Summertime at Dodger Stadium

There’s so much more to Dodger Stadium than baseball. On our latest trip, for the June 25 game against the Colorado Rockies which turned into the “longest nine-inning game in the history of Dodger Stadium,” we took some time to enjoy the sights, explore a little, and stay even after that 4-hour, 19-minute game to the let the kids run the bases. Did you know that’s a thing?

Dodger Stadium kids watching

Obviously, you go to Dodger Stadium to watch a baseball game. But kids can get bored, and games can last a long time. Luckily, there are things to see and do there that break up the activity of just sitting and watching the game.

Things To See

There are plenty of great photo opportunities in and around Dodger Stadium. Pictures of your kids and family near the giant Dodger hand or the LA symbol will become iconic images of their childhood.

Dodger Stadium giant hand

Dodger Stadium LA symbolThis silver logo is just inside the entrance to the club level seats.

Dodger Stadium Jackie Robinson

This sculpture, unveiled in April, is the first-ever sculpture in the Stadium and marks the 70th anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball. It’s located on the left field reserve level plaza area (Lot B).

Dodger Stadium social media center

The social media center is fun to watch – that dude in there has a busy job! If you post a photo to social media with the tag #mlbmemorybank, it will show up on the board, and may be shown on the giant DodgerVision screen in the stadium!

Dodger Stadium DodgerVision

That’s our crew! You can see our guests, Jeff and Kevin, and my son Brady front and center in his Dodgers cap. I was too busy trying to snap a pic to make sure I was in the shot!

Dodger Stadium bullpenYou can watch the reserve pitchers warming up in the bullpen during the game. We were so close we could hear how hard the ball smacks the glove at 90 mph!

Things To Eat and Drink

Beyond the obligatory Dodger Dog, the various snack bars throughout the stadium offer a variety of salads, nachos or ice cream in a Dodger helmet, meatball subs, Vietnamese noodles, and more! I decided to dessert my way through the day, starting with this churro ice cream sundae.

Dodger Stadium churro ice cream sundae

My son preferred a cherry flavored Icee, but my choice of drink on this sweltering day was the Ketel One Watermelonade.

Dodger Stadium Ketel One Watermelonade

Things To Do

Like I said, it’s not just baseball games that happen at Dodger Stadium. They have fireworks, movie nights, kids running the bases, festivals before the games, and giveaways. At this game, they gave a cool Dodgers water bottle to every kid who came. They have themed games and special promotions for groups. This day was Girl Scout Day, and all the Girl Scouts – there were hundreds – who showed up led a parade around the field before the game.

My son and his friend got to run the bases that day. It was over pretty quickly, but there was a long line. The experience is open to kids 4-14 after select Sunday home games.

Dodger Stadium kids run bases

mom and kid at dodger stadiumHe was pretty happy with the day. So was I.

Go for the baseball, come back with a day full of memories, and maybe even a bag to put them in.

Dodger Stadium boy on club level

My son and our friends and I attended the game as guests of the Dodgers. All opinions are my own.

Mother’s Day Hike: Nicholas Flat

trail in the forest

A trail in the forest: my favorite thing to see

Mother’s Day. Every year for several years now the only thing I want to do on holidays is hike with my family. Without any whining. It seemed like it would happen on Mother’s Day this year—I gave the boys plenty of warning, and it was such a simple request.

But then this morning all three of them were sick. They’re leaving this week on a trip, so it seemed best to let them stay home and rest. So I went on a hike all by myself, and it turned out to be exactly what I needed. Since I knew I was going solo and could therefore go anywhere I wanted, I returned to a beautiful spot that isn’t super popular…yet.

Nicholas Flat

You can approach this area from the south via Malibu Springs Trail at Leo Carillo State Park or from the north at the end of Decker School Road. That was the convenient spot from here, because it’s off Route 23, which begins at Westlake Blvd. It’s a hairpin turn to the right and then just park when you reach the trailhead at the very end. The wide pathway takes you south through a foresty patch and then emerges out into a grassy meadow where you are greeted with this glory:

Nicholas Pond

This pond was dry until the recent rains. 

Bench by pond

A perfect place.

