Labor Day at the Rose Bowl

I am so sorry, dear readers, for the long delay between posts. It's been unusually hot in LA (90+ degrees), and finally has gotten down to cooler temperatures (we're at a high of 73 today), and so I'm blaming my lack of motivation on the energy sapping heat.

Labor Day weekend was mostly uneventful for us. Cameron played video games and I caught up on school work. Thrilling, I know. We did, however, catch the season opener for the Bruins on Saturday. So, technically, the title of the post is a lie since we spent the 31st at the Rose Bowl and not the 2nd. What fun!

If you don't know, Cameron's a football fan (he set an alarm to wake up early on Saturday to watch the NC State game. He even set up his laptop to the TV) and I'm not so much. I spent six years at Appalachian State, and maybe went to five football games and probably never stayed for the entirety of the game. I think part of that is I'm old at heart and not a huge fan of standing on bleachers for three or so hours in the student section. I did attend a game at NC State when they played App State back in 2006 and enjoyed it a lot more; probably because I was with really good friends and I like the atmosphere of large school sporting events. That being said, I actually asked (and sort of prodded) Cameron to go to the opener game at UCLA. Fun fact, UCLA doesn't have a stadium on campus; all their home games are at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, which is about 45 minutes away from campus (20 minutes away from our apartment).

UCLA has a pass for students called the Den Pass, which for about $100 gives you access to all the home football and basketball games. The brochure was sent to my parents' home and my dad sent it to my LA address with a check and a note telling me to go and to take Cameron. Apparently my lack of enthusiasm for collegiate sports was well known. However, since I only have a year at UCLA as a student, I was prepared to go to as many events as I could.

So, back to the game. It started at 7pm, but Cameron and I weren't planning on tailgating since we didn't want to leave Gambit alone for too long, and a local brewery was hosting a slew of food trucks that we wanted to try. (I'm telling you, say, "food trucks," and Cam and I will be there). The brewery we visited is called the Angel City Brewery in downtown LA (or DTLA as I've learned) and about four or five food trucks were parked in their lot and rotated between lunch and dinner. I grabbed a bite from Belly Bombz, which is a Korean fusion truck, and Cameron got a sushi burrito from Jogasaki Burrito. My pork sliders were decent, but, holy moly, was Cameron's sushi burrito delicious. It's really just a sushi roll wrapped up like a burrito, but it was by far one of the best things I've had from a food truck. We went inside the brewery for a quick drink and to eat our food on a table. The beers were quite tasty as well. I tried the Avocado Ale and Cameron tried their IPAs.

The Belly Bombz Truck- they also serve wings and Garlic and Thyme fries that Cameron says are really good.

The Jogasaki Burrito Truck. We will find you again. I LOVE their mascot the Japanese/Mexican guy!

The Three Chilies burrito. It had quite a kick that even got to Cameron.

Pork Sliders!

The beer list at Angel City Brewery

So, really back now to the game. The drive to Pasadena wasn't bad at all; it maybe took us 15-20 minutes from downtown. We had to find cash, however, to pay for parking at the Rose Bowl. All $25 of it. Yuck. The interesting part of parking is it was on a golf course. Not just a few holes, probably the entirety of the course. Since we got there closer to the start of the game, we had to park on the outskirts and probably hike it about a mile to get to the stadium. That actually turned out for the best since we were close to the main roads and didn't have to sit in too much traffic to get home. The stadium is pretty large; Cam said it holds about 90k, and even with not a lot of students there, it definitely filled up.

Right before kickoff!

The game was against the Nevada Sate Wolfpack (kind of ironic since I was sitting with someone from a different Wolfpack), and we won 58-20. Cameron and I left around the 3rd quarter since we were up by quite a few, and stadium seats were not designed for tall people in mind. I must say, I really enjoyed myself and I think Cameron did too. We didn't have to stand for all of the game, and it was just a lot of fun. There was one part when the cheerleaders took off running with the flags that spell out UCLA and have Bruins on another one out of order. I think they went ULCA. Not sure what happened there, but it was humorous to watch them realize that's not the right order.

Earlier that week, I attended a session for Parent and Family Programs where they teach parents the "Eight Clap" for sporting events. I felt like a native being able to keep up with the other students. I offered to teach Cameron it, but he wasn't so inclined (he did ask for a UCLA t-shirt for home games that I was more than happy to oblige with). I learned at the home games for every touchdown the team makes, the bookstore gives 5% off; since we made 5 touchdowns, I happily used the 25% at the bookstore the following Tuesday.

The next home game is Sept. 22, and I'm hoping Cameron will be willing to go to that one as well. Maybe we can find some of my cohort members to with!

And, as per my usual ending, Gamby!