The Phallic Road Trip

Up a little early today, about to head out to Santa Monica to meet with Oz and catch the Euro Cup final.

We didn’t get back too late last night. We left for San Diego at around 2, making our way to Petco Park a little after 4. As we drove in, we saw a bar called The Corner with some PBR drink specials, so we stopped by.

Left for the park in time for the start, stopping off to pick up some fish tacos that were actually pretty good. We even got some pretty badass Adrian Gonzalez jerseys as the door gift, which we wore for the game.

Both teams got off to a slow start, but Seattle scored first with two RBI doubles in the 4th. Two more in the 6th gave the Mariners a 4-0 lead, before Clark’s 2-RBI single in the 7th brought the Padres to within two, which turned out to be the final — a Padres 4-2 loss.

All told, the game was really short, lasting only 2 hours and 19 minutes.

Though it was still a decent game to go to, we were really disappointed to find out that the Angels no-hit the Dodgers in an 8-inning, 1-0 loss, making the Dodgers only the fifth team in the modern era of baseball to win a game without getting a hit. Maybe only baseball fans can appreciate how ridiculously rare that is — more rare than seeing a pitcher simply throw 9 hitless innings. We missed it by one night!

Alas, there was no way to predict that, just the way things go.

Today’s soccer game should be done at around 2. Afterwards, we’ll be tourists, most likely checking out Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard and Venice Beach.

For the first time since San Francisco, we have been able to sleep in and not worry about check-out times. We lost Chris about an hour ago, who left us to head back to New York after his 10-day jaunt with us through California.

It’s about noon now; in a couple of hours, we’re going to hop on the freeway and head down to San Diego for tonight’s game against the Mariners.

We got into Los Angeles late yesterday afternoon, after fighting the notorious traffic here. It took us a little over two hours to get down the 101 from Santa Barbara, where Chris and Justin battled it out at In-N-Out, with Chris topping Justin: 5 Double-Doubles to 4 1/2.

It was a rough car ride for Chris, who slept some in the back seat. We checked into our hotel here in downtown LA and relaxed for about an hour, before catching a cab to Dodger Stadium.

For what is supposed to be a hot weekend, we had the perfect night for baseball at the park, with a high of 75. The stadium is almost 50 years old; with the heavy concrete feel, it reminded us of Shea in New York and Kaufman in Kansas City, both also built in the peak of suburban growth in the 60s and 70s.

I missed the wider concourses, filled with more concessions and bathrooms, found at the newer stadiums, but don’t see any reason to replace the stadium in the near future.

As for the game, the Dodgers scored early, with a Russell Martin solo home run in the 1st, from which they never looked back. With two more runs in the 5th and a three-run shot from Ethier in the 7th, the Dodgers won 6-0, with their pitchers having struck out 14. Had we been in Toronto, we would’ve definitely got some free pizza.

We headed back to the hotel after the game, where we found Chris, Oz, Eddie and their friend, Jason. We then made our way a couple of blocks down the street to a pretty quiet Irish pub for a few drinks; we weren’t dressed for or feeling like doing anything fancier.

While the traffic coming in yesterday afternoon was rough, we’re hoping it’ll be a little better now that it’s the weekend. We’ll probably get back a little after midnight tonight. Tomorrow, we’re going to try and head out toward Oz’s neighborhood, though we’re not sure yet what we’ll do. Monday is our game in Anaheim; Tuesday, we leave for Phoenix.

Should be hot, but at least these games are at night.

Less than two hours away from the battle between Chris and Justin.

We took it easy yesterday after our adventures over the last couple of days. After checking into our hotel early in the afternoon, we went down to the pool to hang out before making our way out for dinner.

Thought about grabbing dinner down by the wharf, but opted instead for In-N-Out, since we were craving it. Not sure if that was the best idea for Chris and Justin, but they still seem ready for today’s contest.

We headed down to State Street after dinner, parking around the shopping district, about a mile away from Stearns Wharf. Spent the next hour doing the walk and getting some shots by the beach before heading back. We thought about grabbing a drink, but opted to just come back and relax.

After today’s bout, we’ll do the about 100-mile drive from Santa Barbara into LA, where we got a good price on a hotel in the downtown area, not too far from the stadium. We’ll look for Oz, who will probably head to a bar with Chris while we head to the Dodgers/Angels game at around 7.

