30 Before 30: A Color Run

If something is advertised as the "most fun anything on Earth," I will probably try it.  So it was no surprise that when I heard of The Color Run - advertised as "the most fun 5K on Earth" - I was determined to do one.  Even though I had only moved up to the Bay Area weeks prior, I traveled back down to Los Angeles in early February to do the 2013 run with Barbara and Marsha.

One of the main reasons why I wanted to do the LA run was because it was held at my beloved Dodgers Stadium.  The course consisted of twists and turns around the huge stadium parking lot, with four different "color stations" along the way.  We would go under an arch of colored balloons (first blue, then orange, yellow and finally pink) where volunteers would then cover us from head to toe in coordinating colored powder.  It was a bit unfortunate that they started with blue and orange, as those colors ended up looking brown for the majority of the race.

Marsha was smart and brought us all red hats which not only protected our hair, but helped us spot each other in the huge crowd.  They said 10,000 runners registered for the morning race, not to mention 10,000 more for the afternoon shift.  It was a bit crazy, but lots of people got really into it with full outfits, tutus, rainbow socks, wigs, and everything in between.

For $40, it was definitely worth the experience (and the cute free shirt), but it's probably not something I will do again.  The girls and I had a blast (not to mention a little exercise!), but the process of getting clean after the fact wasn't so fun!  Barb had green-tinged hands and I had blue between my toes for days!

30 Before 30: A Pro NFL Football Game

The very first thing I did after finishing my Los Angeles list was promptly move from Los Angeles to the Bay Area.  It was a decision long in the making, and I'm sure that the majority of the items on my 30 Before 30 list will now have a Bay Area slant.  I've never been one to be afraid of new experiences, and look forward to all the amazing discoveries I am sure to make in the Bay Area! 

Of all the items on my new 30 Before 30 list, I'm sure seeing a pro NFL football game is the one my boyfriend was most excited to help me with.  Before I had even finalized my list, he had bought tickets to the San Francisco 49ers game vs. the Arizona Cardinals at Candlestick Park on December 30, 2012.

We tailgated beforehand with a large group of his - and now my - friends.  Fun was had by all, and since this was the last regular season game for the Niners, a win was crucial for a favorable playoffs position.  The air was buzzing with anticipation.

After a slow first quarter (not a single first down) and a few missed field goals, the Niners were able to pull it together, and beat the Cardinals 27-13.  I very much enjoyed seeing the "behind the scenes" goings-on of a football game that would have otherwise been filled with commercial breaks.  As we all know, Los Angeles hasn't had a pro team since 1995, and I am excited to be a part of a football fanbase for the first time in my life.  But don't worry, my heart still belongs (and will always belong) to the Los Angeles Dodgers!

#16: Santa Anita Park Horse Races

The first year I lived in LA, I technically lived on the Westside.  I say "technically" because, though Westchester is considered the Westside, it is much closer to the ghetto than the beach, and is most famous for being the "Home of LAX."  But anyway, for a weird 6 months of my life, I lived in an apartment right under the flight path of planes flying into LAX.  It was only after I moved in that I realized this apartment wasn't actually in Westchester, but Inglewood.  And as I mentioned in my Watts post, if you know a city's name from a mid-90's gangsta rap song, it's probably not the ideal place to live.  I like to think I built up tons of street cred (I didn't) but the one thing I did learn about Inglewood is that it was home to a huge ghetto horse track and casino called Hollywood Park.

I always wanted to go to Hollywood Park, if simply to revel in how misleading the name was.  Hollywood Park sounds pretty legit, a classy place where stars go to classily bet on horse races, but no, it's definitely in the ghetto whose most famous former resident is Ice Cube.  And the naturally shady aspect of horse racing could only have been intensified in such a setting.  I was fascinated.  But as soon as I moved out of the ghetto and into the 'Hills, I realized that maybe I should just try to be fabulous, not ghetto fabulous, and go to a legitimately classy horse race park instead.  I think it goes without saying that my move to Beverly Hills was a life upgrade in more ways than one.

