Our Baseball Fan Grand Slam began in Los Angeles on July 25th at Dodger Stadium, but the Angels were out of town. That is one of the challenges of this type of trip! Crafting a schedule that takes into consideration home and away games while making the most of your time and mileage is difficult. That’s why we’re wrapping up our trip where we began: in California on the way to Washington. Today’s visit is to Angels Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Angels.
My Favorite RV Park
We’ve visited many beautiful RV parks on this trip. And we’ve been to others that were, well, not so nice. Of all the campgrounds we’ve visited, Orangeland RV Parkin Anaheim, California, has been my favorite. The campsites are lovely, with shade from citrus trees and picnic tables at each site. The community facilities, including the laundry, are clean and large. The staff is friendly and helpful. Best of all, it was walking distance from Angels Stadium, and only three miles from Disneyland. That’s where Ryan and I started our day.
A Side-Trip to Disneyland
Since we needed to be at the ballpark when the gates opened, we arrived when Disneyland opened to make the most of our day. By 4:00, we had taken 11 rides, with only one repeat (Space Mountain). Ryan and I both love rollercoasters, so Space Mountain and the Matterhorn were our favorites. However, the Star Wars rides ranked a close second for Ryan. Much to Ryan’s relief, he avoided the requested pictures with Mickey Mouse (by Nana) and Sleeping Beauty (by Brad), but I did get a few snapshots of our day at the Happiest Place on Earth.
Our Impressions of Angels Stadium
Our walk to the stadium took less than 20 minutes and saved us the usual cost of parking. However, if we had been driving, parking would not have been a problem. There were large lots at reasonable prices right next to the stadium.
Angels Stadium likes fireworks. Perhaps its their proximity to Disneyland, which has a fireworks display every night. Whatever the reason, this is the first stadium we have been to which shot off fireworks for each of its players when announcing the lineup!
Our Seats: We sat in the outfield this time (Section 236, Row A, Seats 11, 12, and 13) . While we didn’t catch any home run balls, we did enjoy our seats, and we even made it into one of the MLB reels during a home run! In the somewhat blurry screenshot below, you can see the three of us in our blue jerseys watching the person next to us trying to grab the ball. Check out the face of the person behind him. That will give you an idea of just how far over the railing he went! Thankfully, his female friend grabbed his leg before he followed the ball down the wall. That’s right. He didn’t catch it. The outfielder did toss it back up, since it was a home run, but someone else caught it.
The Food: Angels Stadium is not known for its cuisine. However, we found the gem among the ballpark standards. Crafty Mac, in sections 114 and 237, has an absolutely fabulous vegan dish called Buffalo Cauliflower Mac & Cheese. I didn’t mention that it was vegan when I displayed my find to Ryan and Brad. They took one look and hustled up to get some for themselves. However, they opted for the chicken version with real cheese when they got there and read the description more closely! We all decided that these dishes were among the best we’d had on our trip.
Non-Alcoholic Beer Review: Angels is another Bud Zero stadium.
The Game Recap: 3 Home Runs for Housing!
The LA Angels played the Baltimore Orioles, who brought at least one of their traditions with them. During the national anthem, when most folks sing “Oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,” Orioles belt out “O!!!” as loud as they can before continuing the anthem.
Apparently, this tradition dates to the 1970s. (Read more about the history here.) The “O” stands for Orioles, of course. Even though the team was on the road, the flock of visiting Orioles fans made their presence known at the game. Unfortunately for the Angels, their enthusiasm was rewarded with a win. Fortunately for employees struggling to make ends meet, the game netted Wellspring Family Services three more Home Runs for Housing!
The Angels right fielder Randal Grichuk hit the first home run in the bottom of the fourth, adding one run to the score board. Unfortunately, the Orioles had a strong third inning. By the top of the fourth, the Orioles were leading by two runs. This single just brought the Angels a bit closer to the Orioles’ tail feathers.
After a couple of no-run innings, the Orioles had a second strong inning in the seventh, when third baseman Gunnar Henderson hit a 3-run home run into right field. While Angels second baseman Brandon Drury hit a home run in the bottom of the eight, that was the team’s last run of the game, and it wasn’t sufficient to overcome the Orioles’ significant lead.
The Angels lost to the Orioles, six to three.
Up Next:
The next morning, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at camp before heading north to the Bay Area for our final two away stadiums: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and Oracle Park. It’s hard to believe we are so near the end of our trip!
We checked into the Marin RV Park. Then, we headed to the airport to pick up our Home Team blogger, Emma. She’s joining the Away Team for our stay in San Francisco. Yes, it’s tight in our little 19-foot trailer! But it’s great to be together as a family for these last games.
Stay tuned for the update on our visit to Oakland Coliseum!