Our schedule for the next couple of days is dictated by baseball, but we’ll still have time to explore the city and see some friends before making our way back east.

It was a little tough waking up earlier than normal yesterday, but we made our way out of San Luis Obispo and towards Hearst Castle by around 9:30. Because of the road closure on Highway 1 from the day before, we had to backtrack north to get there.

We started our tour at around 11, after watching a short movie that explained Hearst’s life and the creation of the castle during the 1920s and 30s.

Our two-hour tour took us through some of the gardens, one of the guest houses, the famous Neptune pool, and part of the main house — including the dining room, entertaining room and theater — where Hearst would invite everyone from movie stars to politicians.

Afterwards, we grabbed a so-so lunch in Cambria before making our way back to the 101 and down to Santa Barbara to meet Justin’s friend, Eliza. We stopped off to get some food and drinks, so that we could barbecue at her place — a seven-bedroom vacation home — where we crashed for the night.

The place was gorgeous. We had a few drinks on the deck before touring the house, stopping off to play in the big backyard, on the trampoline and zip lines for the kids. Justin was less than graceful on the trampoline — video to follow.

After a second grocery run, Chris began preparing the burgers and brats, which he grilled by the pool. Took a minute to get the cover off the pool, but we hopped in shortly thereafter and spent the rest of the night around the hot tub.

While John, Chris and I stuck to beer, Justin helped Eliza with the two bottles of white wine they purchased during our second run. John’s stomach didn’t settle well, leading him to experience the first “reversal of fortune.” The sight of that led Justin to the bathroom, where he remained.

Minus Justin, the four of us stayed around the pool until 2 or so, before passing out.

Following yesterday’s day of castles, we are still in Santa Barbara. Eliza is leaving for LA today, so we have made our way across town to a hotel; we’re taking it easy this afternoon. We’ll probably make our way to the Stearns Wharf later for dinner.

Tonight, we’ll book our hotel for LA, where we’ll be for the next four nights. After tomorrow’s double-double contest between Chris and Justin, we’ll head into the city and towards Dodger Stadium for the night game.

Starting tomorrow, we’re doing four games in five days — with two in LA, one in San Diego and another in Phoenix.

Can’t wait.

Up earlier this morning, making our way up towards San Simeon to see Hearst Castle before heading back south.

We left Monterey yesterday morning and began the trek down through Big Sur and toward Cambria on the south end. However, after driving about 30 miles down Highway 1, we hit a roadblock informing us that wildfires ahead of us had forced the highway to be closed.

It was pretty unfortunate, since that drive was a highlight we had all been looking forward to, but at least we still got to see part of it. We briefly stopped at the River Inn to walk around; Chris and I hung out for a little while down in the cold creek while Justin and John shopped. Afterwards, we turned around, made our way back to Monterey and over to Highway 101, which we took about 125 miles down from Salinas to San Luis Obispo.

We did make one eventful stop in Paso Robles to get our oil changed. After we had told our attendant, George, about our journey, he began sharing stories of the days he hitchhiked all over the country — except to Minnesota: “Why would anyone go to Minnesota?” He then told us about the time his sister hitchhiked from London to Istanbul; though she made sure to get back to London in time, because she got knocked up in Rome and if she made it back, the public health system would cover it.

We all just kind of nodded, not knowing what the hell to say, but appreciated the story.

Getting to San Luis Obispo, we settled into a hotel and made our way to the downtown area for dinner. We have seen a lot of beautiful coastal cities, but for four recent college grads, this one felt like the best fit. Being a college town — home to Cal Poly — we found a good BBQ restaurant, before following the crowds to the Frog & Peach for pints.

We’re about 40 miles south of Hearst Castle, so we have to backtrack a little up Highway 1. Afterwards, we’ll make our way down to Santa Barbara — about 150 miles from the castle — where we’ll meet one of Justin’s friends for dinner. The plan is to stay there for two nights, before making our way to Los Angeles on Friday for a night game between the Dodgers and the Angels.

Today, Chris is sporting his traveling hat found at a drugstore, complete with his newly purchased Hawaiian shirt from Wal-Mart. Should make for some good photo-ops.

