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I DON’T ENJOY DRIVING. Written directions are required for travel more than 10 miles north of my home. To completely avoid commuting, I live across the street from work. I walk, therefore I am.
Nevertheless, here I am, scorching the road and going south on California’s Interstate 5. I’m doing 90 miles per hour in a loaner Corvette Coupe. It’s a road rocket, colored “Daytona sunset orange.” Forget 0 to 60 in four seconds. It’s the 60 to 120 in that time that’s starting to change my mind about the fun factor of the open road.
How did I get here? Sometimes the best ideas literally come out of left field. There are three National League West pro baseball teams in California. Omni Hotels has a property proximal to the ballpark in each city. The chain offers a Freeway Series package. Even though it involves driving, I sign on quicker than a Bobby Jenks fastball.
So here I am in a Corvette, having hit three bases and heading for home. My three-day, 1,000-mile road trip takes me from San Diego to Los Angeles to San Francisco (where I was driven to the Giants game by a singing cab driver who slipped me his CD). Here’s a sporty tale of three cities.
SAN DIEGO
Petco Park opened in 2004 amid much-deserved design accolades. Petco——please don’t call it Bark Park——is a beautiful blend of city and garden. The exterior is stucco and natural stone. You can sit on a grassy Park at the Park just outside the outfield. History lives in left field, where the 95-year-old Western Metal Supply Company Building has been integrated into the design.
It’s a Monday night. The Friar Frank I eat is huge——one could feed a whole Little League infield——but it costs more than $7. I sit right behind home plate, but the crowd is pretty mellow. I have to admit, my favorite seating area this night is not at Petco. It’s the, er, bathroom back inside my 20th-floor suite at the 32-story Omni San Diego Hotel. You can sit on my toilet and see right down into the, um, seating bowl of Petco.
The Tony Gwynn Suite is as big as the legend it’s named after. I’ve got a full kitchenette, wet bar and separate bedroom. The flat-screen TV in the living room is wider than Yankees pitcher Randy Johnson is tall. My balcony overlooks a pool and offers a dynamic view of nearby Coronado and the San Diego Bay.
The best part about the balcony——like the bathroom—— is the ballpark proximity. Hotel and park are so close as to be connected by a sky bridge. So when the balcony door is open, you can hear the crowd cheer——about three seconds before the sound comes out of the flat-screen speakers.
There isn’t a lot to cheer about, though, as the Houston Astros knock off the Padres, 6-2.
LOS ANGELES
I do the traffic creep from San Diego to Los Angeles with the ’Vette’s roof panel off. It’s a bright day that gets slightly hazier as L.A. draws closer.
In kind of a letdown, my room at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza isn’t named after a famous ballplayer. I doget the concierge floor——where there’s a special den in which complimentary breakfast and evening beverages are served. A couple of Absolut-and-rocks later, I’m ready for some baseball.
The taxi ride from Bunker Hill to the park takes 5-10 minutes. I guess that’s proximal enough. Dodger Stadium is 43 years old. It was refurbished in 2000; a couple of years ago a grandstand-wrapping DodgerVision video board was installed.
I’m not all that hungry (thanks to the Omni’s concierge floor) but feel compelled to try a Dodger Dog. Not bad. Head-to- head with the Friar Frank, the Dodger Dog wins, based on a $4-per-foot price.
My observations about games at Dodger Stadium play to stereotype. I count three beach balls being batted around in the stands during the fourth inning. And when a most militant “wave” starts up, it seems like it may never end. Whether or not motivated by all those standing-and-waving fans, the Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8-3.
SAN FRANCISCO
Ever driven the inland I-5 from central to northern California? Farmland views can get monotonous. The excitement comes from busting out of peloton after peloton of dawdling cars that don’t have V-8 engines like mine.
Finally, I cross the San Francisco Bay Bridge. Is parking at a premium in San Francisco? As I pull up to the Omni San Francisco Hotel, the bellman quickly recites the valet fee: $45. For that, you should get a wash and an oil change. (Later, the hotel bill shows a parking tax, too——six more bucks!)
This is a most elegant Omni. It’s at the base of Nob Hill, and the architecture is Florentine Renaissance. It was built as a bank in 1926. The lobby has Italian marble and crystal chandeliers. My suite is U-shaped, with a living room and bedroom sandwiching a bathroom. A nap would be nice. But the ballpark beckons.
My cabbie turns out to be Terrance D. Baxter. He goes by San Fran Fan Man. Baxter gives me his CD, on which he sings songs extolling the virtues of the Giants. Fan Man pulls up to SBC Park.
In the dusk, the park seems to glow. The night has turned chilly. I go to an Authentic Irish Coffee stand. I order a double.
Dinner is sushi rolls and sourdough-bread pizza. Menu bragging rights go hands down to SBC Park. My knees nearly buckle at the enticing aroma emanating from a Cinnamon Roasted Nuts kiosk.
The San Francisco crowd is, surprisingly, more into the game action than the previous two evenings’ crowds. Maybe cold night air promotes more moving around and clapping (no wave, thank goodness).
SBC is certainly the most festive venue. Walking the lower box concession row is like walking a circus midway. And McCovey Cove is amazing. SBC is built right on the bay——home runs sometimes splash into the water. And even on this frigid evening, four kayakers—dressed like Alaskan explorers——are sculling around, hoping for a ball.
Alas, the Philadelphia Phillies down the Giants, 7-4. No home runs for the kayakers. But I’ve had a ball.
The Omni California Collection Freeway Series package is available April through October. The deal includes a room, two baseball tickets and peanuts and Cracker Jack. The package costs $239 a night in San Diego and Los Angeles; $279 in San Francisco. Book at least two weeks in advance to ensure ticket availability. For more information, call 800-THE-OMNI.
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