Over my 47 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States. I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning. Working in alphabetical order, we start today with the 31st state to be added to the Union: California.
State: California
Joined the Union: 1850
Visits: 11
With eleven visits between 1998 and 2019, the Golden State is the state I have visited the most, outside of those I have lived in and/or attended college.
My first visit was in 1998 to attend Comic Con International in San Diego. I went early, spending the entire week and enjoying some pre-Con time checking out the sights, including the San Diego Zoo.
I returned the following year for Labor Day weekend, but this time up to the San Francisco Bay area, to visit my old friend Scott, who had moved out there after graduating to work at AMD. What I remember from that trip is my first Giants/Phillies tilt at the former Candlestick Park, my first trip to the toilet that at the time was called Network Associates Coliseum, and a car trip over the Golden Gate Bridge.
I returned to San Diego for Comic Con in 2000 and 2003. I don’t remember much of the 2000 trip, but the 2003 trip included my one visit to the former Jack Murphy Stadium to see the Padres face the Diamondbacks. At the Con, I managed to see many of the stars (or, at least, bit players) from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Smallville, and Tru Calling.
With the Cubs coming off their first division title since 1989 and a new stadium opening in San Diego, my friend Pete and I planned a trip for the Cubs mid-May road trip. We attended all three games at PETCO Park, which the Cubs swept, while also taking in the local sights and the ambience of the Elephant and Castle bar in our hotel.
I returned to the bay area in May of 2008 for the JavaOne Conference. Arriving on a Monday afternoon, my first order of business was a BART trip out to Oakland for a 2-1 A’s victory over the Orioles at what had become to be known as McAfee Coliseum. The conference kicked off on Tuesday at the Moscone Center and started a week of learning and absorbing about all things Java. Things culminated with a Thursday night party featuring the musical stylings of Smash Mouth. While most of the conference attendees headed home on Friday, I instead headed to AT&T Park to once again see the Giants take on the Phillies.
After a decade away, I returned to San Diego in April of 2014 as part of a recognition conference from work at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, located right next to the convention center. Arriving early in the day, I ventured out to reacquaint myself with the city. My first step, following a stroll past the convention center where all of those Comic Cons took place, was PETCO Park. Unfortunately, a game wasn’t in the cards this time, but I did get a look in to the stadium thanks to their open center field concourse. From there, I headed off to Horton Plaza, looking to try and grab something for lunch. That night was the big gala event on the USS Midway.
After another day of exploring the local sites, Thursday night featured a trip to marine base Miramar for dinner and more looks at military aircraft. While there, we were able to witness transports returning soldiers to the US and being reunited with their families. A nice dinner followed in the officer’s lounge, after which it was back to the hotel for the night. Friday night had a closing dinner at the hotel and the conference came to an end.
But the trip did not! The following morning, I rented a car and headed north for my first trip to Los Angeles. My first stop on my way into town: Dodger Stadium to see the Dodgers battle the Giants. One Dodger Dog and many Giant home runs later, the game was over and I found my way to Glendale and the local Hilton, which would be my home for the next 4 days. With nothing specific on tap for Sunday, I headed down to Hollywood to check out the Walk of Fame and to get a good look at the famous Hollywood sign and then out to Pasadena to get a glimpse at the Rose Bowl and to see Captain America: Winter Soldier.
Monday morning, I took in the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, seeing the backlot of the studio, where we saw sets used for shows such as Shameless, Pretty Little Liars, and Gilmore Girls and movies such as Spider-Man and Annie. After that, we got to go around the different stages, home to shows like ER, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, and Ellen. After trips to the prop department and the car museum, we were able to check out two of the stages, for The Mentalist and The Big Bang Theory. Following an afternoon swim, I headed back out at night to the NerdMelt theater in the back room of Meltdown Comics, where I saw new material from Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray, the Sklar Brothers, and, in a surprise appearance, David Koechner. The following day I got another helping of Hardwick, as I took in a taping of his Comedy Central show @Midnight.
My next trip to California came in November of 2017, when Angelina had a skating competition in Anaheim. Our trip started in Hollywood, with an aborted attempt to get breakfast before heading over to Burbank for the Warner Brothers Studio Tour. Saturday, we made out inaugural trip to Disneyland. Sunday was the skating competition at the practice facility of the Ducks in Anaheim. Between performances, we took a trip to Angels Stadium to look around and take some pictures.
A little more than a year later, the entire family returned to Los Angeles to see Danny and the Lincoln-Way Marching Band ring in 2019 by marching in the Rose Parade in Pasadena. On our first day, we checked out the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which was just a few blocks away from our Airbnb. The next day, we took a trip down to Anaheim to Disneyland, where Danny and the band were performing. Sunday, we headed out to Pasadena for Band Fest, where Danny and many of the other bands were performing their field shows, followed by a tour of the float barn. New Year’s Eve was split between yet another tour of Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank and Beverly Hills, where we strolled down Rodeo Drive before having an early dinner.
The trip continued into 2019, as New Year’s Day was spent in Pasadena for the Rose Parade. Lucky for them, they were slotted right after the float that caught on fire and eventually mucked up the entire end of the parade. However, they were able to march around the disabled float and keep things moving for the time being. The next day we went to the California ScienCenter, where we were able to see artifacts from King Tut’s tomb and the space shuttle Endeavor. We then managed a quick trip to the beach before heading home.
Later in 2019, I returned to San Francisco for two weeks of work stuff. There wasn’t a whole lot of time for sightseeing, though I did manage to go for a walk each morning down the waterfront, enjoying the sights and the sea air. Thursday of the second week was my big night out, as I trekked down to Pier 39 to see the seals before heading over to Oracle Park to see the Giants take on the Phillies. Again.
My twelfth trip to California was booked for May of 2020, to see the White Sox in San Francisco and San Diego. But, a global pandemic got in the way of that, and everything was cancelled. I am positive that I will return someday, maybe even this fall.