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Los Alamitos is a quarter horse and thoroughbred racetrack located in the north Orange County city of the same name. It is a small and somewhat intimate track. The quarter horse races are very...
Los Alamitos is a quarter horse and thoroughbred racetrack located in the north Orange County city of the same name. It is a small and somewhat intimate track. The quarter horse races are very short--300 to 450 yards--and you feel like you are right on top of them. Admission is cheap--free on Thursday nights and $3 on the weekend--parking is free, and drinks start at $2. I should really go there more. A good time.
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Hollywood Park is one of three major thoroughbred tracks in Los Angeles County, the others being Santa Anita in Arcadia and the Fairplex in Pomona. Only one is in season at any given time, so if...
Hollywood Park is one of three major thoroughbred tracks in Los Angeles County, the others being Santa Anita in Arcadia and the Fairplex in Pomona. Only one is in season at any given time, so if you follow horse racing, you will have to watch races at all of them. Santa Anita is the swankiest, but my favorite is Hollywood Park. Partly it is because Iglewood is more convenient for me, but I also like the layout of it a little better. I can't go too often during the week, but I enjoy the Friday night racing when they have bands and $1 beer.
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The Downbeat Cafe is a jazz-themed cafe on Alvarado & Sunset in Echo Park. They sell decent coffee, baked goods, and other comestibles at prices that are maybe a little too high, but still within...
The Downbeat Cafe is a jazz-themed cafe on Alvarado & Sunset in Echo Park. They sell decent coffee, baked goods, and other comestibles at prices that are maybe a little too high, but still within reason. The best time to go there is on Wednesday nights when the house band plays, a nice hard bop quintet led by the sax player Vince Meghrouni.
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I'm a little sick of all the whining from supposed Dodger fans that you hear everywhere these days. The bottom line is that the team plays in a beautiful park, has the greatest announcer in...
I'm a little sick of all the whining from supposed Dodger fans that you hear everywhere these days. The bottom line is that the team plays in a beautiful park, has the greatest announcer in baseball history, and always fields a competitive team. True, last year's model flamed out at the end of the season, but they looked like they were going to repeat in the west before they had a series of devistating injuries. I'd like to see them win as much as the next guy, but I never feel cheated after a night at Dodger Stadium.
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My feelings are really mixed abut the Angel experience. Sometimes I really like Anaheim Stadium/Angel Field/Whatever they are calling it, and sometimes I don't. Sometimes I feel good about the Los...
My feelings are really mixed abut the Angel experience. Sometimes I really like Anaheim Stadium/Angel Field/Whatever they are calling it, and sometimes I don't. Sometimes I feel good about the Los Angles/California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim/Whatever they are calling them, and sometimes I don't. On the positive tip, the team obviously wants to win from the ownership on down. And the field itself is really nice. The stadium mostly has pretty good sightlines, at least inside the foul poles. But the whole thing is a little too Disney. Not just the fountain in the outfield and the statuary, but more the heavy handed security. It seems like every time I go there, someone is being ejected for just being a fan. I was at a Boston game last year, and while the Boston fans were obnoxious, they were being baited by Angel fans who were behaving as badly or worse. But only the Red Sox fans got kicked out. That's not right. The whole scene is just a little too Orange County uptight. Too bad, because I think it could be a pretty good time if they would all just lighten up.
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The Blossom Music Center is just about my favorite place in the world to hear live music. The summer home of the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra, the venue also hosts big name concerts from...
The Blossom Music Center is just about my favorite place in the world to hear live music. The summer home of the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra, the venue also hosts big name concerts from spring to early autumn. Artists I've seen there include Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, the Ramones, Iggy Pop, Neil Young and Santana. The natural amphitheater is in the middle of I don't know how many acres of woods, with seating available in a wooden domed pavillion which includes the stage and on a large lawn area just behind it. The sound is incredible, and so is the scenery.
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Jacobs Field really is a fine ballpark. I loved Cleveland Municipal Stadium, but there was nothing nice about it. The Jake is a very impressive piece of architecture, and it features a beautiful...
Jacobs Field really is a fine ballpark. I loved Cleveland Municipal Stadium, but there was nothing nice about it. The Jake is a very impressive piece of architecture, and it features a beautiful field. It is easily accessible by bus & train, and there is a lot of street parking available as well. The food options are pretty good, especially the Stadium Mustard that you can put on everything. I wouldn't say that there are no bad seats, though. The upper deck generally is a little too high up, with the seats in upper right being particularly useless. Really, if you have those seats, you might as well just go stand on the left field porch.
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Silversun liquor is a little mini-market on Silver Lake Blvd & Sunset (hence the name). They have a standard selection of liqour, beer and inexpensive wine, nothing particularly great here--well,...
Silversun liquor is a little mini-market on Silver Lake Blvd & Sunset (hence the name). They have a standard selection of liqour, beer and inexpensive wine, nothing particularly great here--well, there is a bottle of Dom on the top shelf--but you can something potable at least. They also carry canned goods, toilet items, dairy and the like. Some of the items on the shelf give the appearance of having been there too long. Beware, though; the people at the register don't seem too scrupulous. I've had several occasions where they tried to overcharge me. They like to do this thing where they will type in a product at the after tax amount and then tax it again. So I can't recommend it, except that it is open pretty late.
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The Huntington Dog Beach is one of my favorite places to go anywhere. It's a stretch of beautiful coastline, around a mile or so, in Huntington Beach where you get let your dog(s) go off leash and...
The Huntington Dog Beach is one of my favorite places to go anywhere. It's a stretch of beautiful coastline, around a mile or so, in Huntington Beach where you get let your dog(s) go off leash and play in the sea and sand. There are always plenty of people and pets there, and the beach is well kept up. There is a little shop there where you can buy shirts and other items to support the dog beach.
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The Los Angeles Federal Credit Union is the credit union for employees of the City of Los Angeles and their families. I'm reasonably happy with them, but not ecstatic. They are inconvenient to use...
The Los Angeles Federal Credit Union is the credit union for employees of the City of Los Angeles and their families. I'm reasonably happy with them, but not ecstatic. They are inconvenient to use in person, with only a handful of locations that keep terrible hours. 8:30-4:30 M-F, with an extra half-hour on city paydays. The absence of Saturday hours is incredibly inconvenient; in my city job, I am expected to work some Saturdays and even the odd Sunday, so I don't think it would be impossible for them to be open Saturday mornings like most financial institutions. On the other hand, their electronic access is pretty good and they aren't too greedy on the fees, though I wish they'd give you more than 5 ATM transactions at outside ATMs before charging a fee. Co-op ATMs are not always convenient.
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