7/30/2007

7/14/2012

9/20/2013

We were hoping to see our favorite Dodger players crush the Padres. Unfortunately for us, the Dodgers clenched their postseason spot the game before the one we attended. So, instead of seeing our Dodgers we saw the 4th string guys trying to remember how to play baseball. At least there was a nice fireworks show at the end of the game.

7/19/2014

We spent all day driving though the desert to make it to Phoenix, AZ for an evening Diamondbacks baseball game.

One of our goals as a family is to see a ballgame in every MLB stadium before Gavin goes off to college. So far, as a family, we have marked off Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium, Petco Park (Padres), and now Chase Field (Diamondbacks).

7/27/2014

We caught an Angels baseball game in Anaheim. Gavin was excited to see his favorite ball player, Mike Trout, and the rest of the team. The Angels ended up beating the Tigers by a run (2 – 1).

After the game both boys got to run the bases. Gavin has now run the bases at Angels Stadium and Dodger Stadium. It was Connor’s first time but he was quite proud of himself when he made it all the way to home plate.

8/11/2014

We headed up to Seattle from Portland to catch a Seattle Mariners game. “King” Félix Hernández pitched a beautiful game and the Mariners ended up pounding the Blue Jays, winning 11 – 1.

Before the game we walked around the downtown area surrounding the stadiums and I showed the boys the building where I worked for Amazon.

This was the 5th Major League stadium we have seen a game at: Dodger Stadium, Petco Park (Padres), Angel Stadium, Chase Field (Diamondbacks), and Safeco Field (Mariners).

6/14/2015

My brother and his wife were in San Diego for the National Homebrewers Conference. My brother’s Bock ended up getting a silver medal, which is quite an accomplishment for a national competition.

Our buddies Brock and Ryan decided to drive down and join in some craft brew drinking festivities. Shawn and Tom, friends of ours from Seattle, were also were in town for the home brewers conference, so it was quite a group.

We all put a cap to the weekend by catching the Dodgers beat the Padres at Petco park. Connor wasn’t in the mood to watch baseball, so I ended up taking him around the Kidsfest activities that were going on at the game. Luckily, I could still catch the few innings I missed on a giant screen being projected for the parents stuck entertaining kids. Petco is a really nice park for families and beer lovers alike.

7/5/2015

Our second major trip of the summer took us to San Francisco. We spent the first day checking out the O.co Coliseum and watching the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics (2-1).

The A’s stadium was easily the worst stadium we have visited so far. It was like walking though a concrete labyrinth to find our seats. There was no view of the field from inside the concourse and the food options sucked. The stadium felt like you were sitting in a giant bomb shelter that happened to have a baseball game happening in the middle of it. But, we have to visit them all, and the O.co Coliseum was our 6th Major League stadium as a family.

One positive of the game, besides the Mariners winning, was that the boys got to run the bases after the game.

7/8/2015

The 4th day of our San Francisco adventure brought us to AT&T Park to see the Giants play the Mets. The Giants’ stadium is almost a polar opposite of the O.co Coliseum. AT&T Park is nice and open, has a beautiful view of the bay, and great food options. My only complaint is that the parking is difficult, due to its location on the embarcadero in downtown San Francisco.

The Mets ended up beating the Giants (4-1), and being a Dodger fan, I couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome. So, this was a successful outing that marked the 7th Major League stadium off our family’s to-see list.

9/6/2015

We drove to Anaheim and caught one last baseball game for the season. The Angels beat the Texas Rangers 7 to 0. Gavin even got to see his hero Mike Trout hit a home run. The boys had fun running the bases after the game.

5/29/2016

We caught an Angels game up in Anaheim and it just didn’t want to end. The Angels ended up losing to the Astros in the 13th inning. By that point, even Gavin was ready for the game to be over. But we stuck around, so that the kids could run the bases, and dream that they were in the big leagues.

8/2/2016

Day 4 of our vacation was all about exploring Denver. We started off the day walking around inside of the Colorado State Capitol. Then we drove over to a different part of downtown to check out the FED’s Money Museum. The boys got to see lots of old types of money, learn about how our banking system works, and do a lot of hands on activities.

The second half of the day was all about baseball. We spent the afternoon at the National Ballpark Museum. The building was packed to the roof with tons of old memorabilia from the older “classic” ballparks and their players. We saw treasures from greats like Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle, and Babe Ruth. Gavin was in heaven and Connor managed to entertain himself. I don’t think Gavin would have minded spending weeks in the little museum, soaking up every inch of baseball history.

After the museum, it was time for some baseball. We got into Coors Field the minute the gates opened and were able to see lots of the Dodgers warm up. Aliciana even snatched a baseball out of the air barehanded, like an eagle, when a player tossed it up into the stands. We were all quite impressed with her reflexes… especially the guy behind her who lost out on a cool souvenir.

After pushing through a rain delay in the first inning, and some cold weather the rest of the game, the Dodgers ended up losing with a score of 3 to 7. The game didn’t wrap up until after 10pm, so it was an extremely long day for the boys, but they had a blast.

5/21/2017

The boys got to participate in this year’s Little League Day at Petco Park. They got to parade around the field with their team before the game started. We ended up sitting field level with Gavin’s team. Connor and I also visited his team, sitting up on the second level on the 3rd base side.

After the game, the boys had fun running the bases. Now, they have ran the bases at the Dodgers, Angels, Athletics, and Padres stadiums!

Connor’s coach got a few good pictures from the parade before the game:

6/28/2017

It wouldn’t be a Ladd summer vacation without a trip to a baseball stadium. This was the boys second time seeing a Mariners game at Safeco Field.

We got to see King Felix pitch, but unfortunately the Mariners’ closer ended up blowing the save. After the game, we walked around the Pioneer Square part of downtown Seattle.

4/22/2018

Instead of a party, Gavin wanted to catch an Angels game to celebrate his birthday. We got to see Mike Trout hit a two run home run. Unfortunately, those were the only runs the Angels scored. They ended up losing the game with a score of 4-2.