DODGER STADIUM

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres

A day for the record books!!

I really can't even put into words how this day was....it was UNBELIEVABLE and I am THRILLED beyond words! A short summary:

Maury Wills works with the Redhawks in the summer (he also played for the Dodgers for 14 years). Dad told him we would be at the game today and he said he would call me and show us around. I wasn't sure what to expect, but he called and told us he would come get us at our seats and move us! He is pretty well known and liked around there and I heard all this cheering behind me...sure enough there was Maury coming down the steps to get us! He said he wanted to wait up top but he couldn't see us so he came down. It's hard for him to get very far with autographs, hand shakes, and pictures! He brought us to the private dining room to have lunch with us (this is where people with a lot of $$ for tickets eat!). We had ham, turkey, salad bar, hotdogs, ice cream, more candy than you could imagine.....all you can eat the whole game! Unbelievable! So here we are in this fancy place and I have my huge bag full of sunscreen and treats and my ugly flip flops on...at least we had LA shirts on! What a treat! He knew everybody including all the waiters, security guards, and ushers. He showed us the history wall and everybody's name on a wall that has ever been a Dodger, and all the jerseys that have been retired. He has a spot waiting for him, but he said they were waiting for him to die! :) Then, he put us in seats 4 rows behind home plate...UNREAL!! Never been so close at a major league game and never will again I'm sure. Maury gave the kids each a ball and then left for home and said we could move up to the shade in the family section if we got hot...(no way any of us were moving!) A lady in the other seats asked me if I would get Tom Lasaorda's autograph for her...(what? me?) and that's when I realized he was sitting a few rows in front of us. I didn't do it, but I needed to go talk to him somehow since he'd been in Gpa Sonny's house and had met my Dad!

He typically had a long line of people waiting for pics and autographs in between innings, so during a pitching change I asked the usher if I could just say hi...I quickly introduced myself...talked about Gpa Sonny and Bucky and quickly went on my way....a few innings later the usher said come with me he wants to talk to you and give you a ball! (What?) Nervous, sweaty, and shaky.....I was able to cut in front of the line and chat with him! He got a ball from the umpire on the field and signed it for me! The kids came down and he put them on his lap and took a picture and chatted with them!! Austin gave him a five...he said " you can do better" and he had to do it again! I said "Katelynn, give him a five" and he said "Nope, I want a hug from her"! OH my...what a thrill!! I called Gma Cella right away and we both cried! What a day! Maury Wills treated us so wonderful and then to meet Tommy Lasorda, what a day!!!! Oh...and the Dodgers won!

These were our original seats...not bad! Mid 70's and sunny! Perfect weather!

Maury Wills. Just great!

Our new seats! Unbelievable! Tommy Lasorda is on the left! Oh my!

Tommy Lasorda! I'm Thrilled!

Austin thought it was great Orlando Hudson played for the Padres....he remembered him of course!

Austin got on the jumbo tron! So did Katelynn, but she tried to hide and the camera actually followed her and she finally waved! :)

We parked at Union Station and took an express bus to the game...the bus ride back was super fun! The bus driver asked questions and everybody would cheer! He made it really fun! Made more "friends" on the bus. Everybody found out we were from MN and wondered why we were wearing Dodger shirts! (One guy said because you didn't want to get beat up? That was my real reason but I didn't tell him that, he also insisted the Diamondbacks were in last place and then he thought we were from Colorado because we knew that?) :)

WHAT A DAY!! WHAT A DAY!

We checked into the hotel, went swimming, and had pizza...might be good to go to bed early tonight! We are exploring Hollywood tomorrow!!