Detroit Tigers @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (game 2)

This was the middle game of the three game series between Detroit and the Angels.

I had a brilliant seat for this game - in the second row from the front, down at field level, right behind the infield end of the Angels' dugout.

I had a good view of the "resort" in centre field, with the mini-waterfalls coming over the rock pile.



You really do have to pay attention to the game there, as the protective netting doesn't come that far around, so particularly a left-handed batter could send the ball at high velocity in your direction.

The photographer was in the way a little bit, but he only stayed for a while to get the shots of the pitcher and the batters the first time through, and then he left.

You get a really up-close view of the players.  Here is Albert Pujols batting, for the Angels.

The best bit at being down there is the heckling from the crowd.  It's not rude (usually), and occasionally, it's very funny.  With a Tigers runner on 2nd base, the Detroit third base coach Dave Clark was standing half way between the coach's box (within which he is supposed to stand) and the plate, nearly level with the on-deck circle (where the next batter waits his turn to bat).  He really was a long way down the line.  Apart from the usual shout of "Get back in the coach's box!" that was heard occasionally, and he'd be used to, we had "Hey, Clark!  Are you coaching or on deck?!"  which obviously had made him laugh - we could tell from behind.

This game was completely different to the first game.  Whereas hits were so hard to come by in game 1, the ball was fairly jumping out this evening.   Anibal Sanchez, Detroit's starter for the day, wasn't fooling anybody.  Even the foul balls were going straight back and into the press box.  The Angels weren't held scoreless in any inning until the 5th, as they amassed as 9-2 lead, with Detroit's first run being a no-doubter from Miguel Cabrera in the first inning.

However, after the 5th inning, things switched around totally, and Detroit started scoring every inning, with Ian Kinsler's grand slam just sneaking around the left field foul pole to bring the Tigers to within one at 9-8, and another run crossing the plate to even the game at 9.

Cue the rally monkey again - it's made an appearance at all the games I've been too, which is an indication that the Angels have been behind or level in the late innings in each game.

Then, just as it looked as if extra innings were inevitable, C.J.Cron launched one deep into left for a walk-off 2-run home run - there was no doubt it was gone the moment he hit it.   As the hero of the game, he was interviewed on the field by a lady from the local TV station.  She did very well to keep the interview going whilst Cron was being pelted with rosin bags from his team-mates in the dugout nearby, and she didn't give away the surprise Gatorade bath from another of his team-mates either.

 However, they thoughtfully ensured that they had towels to hand to supply straight afterwards!

Downtown Disney

Today, I visited Downtown Disney.  This is an area of shops and restaurants in a village-like setting that sits between the two main Disney parks, but is free to access.

I took the ART shuttle from the Convention Centre (where my hotel is) up to the Disneyland transit hub.  All the Anaheim Resort Transportation buses go from the Disneyland Resort to various places around the Anaheim area.  Then it was a short walk into the main hub for the parks, in through the security, out through the security on the other side into Downtown Disney.

I had lunch at a recommended restaurant in the middle of the village, sitting outside as it was so sunny and warm.  There isn't all that much to see except shops and eateries, but it is quite pretty and very Disney-esque without the characters or the price tag.

 I looked at everything in the Disney store - the major shop in Downtown Disney - particularly for a replacement dice shaker (although they sold them as beer holders back in the day!).  I couldn't find anything so I asked an older cast member (as they are called) about them, and to her credit, she remembered that they used to sell them many years ago, but haven't for many years.  She also thought they sounded ideal for dice games and holding pens and pencils!

Detroit Tigers @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (game 1)

The area outside my hotel is the main plaza area for the Convention Centre which is next door to my hotel and to the Marriott just across the street.  There's lots of greenery and flowers and a wavy blue stripe that isn't actually water, just looks a bit like it.

