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.

Books and Bugs at the LA Times Festival of Books

Got a kid who’s crazy about bugs? Bring her to the LA Times Festival of Books April 9 & 10 – fun and educational for the whole family.

la times festival of books poster
poster by Shawn Nielsen

Think of it as Woodstock or Lollapalooza or I guess now Coachella for books. The annual LA Times Festival of Books, happening this weekend at USC‘s campus, is a huge celebration of books, authors, media, music, and creativity. There are presentations and signings all day and demonstrations and performances. There are kids’ pavilions, the pretty campus of USC, and a possible Metro ride for your family in it so you can avoid parking.

LA Times Festival of Books bug bites

Adam the Entomologist, host of the new kids’ TV series BUG BITES on KCET, will be showing off live insects each morning from 10 to noon, capped off by a butterfly release! BUG BITES brings life to the miniature world of insects on a gargantuan scale, using a colorful animated cast to explore a world rich in undiscovered secrets. BUG BITES airs Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. on KCET.

LA Times Festival of Books bug bites screenshot

Also appearing in bugland is Andy Harkness, a Disney Animation artist who is the author of the children’s book Bug Zoo, a charming tale of a young boy who opens a zoo full of bugs and troubleshoots his poor attendance challenges. (Ages 3-5). That’s happening on Saturday the 9th at 5:00 on the Children’s stage, but many other Disney publishing authors and books will be present throughout the weekend.

LA Times Festival of Books Bug Zoo cover

There’s so much to do at the LA Times Festival of Books for families. If you haven’t yet been, this is the year to check it out!

Staycation at Residence Inn LAX – Part 1 of 3

IMG_1202After a 1.5 hour slog through Sunday traffic, we finally arrived at Residence Inn LAX.

Over the summer I was invited by Residence Inn to stay at their LAX property. I finally accepted when it was clear that I need some quality time with my 10-year-old. The summer had been so busy that we didn’t get much time together, just me and him. Plus, he loves staying in hotels, and as I found out, he loves other key components of travel, so this turned out to be a perfect little excursion for us.

Normally I wouldn’t choose the airport area as a destination, but there are a few reasons that our night at Residence Inn LAX turned out to be wonderful: a comfortable, clean room to relax and snuggle in after spending time at a great restaurant and a picturesque local attraction that would otherwise take us over an hour to get to by car.

IMG_1205Part I: The Hotel

The Residence Inn LAX just opened this summer with a simple, elegant contemporary decor. The lobby is spacious and bright and there are some cool digital conveniences for guests, including an interactive map of local attractions (but curiously not local restaurants — there is nothing notable in walking distance of the hotel, if you ask the front desk they will send you to places that require a drive), and a live departures screen for flights leaving from LAX, as well as a luggage scale.

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The pool area is small but has plenty of room, with comfortable seating and shade and even a cool fire pit for nighttime socializing. There is a special needs chair lift for the pool, and plenty of towels.

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Our room was gloriously spic and span. I mean, you’d expect that from any hotel of Residence Inn’s fame, but I especially appreciated it because my own house has been such a sandy, dusty disaster due to neglect and beach visits. It was just so nice to get away from household duties for a night! And the goodies left for us were a lovely touch.

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IMG_2253(FYI – no bathtub, just a sleek and clean shower)

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Guests are given BOGO vouchers for use at the on-site fast casual restaurants, Z Pizza or Jersey Mike’s. We opted to go off-property for dinner, but we did use the free beverage at the also on-site Starbucks to get hot coffee and chocolate in the morning.

IMG_1269Residence Inn’s usually awesome continental breakfast hit a hiccup on the Monday morning when we were there, because an expected delivery hadn’t come in. Otherwise we would have eaten there. Instead we took our Starbucks drinks back up to our room and watched the rest of a movie we had started the night before. Cool thing: the rooms have Netflix on the TV’s, and you can log in with your own account. That was perfect for this mom and 10-year-old. We selected “Are We Done Yet?” which incidentally I recommend for helping you go to sleep. Watching the end of it in the morning wasn’t so bad.

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IMG_1277 I enjoyed the view while I took notes

In separate posts I will talk more about how we passed the time. Once we arrived at the hotel Sunday evening, we spent about 20 minutes at the pool before it got too windy, and then considered what’s close by and set out from there. Parking for guests ($24 per night) is in a garage behind the building and coming and going is easy. Wifi is free in the room and works just fine. There is also an airport shuttle, so this is a great lower-cost place to stay the night before if you have a super early morning flight.

Residence Inn LAX
5933 West Century Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90045 USA
Rooms and Rates