So, a few years later, I finally made it out to Santa Anita Park in Pasadena, host of the Breeders Cup and other actually meaningful Southern California horse races.  My good friend Marsha - a veritable horse expert - agreed to go with me, and I can't stress how much better the experience was going with someone who knew what a "thoroughbred" was.  I certainly had no clue.  We even wore pretty dresses and fancy hats, just to add a little extra something fun.

General admission cost I think $7, but we paid $20 each for the fancy eat-lunch-while-you-watch-with-a-TV-at-your-table seats, which was definitely worth the extra money.  We were able to sit under an awning, which would have been essential on a hot day, but was EVEN more essential as it was a bit drizzly that day and we didn't want to ruin our fab horseracing dresses.

After we walked around the stadium and checked out the parade of horses about to race, we made it to our table to order lunch and a bottle of wine, which we leisurely consumed over the next four hours. Marsha spent a good part of our afternoon teaching me the different types of horses, and how to read the stats pages.  She also taught me to correct terminology associated with horse racing, such as "trifecta," "superfecta," and the differences between "winning," "placing" and "showing" (basically fancy ways of saying first, second, and third).  She was so patient with me and taught me about the science and speculation behind what people "think" makes a good racehorse.  It was truly fascinating, and she saved me lots of googling.

There were 8 races that afternoon, and we sat through the first five trying to guess the trifectas - basically which horses would come in first, second AND third in the race.  Trifectas have a big payout, something like 50-to-1, and needless to say I didn't correctly guess a single one.  As the sixth race approached we finally finished our delicious lunch and decided to place some real bets.

I bet on a superfecta, which guesses the top 4 finishers, in any order.  Marsha placed three separate bets, for a specific horse to win, a different horse to place, and yet another to show.  I got 3 out of my 4 for the superfecta, which was "close but no cigar" but Marsha actually did correctly predict which horse would place.  Of our total $12 we bet (high rollers, I know) I think we got $5 back.  I was hesitant to bet much more, simply because after 6 races having not even guessed correctly once, I just knew I would just be throwing my money away. 

We sat through the next two races before deciding to head home.  We had spent about 4 hours at the track, and had a blast.  I learned more than I ever thought I would about horse racing, horse breeding, and horses in general.  Marsha was totally in her element and I had a truly fabulous (non-ghetto) time, that I'm sure I would NOT have had at Hollywood Park!

Me, Marsha and our hats checking out the Winners Circle, where the jockeys walk around the horses before their races.

Horses racing towards the finish line, right in front of our seats

Enjoying a late afternoon lunch at the races :)

#40: LA Kings Game

So this year I have seen the Lakers, the Dodgers, and the Trojans. In the past I've seen the Clippers, the Galaxy and even the Angels, and the only team left (besides the Sparks and let's be honest, when has the WNBA ever counted) was the LA Kings hockey team.

I've never been a fan of hockey, for no particular reason. I just always thought it was super violent so I wrote it off (silly me!). But luckily for me, my boyfriend is a huge hockey fan and surprised me with tickets to the Kings for New Year's Eve. I didn't really know what to expect, but I went with an open mind and was just happy to be doing something different for New Year's.

We took the train into downtown again - and this time, instead of parking in Hollywood (massive cluster normally, epic cluster on New Year's) we parked a few stations further away FOR FREE at Universal Studios. We took the red line into downtown, then since we were being lazy, transferred to the blue line that lets out right next to the Staples Center. The train was packed with Kings fans, so it was a party-like atmosphere on the ride down.

With all the logistics of parking and trains, we thought we would be late to the game, but we got there even in time to hear the national anthems! The Kings were playing the Vancouver Canucks, so they sang the Canadian anthem as well as ours. Which was great because it gave us some extra time to grab food quickly before making it to our seats before the drop of the puck.

Now, I thought I would be apprehensive about seeing dudes beating on each other with hockey sticks, but evolution be damned because I LOVED it! Ronny was patient and explained the basics to me, like penalties and power-plays, and the proper way to taunt the opposing team's goalie after a shot is made (I loved it!) The level of participation from the fans - which had a great showing of Canuck fans as well - was unlike any other kind of sporting event I've been to. It was so exhilarating and exciting, and I also loved the pace of the game. The hardest part about watching football for me is the fact that it stops every 10 seconds, but hockey keeps going.

