eat at some restaurant in the stadium, but none of us had ever seen traffic like we were in yesterday, so we missed our reservation by a long shot.
I can't fathom how people do this daily to and from work.
Amy Alkon at April 27, 2007 8:55 AM
Traffic around there is much much worse around there on game days than most days. Of course, there are 80+ home games. If you get down to Washington or Adams, both tend to move pretty well heading West in the evenings, even when the traffic is awful elsewhere.
An 8-ball cane, with no pimp suit? I'm kinda disappointed.
justin case at April 27, 2007 11:07 AM
I thought he was dressed very perpetually job-free SF pothead.
Amy Alkon at April 27, 2007 11:28 AM
How funny: My friend Stee went to that game, too, and wrote a blog post about it that made me laugh out loud. Check it out. (He also went to get a bobblehead for his mom, but due to the clusterfuck of getting there, didn't get there in time. When I first saw the picture at the top of this post, I thought, "Ooh, taunting Stee, even though she's never even heard of him!")
Jackie Danicki at April 27, 2007 1:02 PM
I've already left mine for my little boy neighbor, unfortunately. (Jackie is a good friend, so any friend of Jackie's...if it weren't too late in this case.)
And this kind of traffic is a "quality of life" issue. It's got to be dealt with. They should have had traffic cops downtown smoothing this out, and the Dodgers need to deal with it better, too.
Amy Alkon at April 27, 2007 1:11 PM
There are only three hints I can offer to getting to Dodger Stadium traffic-free:
1. Go early. Very early. You know how you already plan to leave early? Leave an hour earlier. Trick yourself into thinking its not a waste of time to sit in an empty ball park. Or make plans to hit a downtown restaurant (I personally prefer the Fisherman's Outlet on Central or Yang Chow on Broadway and 8th). Justin's suggestions re: Washington and Adams sound reasonable. But other than that, there is no other way to do the West-East migration other than early.
2. Once downtown, get off of freeway. Approach stadium via Sunset/Cesar Chavez. Do not seriously attempt to use the actual Stadium freeway exit. You will lose.
3. Attend when Pittsburgh is in town.
snakeman99 at April 27, 2007 3:16 PM
> 3. Attend when Pittsburgh
> is in town.
Puh-dum-PUM! They call him Snakester, folks! He's here all week! Try the veal! Tip your waitress!
Favorite line: "His name's Barry Bonds, and he plays for the other team."
Sumbitch deserves no better.
Crid at April 27, 2007 3:37 PM
Sumbitch deserves no better.
Nope. He's a major reason I adopted the A's when I moved to the Bay Area, even though I'm usually an NL sorta guy. That, and Moneyball.
Gotta love it that Hank Aaron isn't going to start following BB around to be on hand when his record is broken.*
This is like the old Roger Maris * but moreso.
justin case at April 27, 2007 3:58 PM
Yang Chow on Broadway and 8th
And if you end up here, try the Slippery Shrimp.
deja pseu at April 27, 2007 4:05 PM
truly
Olen Doolittle at September 10, 2010 2:02 PM
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