There are plenty of trees to provide some shade from the sun, which is welcome, as you often have to wait some time for the shuttle buses to turn up!  It's quite confusing - the route 14 & 15 buses to the stadium appear to be free.  Nothing on the RideART.com website indicates this, but the drivers insist.

The first game of this three game series was an early evening start at 6.05pm.  This time, I arrived at the stadium in time, and I knew where I was going, although half of the car park was cordoned off because that's where they'd set up all the post-game fireworks.

Tonight's matchup saw one of the game's top pitchers, Justin Verlander, start for Detroit against Jhoulys ("Julius") Chacin for the Angels.  

The game just motored along as neither pitcher gave up a hit until the middle innings.  I thought I might have a chance to see a no-hitter - with both sides bidding for one - although it didn't come to pass.  There was pretty much no offense at all until the Angels suddenly came to life in the bottom of the 8th inning, scoring 5 to put the game out of reach.

The post-game Memorial Day fireworks were tremendous, with the display lasting quite some time, all set to a variety of music from Also Sprach Zarathustra, to the William Tell Overture, to modern pop music.  Some were even launched from the outfield although the majority came from the car park.

Houston Astros @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

I learned many new things today, but the chief amongst them was that leaflets about the Anaheim Resort Transportation (ART) buses are mostly useless.  Whatever the system map may say about stop locations, it's rarely right.  As a result, I missed the first three innings of this game - the first of my holiday.  Irritatingly for today, the bus I needed stops right outside my hotel, in the convention centre plaza as shown in the picture, and not on the next street along.  Then it drops you at the ARTIC bus/train hub, from where you can see the stadium, but it's not clear how you actually get to it.  I suspect if I'd been earlier, I would have had several other people that I could have followed.  Indeed, after the game, I did just follow people through the car park to find the best route back.
 

My seat was up on the middle level, close to home plate, so I had an excellent view of proceedings.

However, as if to make up to me for missing the first three innings, the Astros and Angels played out 13 innings, so I did get see 10 innings anyway.  The Angels should have won this game, they were ahead in the 8th, and should have probably won it in the 9th and in the 11th.  By the time Carlos Correia hit his 3-run HR in the Astros' half of the 13th inning, the crowd had largely already dissipated.  The Angels got one run back in the bottom of the 13th inning, but the Astros ended up winning 8-6.

I went out for dinner after the game and got back just before 9.30pm, and tonight, unlike last night, Disneyland did have a firework display.  It was most impressive and I had a superb view from my hotel room.  The Angels have got a fireworks display planned for post-game tomorrow to celebrate the Memorial Day holiday.

Los Angeles

We left on time and finally left British soil just before 12.30pm.

I had lunch, watched a film, and then one of the cabin crew came over to me and she said something that I wasn't expecting: "I'm going to be sleeping with you, later.  But first, my other colleague will be sleeping with you."  Apparently, the normal crew quarters were unusable, so they'd reserved the seat next to me for crew rest through the flight.

Even though it was daytime, we had a few hours of "night" after we'd had lunch and then we had a light lunch just before arriving.

I don't normally fly direct to the Western USA, so it was a different route to usual, up over Manchester and. Glasgow, Greenland, Winnipeg, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and, finally arriving in Los Angeles just before 3pm local time (scheduled arrival was 3.30pm)

I used the machine to get my customs receipt, rather than filling in the blue form, but still had to do the normal immigration process with an official - there was some technical problem with the terminal that meant it couldn't completely automate it.

Fortunately, the SuperShuttle stop is just by the exit from customs, and although I had to wait 20 minutes for my van to arrive, I was on the road less than an hour after touching down.  It took an hour to get to the hotel with lots of heavy traffic, even on a Saturday afternoon.

Heathrow

I was picked up at 7.45am for my trip to the airport, which was easy and I arrived just after 9am, in time for my flight at 12.20pm!  I walked straight through security and into the lounge, where I've had breakfast and I'm just waiting for the plane now.  It's here, and fortunately the gate is right next to the lounge, so it won't take very long to get there.