During one of the intermissions, we got up to get beer and stood in line in front of 2 hardcore Canucks fans, traveling here from Vancouver. And you can keep making those Canadian stereotypes, because they were SO nice and polite and respectful. They even complimented us on being Kings fans, because Kings fans are just "so great". What the heck. Raiders fans shoot the opposing team's fans, Dodgers fans beat them nearly to death, but Canucks fans compliment you and shake your hand. Awesome. (Oh, Ronny did just remind me that they also riot when they lose...)

After we got beer we did a lap around the Staples Center, and went outside to the balcony/ smoking section to see all the New Year's revelers in the LA Live plaza below. While we were out there, an epic chant-war started, with the beligerant Kings fans shouting "U-S-A! U-S-A!" in the faces of a group of Canucks fans. And God bless 'em, the Canucks fans retorted with "WEEE HAAVVE HEAAATHCAARE! WEEE HAAVVE HEAATHCAARE!!" Burn, Canada. Buuuurrnn.

The Kings ended up winning 4-1, which is a pretty solid win for a hockey game. All the fans were going crazy and I was there right along with them. I have absolutely fallen in love with hockey games and I can't wait to go again! The best part about it is that you don't have to have a master's understanding of the game to enjoy yourself, and tickets are a fraction the cost of Lakers seats. I highly recommend it to anyone that wants to try something different - and I hear this season's Kings team has a chance at the Stanley Cup!!

Note: Apologies for the picture quality, my camera broke and my iPhone has been working overtime!

This is how close the Staples Center is from the train drop off. I'm never walking from the Red Line again!

View from our seats

Wearing our Kings Crowns!

PS - I just realized that I spent three major holidays this year at sporting events. Dodgers was on July 4th, USC Trojans was on Thanksgiving weekend, and this one was on New Year's Eve!

#5: UCLA vs. USC Football Game

Surprisingly, I get asked a lot by non-Angelenos how I feel about Los Angeles not having a football team. Well, obviously it doesn't bother me, because we do have a pro football team, the USC Trojans. They are so pro that they aren't even allowed to compete in college bowl games anymore (true story!)

And you can't mention the USC Trojans without mentioning their cross-town rival, the UCLA Bruins. The rivalry runs pretty deep around LA. Football fans, basketball fans, hipsters picking out scarf colors, douchey guys at bars... they all belong to either the "SC" camp, or the "LA" camp. The majority of my coworkers are USC alumni, and several of my friends from high school went to UCLA (bestie Barbara actually works there) so I have been exposed to both sides, and, though neutral in my own personal preference, have my own prejudices about what type of people cheer on each team. Which obviously makes the idea of watching an LA collegiate rivalry sports game - and the people watching that goes along with it - all that more exciting.

The rivalry game this year was hosted by USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where the 1984 Olympics were hosted. When UCLA hosts, they play at the Rose Bowl. That would have been pretty cool too. Barbara was able to get us UCLA student tickets for half the price of tickets from the USC box office, so as a thank you for saving us $100, we dressed up in Bruin Blue and made our way to the Coliseum.

As we got close to the Coliseum, we began to see more and more red shirts, and more and more police officers and caution cones. Always a good sign when heading into downtown LA. We had planned to just park at the Coliseum and like noobs didn't really explore other options, but when we saw that stadium parking was SIXTY DOLLARS (I swear, only in this city) we had to readjust our plan, and fast. We ended up parking at a slightly shady strip mall (complete with a Metro PCS... only in strip malls) and paying off the security guard not to tow our car.

As we made our way from the strip mall to the stadium, we walked past the entire stadium parking lot. There was some Grade-A tailgating going on. Well, it looked Grade-A to me, but being a Dodgers fan and attending a dry college have severely limited my tailgating experience. There was music blaring and meat barbequing and beer being spilled all over the place by people that, to me, looked too young to be drinking. Does this mean I'm getting old? Probably. We ended up walking behind a group of UCLA students, because we all know that there is strength in numbers and some of those USC fans looked pretty big and intimidating. Luckily my borrowed UCLA hoodie and Ronny's polo shirt helped us blend in perfectly with the other college students.

