Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - August 17, 2015

We absolutely LOVED Angels Stadium.  From the food to the people to the fan shop, this is one of the best stadiums in the country.

The entrance to Angels Stadium is spectacular.  Huge bats hold up the sign and there are gorgeous baseball hats that light up beautifully as the sun goes down.

Unlike the Dodgers, the Angels actually had batting practice and you didn't have to have a field level ticket to access it.  Owen and Lee hit batting practice while Aliyah and I scoped out the food situation.

We have a version of this picture at so many stadiums!

Aliyah and I found our winning food choice pretty quickly - homemade grilled cheese on giant Texas toast style bread.  I got the tomato and arugula grilled cheese and Aliyah ordered the beef brisket grilled cheese.  They were delicious.  The french fries were also amazing.  They were crisp and PIPING HOT, even sitting in the pick-up window.

Beef brisket grilled cheese sandwich? Yes, please!

The weather was SO MUCH cooler that Aliyah was a perfect delight.  If you're heading to Southern California for a game, may we recommend NIGHT games?  Everyone will be happier.

During the Star Spangled Banner, the Angels shoot off fireworks when you come to the line, "and the rockets red glare."  It was unexpected and awesome.

One of the cool things about Angels stadium is the center field water feature. It looks like California Adventure, but the real magic happens when the Angels hit a home run.  Huge pots shoot forth ENORMOUS, HOT flames!  We were sitting in the second deck along the third base side (far from center field) and we could feel the heat from the fire.  They also shoot off fireworks at the same time.  We got to witness these in action several times.  They were impressive.

California waterfall and source of flames and pyrotechnics

At the end of the game, when the fans were encouraging their home team to bring home the win, they would pull out their cell phones and put them on flicker so that it looked like thousands of cameras going off.  The effect was really cool.

One of the best features of Angels Stadium was how family-friendly the stadium was.  Outside the Fan Shop, I saw a huge sign that said FAMILY DEAL - T-shirts: $8.99, Hats: $7.99, Mini Bats: $2.99, Foam fingers: $1.99.  Seriously?!?!  You can barely get a t-shirt for $9 at Target, let alone a stadium shirt!  The family deal applied to only one section of t-shirts, but it was the classic Angels design and there were lots of items in every size.  It's so impressive.  It can cost a lot of money to bring a family to a ball game and souvenirs are so pricey.  This was the only stadium we have ever seen (and this was our 21st stadium) that put so much effort into creating and marketing a budget friendly fan shop.  I am so impressed with this.

I expected the Angels to be a little snobby because it's closer to the O.C. and the Dodgers to be pretty egalitarian because it's such a big, diverse city.  But my experiences were the reverse.  Angels Stadium was incredibly welcoming, price friendly and family friendly and had something in every price range.  And Dodgers Stadium... well, you know how I feel about it.

The Angels won the game , so they lit up the halo around the Angels A outside the stadium.  It's hard to get a good picture with a cell phone.

Three cheer for the Angels.  What a world class experience.

Los Angeles Dodgers - August 16, 2015

Despite the absolutely gorgeous views from the stadium and the incredibly friendly and helpful Dodgers employees, the Dodgers now holds the title of my least favorite stadium.

 

The Dodgers have an awful caste system in their stadium.  Unlike most stadiums, which allow you to enter in any gate, watch batting practice and then proceed to your seat in the nosebleed section, Dodgers stadium only allows you to enter in the level in which you have a ticket.  That meant walking up a LOT of steps, three terraces up, so that we could get to our upper deck tickets.

But it gets stranger.  Once you are in your area, you have to STAY in that area.  There are no ramps, escalators or steps to take you to another section.  (Okay, technically there are stairs and an elevator, but they are monitored by Dodgers staff to make sure you don't go hang with the rich folks.)  This even applies if you want to buy food outside your section.  There may have been some interesting food on various other levels, but we never got to try it.  It was so classist that I was truly shocked.

The day we saw the game it was HOT.  Excessive heat warning hot.  Our seats were right in the sun and we forgot to bring our hats, leading me to drop $25 on the cheapest kids hat for Owen.  Thankfully, the giveaway that day was a spray fan.  They pick these giveaways months in advance, but it couldn't have come at a better time.

The seats in the upper deck are completely squished together.  They are really close.  That may have been okay on a 70 degree day, but when it's 93, you don't want to sit that close.  Lee and I traded off sitting in the seat behind ours so that we didn't stick together.

Do you see how pink Aliyah's face is in this picture?  Let's just say that Aliyah is not at her best in the heat.  She apologized many times the following day for being so obnoxious.  For the record, we've seen much worse.

