As a youngster, I would watch the Rose Bowl game on New Years Day, every year. I loved the atmosphere surrounding the game, the pageantry, the scenery, and the tradition. I promised myself that someday I would, at the very least, attend a game in the Rose Bowl stadium.
Thanks to the Gods of College Football, my beloved Buffs were scheduled to play UCLA this season, at the Rose Bowl. This was the opportunity I had been waiting for. The Rogue clan started planning our trip late last year, and after a long wait, the time had finally arrived.
We (Mrs. Rogue, Son Rogue and I) left Thursday morning for the City of Angels. As we boarded the plane we were greeted by the “E-team” of flight attendants; Whitney, Candy, and Daphne. One of these ladies detected a certain something in me, and asked me to keep an eye on her bag, which contained her brand new iPad, for the duration of the flight. I think she knew, as did a lot of people, that in the neighborhood of seats 10D and 10E, I was a pretty big deal…
A brief aside here – I was able to successfully complete my mission, and even delivered the bag to the flight attendant before I left the plane. I was rewarded with a big smile and a hug. But wait, it gets better. I learned that because the flight attendant community is small, word travels quickly. I say this because on the return flight home I was again rewarded, this time with a full can of diet soda. On United…
One of the few things I enjoy about air travel is the Skymall catalog, I’m entertained by all of the silly gadgets. So, without further delay, here is this trip’s Skymall Showcase:
The Original Crispy Bowl helps keep your cereal crunchy. I guess just pouring less milk in the bowl is no longer an option. Notice the stylish, yet functional, under-bowl grip!
Not to be outdone by sheer necessity, The Flair Hair Visor says, “Hey, chics dig me.” Yikes….
Now, back to our story.
Our plane was filled with an odd collection of characters, including a group of skater/snowboarder/surfer Jeff Spicoli wannabes, who used the word “dude” liberally in their conversations. Apparently one obtains entry into their clan by including “dude” at least once in every sentence. Let me tell you, those dudes were something else…
Sitting across from me was a character I’ll call Johnny Cool. His jet black hair was coiffed just so, and he was wearing a black leather jacket over a skin tight black tank top. I heard him tell someone that he was “heading to LA to check out the clubs.” About midway through the flight, Johnny removed his jacket, fired up the ol’ iPod, and began to lay down some air guitar riffs. All while safely belted into his seat. He was pretty good too, because at the end of the flight, which coincided with the end of his performance, everyone stood up…
After arriving at LAX, we collected our luggage and a rental car, then headed south on The 405 toward Long Beach. Our destination was the Aquarium of the Pacific. Son R had made arrangements for a behind the scenes tour with a college friend of his who works at the aquarium. We got to feed some fish, see shark eggs, as well as an arctic fox and penguins who were not yet on exhibit. The penguins were found off the coast of Brazil, having been carried out to sea by a storm. The good people at the aquarium have nursed the birds back to health, and they are thriving. Later in the afternoon, Mrs. R and Son R even petted some sharks, rays, and other marine creatures.
We left the aquarium and got on The 710 heading toward Pasadena and Arcadia, where our hotel was located. We arrived safely, checked in, and headed out for dinner. We ended up at Matt Denny’s, a neighborhood pub/hangout in Arcadia. It was a good place to unwind after our first day.
Friday was cool and overcast, and we decided to head to Hollywood. Our plan was to take The 210 west to The 134 to The 101 and then head south on the world’s largest parking lot, The 405. We exited The 405 at Mulholland Drive, hoping to take a scenic drive through the Hollywood hills. We drove past several spectacular homes; maybe they were hotels, I’m not really sure. We never really got a good view of the LA basin because of the cloud cover. Laurel Canyon Boulevard took us out of the hills and into Hollywood. By the way, if you’re interested in a vacation home, Jim Morrison’s former residence in Laurel Canyon is listed for just $1.2 million…
Hollywood Boulevard is, well, kinda sleazy. It’s an odd combination of movie history, family attractions, and drug dealers. We didn’t spend a lot of time there, but we did run into one of Mrs. R’s favorite movie stars…
We walked over to In-N-Out on the corner of Sunset and Orange, across from Hollywood High School. As always, the food was delicious. It turns out that In-N-Out has a secret menu.