Also like noobs we assumed that this really was a professional sporting event and that we could buy drinks once we got inside the gates. However, little did I know (this being my first college football game) that they don't serve beer. What the heck!? Where are we, Cal Poly?! Seriously. So poor Ronny and I had to prepare ourselves to deal with screaming college kids acting ridiculous, while completely sober. Ugh. (Sidenote: lesson learned).

Ronny had warned me in advance that the game would be a blowout, but I really didn't understand how serious he was. Within the first 45 seconds, the Trojans had scored. Cue the Trojan mascot complete with mohawk helmet on the live white horse to gallop around the stadium as 90,000 people lost their minds and did that dumb little "fight on" hand motion. The other 10,000 people were the UCLA students in my section, chanting obscenities and saying "Just wait! We'll get them soon!"

Cut to the half-time mark, when the score is USC 29, UCLA 0. Trojan fans, still 90,000 strong, were still waving their arms chanting "fight on" or whatever, but those once confident UCLA fans were now deflated and hanging all 10,000 of their heads in their hands. Not even a marching band rendition of "Moves like Jagger" by Maroon5 (complete with some sweet band dance moves) could cheer these kids up.

Ronny and I took it as our cue to exit, and get out of the stadium before the paid-off security guard decided to tow my car. If nothing else, we HAD to escape the girl behind us, a rouge USC fan in the UCLA section, who was screaming her head (and our ears) off. It was a blood-curdling, shivers-down-my-spine scream that still haunts my dreams. As we were walking back to the strip mall, I felt like we took a wrong turn. What had been crazy busy full of people, and honking cars, and music and drinking was now completely deserted. The only sign hinting at what had been was the insane amount of trash. I'm surprised I didn't see a little Wall-E roving around making a skyscraper out of all the plastic cups, kep taps, potato chip bags, napkins, and other general filth. Ew.

When we got home my brother so graciously gloated to me that the final score was USC 50, UCLA 0. I don't really understand why he's an SC fan but that's neither here nor there. And regardless of how obnoxious the fans were (on both sides) I walked away from the game completely envious of the fact that these schools have a venue like this to display their school spirit. And apparently this is small-time compared to schools in the South. It was something so foreign to me, but overall was a lot of fun. It made me feel like I was a college student again (hoodie and all!) and I just wish that my alma mater had something that cool that I could follow for the rest of my life. I guess I will have to settle with watching Cal Poly's one famous football player, Ramses Barden, make 7-yard catches for the NY Giants.

Oh, and I am still convinced that the majority of USC Trojans fans have NO idea where Troy is. Just saying.

Our view of the red sea from the blue corner

Some sweet marching band action

Go... Football!

#1: Dodgers Game Behind Home Plate

My brother has inspired me to make it a life goal to see every baseball stadium in the country. I have been to 8 so far (out of 30) and they are all beautiful and unique in their own way. But the one that I will always love most is of course, Dodgers Stadium. It may not have a marina view like AT&T Park in San Francisco, you may not feel the ocean breeze like you do at Petco Park in San Diego, and it certainly doesn't have the old-time nostalgia of Wrigley Field in Chicago. But it is the stadium of my home-town team, and therefore will always be my favorite.

I have been to Dodgers Stadium dozens of times, and almost exclusively sit in the cheap seats. When I'm not in the outfield, I'm in the nosebleeds. I'm not complaining, and am actually grateful for the low ticket prices. But for years I have wanted to splurge and get the best seats in the house. When I decided to make my 2011 List, this was the very first thing I thought of, and is one of the items I was most determined to cross off.

I was trying to figure out which game I wanted to go to (truthfully, I was looking for games against an unpopular team because tickets would be cheaper, and the Dodgers might actually have a chance of winning). I started to worry that I still wouldn't be able to afford tickets, and that there would be no way I could convince a friend to spend that kind of money to go with me. But luckily for me, my boyfriend is an avid baseball fan too, and surprised me with behind-home-plate tickets to the July 4th game (complete with fireworks!) for our anniversary. True love people, I'm telling you.

