Friday 21st August

So, Friday morning we headed out about 11am and went to Amoeba music.

They have a new cd section and a used cd section, and they have so much stuff! Its crazy! And you can pick up some great bargains.

I managed to pick up a couple of cds to fill gaps in my collection for about $4 each, which was pretty good. And there are a lot of used cds that are in great nick - I was thoroughly impressed.

After Amoeba we wandered back to Hollywood Blvd and had Popeye's Chicken for early lunch. It was very similar to KFC in set up. I wish we could pick the sides like these guys have, instead of fries in every combo back home!

After a bit we wandered back to the hotel and watched TV for a while. We couldn't get over how we'd done mostly everything there is to do around here in so little time. Next time I come to LA I'm staying in West Hollywood where all the nicer people live. It may be infested with Yuppies but I'm sure I'd feel safer 'round there!

At about 5:30 we left for the Dodgers game. Walked down to the station underneath the shopping mall on Hollywood Blvd and jumped on a train to Union Station - back in Downtown LA. Price: $1.25. From here we changed lines and got on a train to China Town, the closest station to the stadium. Half an hour walk up a big hill later and we were finally at the stadium. Found out where to pick up our tickets and then walked half way round the place to get to where we were sitting. On the way we picked up some merchandise, I bought a big jacket, a baseball and a mini bat.

After collecting a bucket load of dodger dogs, nachos and peanuts, we finally found our seats and started to watch the game.

The great thing about baseball is theres this fantastic atmosphere, everybody is friendly (and if you're not, you're thrown out QUICKLY) and theres plenty of rev up music going on. It didn't feel like we'd just sat through 2.5 hours of baseball.

There was a little gap between our stand and the next one over, and some of the Cubs were down in that gap, practicing. At one point, a Dodgers fan in the next stand, who seemed to have had a little too much to drink, started shouting at them about how much they suck. The players took little notice, but security definitely perked up. Within about 10 seconds of him starting his tirade, about 10 security guards came down and guided him out.

There was a couple in front of us, and the girl said "aww thats pretty sad" - she didn't like that they threw him out - her boyfriend simply said "we don't need people like that here" - I thought that was fantastic.

There was a real family atmosphere in our stand. We had the Mexican wave go round a few times, booed plenty when things didn't go our way and eventually won the game 2-1. I was surprised how little scoring there can be in a game.

After the game, we trudged back down the hills as the Friday night fireworks went off behind us and eventually got on a train back to Union before the switch to the red line for Hollywood. Total trip cost $5.

Over the course of the day my sniffles went from that to a proper blocked nose, and this morning I woke up at 11:30 feeling like a truck has run over me. Sore throat & gross nose, the works. Lovely!

I think we're going to head off to the International House of Pancakes (ihop) now. Catch you all on the flipside.