Yesterday morning, we got out of our hotel here in Monterey at around 11, making our way to a cafe & bakery that our guidebook recommended. We were a little too early for lunch, but had solid breakfasts.

Unfortunately, after the perfect beach weather on Sunday, yesterday was cloudy and cold, a good day for a light jacket, shorts and some flip-flops.

Instead of heading towards the water, we followed another one of our guidebook’s recommendations: the Dennis the Menace Park — a big playground designed by the comic’s creator, Hank Ketchum. Lonely Planet built it up to be a little more ridiculous than it was, but it was still a pretty cool playground. We rode the swings, tumbled down the slides, climbed the big train at the front — it was a sight to see, pictures to come soon.

Having finished running around, we made our way to Monterey’s most notable attraction, the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Had some pretty cool exhibits, a good way to pass a couple of hours.

We walked along Cannery Row afterwards, the town’s waterfront street with restaurants and shops. Wandered for a little while, stopped off at a store of hot sauces, before heading to our next stop: an indoor mini-golf course, where we battled it out over 18 holes of black light putt putt.

We all made enemies, including me with a shark on hole 5, and Chris with an octopus windmill, but the best had to be John’s drive off the head of this otter that almost took out Justin. A seemingly simple hole, John picked up and took the 6.

A little hungry after our childhood adventures, we made our way to McDonald’s for, yes, happy meals — though we ended up getting the “Mighty Kids” meals, since those had double cheeseburgers. Sadly, they did not think we needed the toys.

We decided to then make our way to nearby Carmel, taking the longer, 17-mile scenic route, that wound along the coastline and past the Pebble Beach golf course. Chris and I were amused, John and Justin were pretty unexcited.

Driving around Carmel, we looked for a hotel, but couldn’t find anything reasonable, so we returned to the same place back in Monterey. We grabbed dinner at the Mucky Duck downtown — no relation to the one Justin and I have been to in Captiva — before coming back here and calling it a night.

This morning, Chris mentioned that he’s still tired, that the playground took a lot out of him. Justin’s response: “Nothing like a 100-mile drive at 25 MPH to cure that.”

Today, we’re heading down through Big Sur — a scenic, slow, winding drive down Highway 1. Not much until we get to Cambria at the end later this afternoon, where we’ll probably settle for the night. That’ll put us close to Hearst Castle if we choose to do that tomorrow, before making our way to San Luis Obispo on Wednesday night.

Missed breakfast again this morning — these hotels make ’em too early.

We’re in Monterey today; going to wander around the bay here before making our way to Carmel tonight.

We left Mountain View yesterday morning, and after a lunch stop at Sizzler — per Justin’s request — we made our way down to Santa Cruz, about 35 miles away.

It was the perfect beach day and the weekend crowd was there in full force. We didn’t settle into a parking space and get to the boardwalk until about 2.

Since we have the whole week to enjoy the beach, we tried to keep ourselves out of the sun some yesterday, not to burn and to avoid the crowds.

Aside from its beaches, Santa Cruz particularly prides itself on its vibrant boardwalk, so we spent most of the afternoon there. For almost a full two hours, we screwed around in this big arcade, acting like kids who could play as many games as we wanted — from pinball and skee-ball, to cheesy games geared towards getting tickets. We all walked away winning a couple of shot glasses.

Afterwards, we wandered down the boardwalk, stopping off to play a few carnival games and ride the Giant Dipper, a rollercoaster built in 1924 that was really fun. As for old wooden rollercoasters though, I still think the Cyclone at Coney Island is more intense.

It was cool just hanging out on the boardwalk, which has been there since 1907.

Around 5, we walked towards the quaint, more yuppie downtown area to find dinner and catch the Cubs/White Sox game. We ended up at a place called 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall, which actually had 99 beers to choose from.

After a quick stop at Coldstone, we headed back to our car and made our way to Monterey, getting here at around 9:30. We had considered staying in Santa Cruz, but found that it was about half the price to stay in Monterey, about 45 miles down the coast.

The guidebook recommends a good sandwich place that we might try for lunch, as well as a few attractions, so we’ll see what we want to do. If we settle in Carmel tonight, we can spend Tuesday driving through Big Sur.

Heading out this morning in a little while to grab some food and map out our next few days. We have until Friday night to make it down to Los Angeles for a game between the Dodgers and Angels, just need to figure out where we want to stop along the way.