A side trail takes you around the west end of the pond and up into the rocks. As of today there were several fallen rotten tree limbs and one of them jumped out of nowhere and bonked me right on the head. Okay that was actually my fault because I was rushing up to the rocks, racing against my dying phone battery and distracted by a text (out here where there’s no service!). Lesson learned, nature. I’ll pay better attention.

Nicholas Pond

West end of Nicholas Pond

The side scramble and even the head bonking were totally worth it though because this:

Pacific Ocean from Nicholas Flat

I played around with trying to get a good picture of myself in this spot…

Selfie

New profile pic

But that wasn’t the point of the hike, I promise. It was solitude and freedom to explore without anybody whining or standing around impatiently waiting for me to find a geocache. Which I did. Several times, and it was fun. So there. Happy Geocaching Nerd Mother’s Day to me.

Wildflowers in meadow

Had to bushwhack to find a cache. Rewarded with this view.

Wildflowers on trail

Nicholas Flats Road trail

Meadow

View from trail. Lots of brush, worried about snakes.

snake on trail

This was the only one I saw today, and he left quickly.

plastic rat

Rat in a geocache!

burned trees

Entering the Fire Swamp

My total hiking time was 2.5 hours, but you can easily park at the trailhead and be at the pond and then the ocean view in less than 20 minutes. I bopped around and took lots of pictures (these are the best) and stopped at the above bench to pull all the pokey things out of my shoes and socks. By the time I got home, I was relaxed and accomplished, and my boys had cleaned the entire house even though they weren’t feeling good. Wins all around.

I’m curious about approaching this area from the beach, plus there are a few more caches out there that I’d like to find, so I’d like to go back sooner than later. People get really protective of their favorite hiking spots and caution you about telling everyone about them so they don’t get too popular and crowded. So keep Nicholas Flat and its trails between us, okay?

Decker School Road

DanTDM Creates a Big Scene on YouTube Red

boys with DanTDM

If you have children of a certain age, you probably recognize the name DanTDM. The TDM stands for The Diamond Minecart, and Dan Middleton is the man behind the YouTube account. He’s made his fame (and fortune) by playing Minecraft and recording his gameplay at the same time as his own face while he narrates and reacts to the game. Kids all over the world watch all of his videos. He has over 14 million subscribers.

YouTube Space LA sign

So it makes total sense that YouTube Red would partner with DanTDM to make an original series. DanTDM Creates a Big Scene debuted on April 7, along with three other original content series. A celebration was held at YouTube Space LA in advance of the launch, and I attended with my sons, who thought it was seriously the coolest thing ever. I was invited to interview Dan, press junket style, but I stuck my boys in the hot seat since they know all about him, as you can see in this interview, posted on YouTube (naturally).

If you’re patient and watch through to the end, you’ll get a kick out of my younger son just firing the difficult questions like “What’s up with your hair?” and “How about those giant earrings?” He wasn’t intimidated at all. Considering I started my career in the arts as a behind-the-scenes interviewer, I’m feeling like the kid’s got it in his blood.

youtube red step and repeatBut he won’t pose for photos with Mom.

The new YouTube Red series, a fantastical take on DanTDM’s creation of a live show that actually does exist, begins with the free first episode, but the subsequent 5 episodes are viewable only by YouTube Red subscribers. YouTube Red is the paid version of YouTube, which allows you to watch all of this original content ad-free. For people used to watching YouTube videos for free like you have been since the beginning of YouTube, this might be an adjustment. But the production value seems pretty high, so you’re bound to have a positive experience if this platform works for you.

DanTDM YouTube screening

In addition to Dan’s show, three other YouTube Red Originals for families will roll out this Spring including Kings of Atlantis, an underwater animated adventure starring Cody and Joe of the immensely popular Minecraft-inspired YouTube channel, TheAtlanticCraft also debuting on April 7thFruit Ninja, inspired by the eponymously named gaming app, and Hyperlinked, a scripted series starring tween music sensation L2M will also arrive this spring. All four of the shows were screened at the party we attended, and the kids were transfixed by them all. The stars of Hyperlinked were there, and they were super friendly to all the kids at the party.

DanTDM signs kids hats

But the true star of the event was DanTDM himself. He was gracious and kind to every kid who asked him a question or had him sign their T-shirt or hat. I watched him meet kids and sign items for over an hour without ever looking tired or even wanting to sit down for a second. Such seemingly effort success couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

Original series on YouTube Red. $9.99/mo.