After leaving In-N-Out, we headed down Santa Monica Boulevard toward Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. As soon as we turned onto Rodeo, we realized that our kind wasn’t welcome there, but it didn’t stop us from doing a little rubber necking. We headed a little further south, ended up on Beverly Drive where Mrs. R checked out a high-end wool/knitting shop. Afterward, we found a Starbucks, sat outside and did some people watching. Lots of well dressed and coiffed people walking along Beverly Drive…
Later that evening, Son R treated us to dinner at The Derby,which was located right next to our hotel. We enjoyed a delicious meal and then headed back to the hotel to rest up for the big game.
We awoke to a cool and windy Saturday. It was partly cloudy all day, and by game time the temperature had dipped into the low 50’s with a chilly wind out of the northwest. We spent the first part of the day in Old Pasadena, which is a collection of funky shops and restaurants along Colorado Boulevard. It reminded us of the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, including the use of a strange language that sounds similar to English. As we were walking along the sidewalk around lunch time, there was a young couple behind us. They were apparently hungry, and I overheard the woman say to her companion “Pizza kinda sounds really good.” Kinda really? Is that even possible?
After doing some shopping we headed to the Rose Bowl. The stadium is in a beautiful setting surrounded by mountains on three sides. Unfortunately on this day those mountains were obscured by the clouds. We were assured by a long time UCLA fan that he had been coming to games for 29 years and that it had only rained once in all that time. We chatted for awhile, and then he, as did many UCLA fans, told us to “enjoy the game.” Even though we were wearing enemy colors, the UCLA faithful were friendly and welcoming. I guess you can be that way when you know your team is about to kick the pre-Thanksgiving stuffing out of the other guys…
We hung out with Son R’s friends at their tailgate for awhile, made our way through a maze of vendor’s tents, and headed to north side of the stadium to join the Forever Buffs pregame party.
And what a party it was – live music, catered food, Chip the mascot, the marching band, cheerleaders, speeches by the President, Chancellor, and Athletic Director.
We followed the band into the stadium, and wandered around before finding our seats.
The Rose Bowl is undergoing a renovation, and some portions of the work were visible. Much to the chagrin of Mrs. and Son R, I spent some time observing the reinforcing steel and seismic bracing. For all of you smart asses out there, no, there was not a Forever Dorks pregame party…
We found our seats, Classes of ’06 and ’81 representing…
The stadium is huge, with a capacity of over 90,000. There were 57,000 spectators at the game, and the place seemed empty. It was incredible being inside that stadium, realizing a lifelong dream!
The game started, and was over quickly. CU received the opening kickoff, ran four plays, and punted. UCLA then scored on their second play. On the Buffs second play of the next drive, the pass was intercepted. UCLA then scored on their next play. UCLA had run three plays from scrimmage, and led 14-0. Three minutes and 34 seconds had elapsed in the first quarter… Ouch!
UCLA squeaked by with a 45-6 win, it was a terrible night for the Buffs. We left midway through the 4th quarter and headed back to the hotel to warm up.
On Sunday, we had planned to head to Venice Beach, taking The 210 west to The 134 to The 5 south to The 10 west. LA’s top-notch weather people assured us that the rain would hold off until 2:00 pm. We arrived in Venice Beach about 11:30 and were greeted by a torrential downpour. Apparently the weatherpersons forgot to look outside before making their forecast. We drove along the Pacific Coast Highway toward Malibu, hoping for a break in the weather. We finally gave up and headed to the airport. Our plane was delayed by about an hour, but we made it home safely.
All that's left to do now is plan next year's trip - Berkeley? Eugene? Any thoughts?