After eating an amazing meal at Philippe's, we went to the stadium early. I've never gotten to the stadium in time for batting practice (typical Angeleno, I usually show up in the 3rd inning) so seeing the whole team practice was a treat. We even went onto the field with the hope of getting autographs, but all the players were too busy to sign. Oh well! It was burning hot, so we cooled ourselves down with beer and ice cream. Mmm.

The game was great. I literally felt like I was watching the game on TV, our seats were so close. But of course it was better because I could smell the grass and watch the sunset. The Dodgers played well, and my favorite player, Matt Kemp, scored twice. During the 7th Inning Stretch, I showed Ronny one of my favorite Dodgers Stadium traditions by singing the song twice instead of once (he thought it was excessive). After the game, they had a pretty fantastic fireworks show, complete with all the popular patriotic songs. There are few things I love more in life than 4th of July Fireworks, and watching them from the MVP Box at Dodgers Stadium with my boyfriend was pretty special.

If only I had had some apple pie, I just might have just died of pure patriotic happiness.

Our fancy expensive tickets!

Wearing my sweet new white-on-white hat (also part of my present!)

Opening pitch

I borrowed this picture from the Dodgers Facebook page. During the National Anthem, dozens of soldiers went out onto the field and unfolded a ridiculously large American flag. For once, a scene best seen from the nosebleeds, not field level.

Beautiful sunset over the ravine

PS- Yes, I am completely ignoring the fact that the Dodgers lost the game. That part doesn't even matter.

#6 Lakers Game

My friend Meaghan is from Iowa, and though she complains about it constantly (all the snow, no cell service, horse-and-buggies instead of cars) according to her, the hands-down #1 worst thing is that she doesn't have a single professional Iowa sports team she can root for!! As my favorite Real Housewife from Atlanta, Dwight, would say, HOW DREADFUL!! Truly, one of the blessings of living in Los Angeles is that you can be a fan of the LA Dodgers, Lakers, Galaxy, Kings, Angels OR the Clippers!

I love being a sports fan. A good game on TV can spice up an otherwise boring day, the fan community is exhilarating, and when your team wins, you feel the win too! The only reason I had never seen a Lakers game at the Staples Center is because they are pretty expensive, but 2011 is the year that I focus on spending my money on making memories, not just filling my closet. When my BF told me he had found decent tickets to the Lakers vs. Bobcats game for an affordable price, all I had to do was customize my yellow Lakers shirt and dig out some purple Mardi Gras beads and I was set!

We decided to skip the expensive mess of parking in downtown, and instead took the subway from Hollywood to the 7th St. station in downtown. I had only taken the subway once before, and it was so easy and inexpensive... I really look forward to the day when public transportation is a viable option in this city!

Once we got downtown, it was an easy 10 minute walk to LA Live and the Staples Center. We found our seats (first row of the upper section) and eagerly watched the teams warm up. Even from high up, the players looked like beasts! Much bigger than they look on TV. We enjoyed the game, especially the Camacho Nachos that Ronny ordered. I'm sure that meal was about 2,000 calories of cheese, chips, guacamole and pure deliciousness.

The Lakers ended up winning the game (of course they won... come on). The game wasn't very eventful; both teams scored under 100 points, no one was injured, there werent even many major disputes or fouls. Honestly, one of the most exciting parts of the game (for me) was when they showed Roger Federer and Pete Sampras sitting next to each other, courtside. (Also, thanks to Facebook status updates, I found out my friend Sona was at the game, and we were able to meet up briefly in the 3rd quarter so she could meet my bf.) And, since the Bobcats scored under 100 points, we got coupons for free tacos from Jack in the Box. Towards the end of the night, the "LETS GO LAA-KERS" chants turned into the "WE WANT TAAA-COOS!" chant. (Side note: I ended up giving my tacos coupon to a homeless guy at the downtown artwalk the next week).

After the game we met up with some good friends at one of my favorite downtown bars, 7 Grand (on the corner of 7th and Grand, of course) for a celebratory drink. My friend gave us a ride back to my car, so we didn't have to brave the subway at midnight.

Overall, the Lakers game was a blast, and I really think every LA fan should go to at least one. However, I don't think I will splurge on tickets very often. Watching the games on TV is almost as exciting for me, and much, much cheaper! I will spend my next $80 on another item from my list!

View from our seats

Kobe free throw!