We finished touring San Francisco yesterday, getting up early to make a 10 o’clock boat to Alcatraz, where we took a tour that focused on various escape attempts over the years. We wound up from the loading dock, past some of the old administrative buildings and up to the cell blocks, which definitely looked like a miserable place to be. Decommissioned in 1963, it’s great that the National Park Service has been able to preserve it, since it is a truly one-of-a-kind piece of Americana.

We were near Fisherman’s Wharf when we got back to the city, so we headed there with all of the other tourists for lunch before heading across the Bay Bridge and into Oakland.

Got to McAfee Coliseum before the gates opened, giving Chris the chance to buy an extra ticket so that he could tag along for his first Major League Baseball game. Before the game, we joined the crowds at the annual Beerfest celebration inside the park, where we got some cool souvenir mugs and sampled a couple of different beers from local and national breweries.

The A’s and Marlins traded runs in the first four innings, ending the fourth with Oakland up 3-2, before a Cody Ross solo shot tied the game in the top of the 8th. In the 9th, Florida loaded the bases against Oakland’s closer, Huston Street, before Dan Uggla dropped a bases-clearing, three-RBI double into left field.

An RBI-single in the bottom of the 9th pulled the A’s to within two before they loaded the bases. With two outs, Ryan Sweeney lined a shot down the first-base line after running the count full; but a diving stop by Jorge Cantu saved the drive that would’ve scored at least two. Though the home team lost 6-4, it was an exciting finish, and a good first game for Chris.

We drove about 50 miles southwest of Oakland and settled in Mountain View. We’ll sit down with our guidebook in a little while and make some plans, probably stopping off around Santa Cruz tonight.

Little tough to wake up this morning, John and I stayed out till last call; Chris and Justin came back a little earlier.

Again yesterday, we wandered the city, planning our stops as we went. We grabbed brunch across the street at the same diner as the day before, before getting a post-lunch snack at a Thai restaurant that Chris’s guidebook recommended.

From there, we attempted to navigate the public transportation system to get to Coit Tower, a look-out vista in the North Beach area of the city. The line for the trolley was way too long; eventually, we found the 30 bus, which we packed into and rode towards Washington Square, before getting off and wandering up a few hills. The views from the top of the tower were great.

Afterwards, we headed back down into the Little Italy section and settled at a bar and grill called Rogue, which had a lot of its own brews on tap. Kyle joined us, and a few rounds later, Chris and Justin ordered Kobe burgers. I saw a Kobe corndog on the menu and had to try it. It was damn good, but I could not taste a bit of Kobe beef in it.

We then followed Kyle’s direction towards the Marina district, stopping off once before making it down to Bay Street and near the water, with great views of the Golden Gate Bridge. We stopped off at a random bar, where we stayed until the end of the night.

Up early to get to Pier 33 by 9:30 for our tour of Alcatraz. First, we need to finish packing up our stuff and put it in the car. After the tour, we’re going to stop by a Vietnamese restaurant that Chris’s dad recommended in the area, before getting back in our car and heading across the bay to the game in Oakland.

Not sure where we’re crashing tonight, probably somewhere around San Jose. We still need to sit down and map out our next week.

Tomorrow, the coast highway trek begins.

About to head out for another day of wandering. We saw quite a bit of the city yesterday, so I’m not sure where today will lead, but we’re taking it as it comes.

Yesterday, we made our way through an art show in Union Square, Market Street, the Yerba Buena Gardens and down through the Financial District — stopping off in a toy store and 7/11 for Slurpees — to the Embarcadero, walking from Pier 1 to Pier 39, where Fisherman’s Wharf is.

Kyle and Brad met us at a seafood restaurant at Pier 39, where we had many rounds, before making our way to In-N-Out for a late dinner. We then, for the second night in a row, fought the hills to get to another bar — this time, after drinking and eating more than the night before.

By the time we arrived at Bar None at around 11, we were all exhausted and too full to really drink, so we called it a night. Sounds like Brad is going to be busy for the next couple of days, but hopefully we’ll see him again near Los Angeles. Justin’s friend, Kyle, should be getting off work soon.

We were hoping to do a night tour of Alcatraz today, but found out yesterday that it was sold out; so instead we’re going tomorrow morning before making our way to Oakland for our next game.