The kids and Lee did get to try a Dodger dog.  The vote - three thumbs down.  It was too sweet for my salt lovers.  They went back and tried a Brooklyn dog, which got raves.  New York, represent!

Mostly, we didn't eat.  We just kept getting water and things like these snow cones.  When it's that hot, we're just not that hungry.  We more than made up for it when we got back to our hotel and ordered dinner from a local pizza place. 

Disappointing policies, LA Dodgers, but your staff is top notch.  Everyone we met was super friendly and welcoming and helpful.  They even directed us to the best place to take a picture.  I don't think we'll be back, but tell your staff kudos!

Miami Marlins - April 8, 2015

Miami is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL place to catch a game.  The walkway to the stadium literally sparkles and the large, open walkways are lined with palm trees.  Can we say heaven?

Do you see the sky?  Gorgeous, right?  It was 75 degrees and sunny.  I was super excited because my poor Michigan skin had not been kissed by the sun in months.  Months!  However, Miami has a stadium with a retractable roof and they CLOSED THE ROOF.  There was a 2% chance of rain.  I was crushed.  Seriously, what's the point of coming all the way down from Michigan in the quasi-winter to see a game in a dome?!? Thankfully, Miami's other charms won me over quickly.

Just when you thought the food couldn't get better than Tampa, Miami kicks it up a GIANT notch.  Like, in the running for best food notch.

Walking taco, Miami style - a Cuban walking taco with pulled pork

Mixed berry cobbler with FRESHLY BAKED SHORTBREAD - You must just get this. A-MAZ-ING.

Seriously good sushi - if you're going to get sushi at a ball game, I recommend getting it at a stadium right near the ocean

Miami's stadium is home to the Bobblehead Museum.  If you didn't know there was such a thing, you're not alone.  The shelves in the museum are designed to jiggle slightly so that all the heads are bobbling at once.  It was hilarious.  And a tiny bit creepy.

The Marlins have this really cool fountain palm tree thing in center field that is supposed to light up and shoot fireworks when the Marlins hit a home run.  Sadly, we never got to see it in action.

Still, we had a blast.  Outside of not seeing the sun (and being somewhat bitter about it), I thought the Marlins had an amazing facility.

And now a travel side note.  We drove from Miami to Jacksonville to catch our return flight.  Looking for a good lunch place, I once again performed my Yelp ninja search skills and found the most amazing seafood restaurant tucked in a little outdoor mini mall thing in Jupiter, FL.  But can I remember the name of the darn restaurant?  Nope.  Not a clue.  But the food was legendary.  It was one of the best places we've ever eaten.  If you happen to recognize it from these limited photo clues, please let me know!

Tuna appetizer and homemade chips fully loaded

Meat and potatoes for my meat and potatoes boy (yes, at a seafood restaurant)

Seafood stew

Sweet potato crusted fish salad

Tampa Bay Rays - April 7, 2015

The Tampa Bay Rays, a needed dose of sunshine after the long Michigan winter.

First, the stadium at Tampa was empty.  Hugely empty.  They actually took fabric and stretched it across entire sections of empty seats.  What's up Florida fans?  I feel like Comerica is always pretty full, but not everyone has the Tigers.

See the blue fabric covering the blue chairs.  So strange.

Let's talk food, because you know we love our baseball food.  Tampa Bay is a GLORIOUS place to eat.  Lee had one of the best things he's ever eaten at a ball game.  They also served Mac and Cheese in a cone.  Mac and Cheese.  In a cone.  Heaven is paved with food like this.

Lee eating the Cuban burger, a spin on the traditional Cuban that swaps a burger for the pork

Mac and cheese in a cone

Aliyah and Owen eating the pulled pork sandwich, which Owen loved so much we went back and got a second!

The stadium itself was really beautiful. Batting practice was a huge success for Owen.  He snagged a ball.  It was a bit bizarre, though.  You could not stand in the first row of seats unless you had tickets for that row.  Kids and adults were swarming in the second row and beyond.  During batting practice, the Tampa staff had whistles that they would blow every time a ball was popped up that would enter the stands.  This got old fast.

Owen with the ball he snagged amidst the batting practice whistles

Sadly, Tampa was losing.  I decided to try a new tradition.  Rally hair!  I wound Aliyah's hair and mine together.  She was not the biggest fan, and in the end, it didn't help, so I'm not sure rally hair will be sweeping the nation.

Rally hair!

One of the great things about our Florida trip was that it took us close to family.  We got to swing by and hang out with Lee's aunt and uncle.  They are wonderful people and we don't get to see them nearly enough.

We are so lucky to have an amazing extended family!