Saturday, October 24, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Burbank to Dallas to Detroit
Day 1 - leave house at 4:40am PDT
American airlines from Burbank is very convienent until you reach Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. The flight landed at gate A38 and the connecting flight to Detroit was leaving from Gate A21. We had and hour and fifteen minutes inbetween flights and arrived on time. We made it to gate A21 just in time for begin boarding. The Terminal is enormus !
The flight to Detroit was uneventful and only two hours and 30 minutes additional flying time. Easy ! The Detroit Airport is beautiful. The temparature was 44 degrees and really nice after sweating in heated Airports and airplanes all day.
Lugging the luggage across the terminal to the Rental Car Pick-up Shuttle was easy. The shuttle arrvied about 20 minutes later and off to Thrifty Rent A Car. From there we headed to the Hotel and checked in and caught our breath. We called Sheryl a nd John to meet for dinner and pick up the tickets. They have a friend Angie that was able to get us tickets on the ice ! WoW !
We decded to meet at a restuarant visitied by Guy from http://www.foodnetwork.com/diners-drive-ins-and-dives/index.html. The place is called The Flytrap and is located in Ferndale. Wow, if your ever inthe Detroit area this is a great little place to grab a meal. A small but totally awesome menu.
Next we headed out for some dessert. We were pointed in the direction of the Town named Royal Oaks and a bakery called http://www.astoriapastryshop.com/. All I can say is that I'm so glad we don't live close to this place. The pasteries were so good we bought extra to take on the next leg of the trip.
Time for sleep !
American airlines from Burbank is very convienent until you reach Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. The flight landed at gate A38 and the connecting flight to Detroit was leaving from Gate A21. We had and hour and fifteen minutes inbetween flights and arrived on time. We made it to gate A21 just in time for begin boarding. The Terminal is enormus !
The flight to Detroit was uneventful and only two hours and 30 minutes additional flying time. Easy ! The Detroit Airport is beautiful. The temparature was 44 degrees and really nice after sweating in heated Airports and airplanes all day.
Lugging the luggage across the terminal to the Rental Car Pick-up Shuttle was easy. The shuttle arrvied about 20 minutes later and off to Thrifty Rent A Car. From there we headed to the Hotel and checked in and caught our breath. We called Sheryl a nd John to meet for dinner and pick up the tickets. They have a friend Angie that was able to get us tickets on the ice ! WoW !
We decded to meet at a restuarant visitied by Guy from http://www.foodnetwork.com/diners-drive-ins-and-dives/index.html. The place is called The Flytrap and is located in Ferndale. Wow, if your ever inthe Detroit area this is a great little place to grab a meal. A small but totally awesome menu.
Next we headed out for some dessert. We were pointed in the direction of the Town named Royal Oaks and a bakery called http://www.astoriapastryshop.com/. All I can say is that I'm so glad we don't live close to this place. The pasteries were so good we bought extra to take on the next leg of the trip.
Time for sleep !
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Back in April 2001, Michael and I thought it might be fun to do see the Detroit Red Wings vs Los Angeles Kings playoff game. I'm originally from Detroit, nicknamed Hockey Town, but had never been to a hockey game. It seemed that everyone had already decided that no one could beat Detroit that year and they would win the Stanley Cup. They were #1 and the Kings were #8, it was the first round of the playoffs. So I thought I'd go support Detroit.
It was game 4, the Wings lead the series 2 - 1. Detroit took a 3 - 0 lead. Then in the last 6:07 of the 3rd period, the Kings scored 3 times to tie the game and send it into overtime. The crowd went wild! The excitement was contagious. Then the Kings won in OT & the crowd went insane!
The Kings went on to win game 5 in Detroit to take the lead in the series. They now lead the best of 7 series 3 - 2. Game 6 was at Staples Center. We decided to go. Again, the Kings came from behind and won the game in OT. The excitement & energy wasn't only contagious, it was addicting. We were hooked. And we were Kings fans.
In November of 2002 we went to a game in Calgary while we happened to be there. They were playing our hated rivals the Colorado Avalance. The crowd energy there was amazing. You only get that much energy in L.A. when it's a playoff game. So ever since we've wanted to see more hockey in Canada. Every year it seemed the Kings schedule had one long road trip thru the east with many games in Canada and we always wanted to follow the team on that road tirp. This summer, we decided the time was right, and this hockey season, we would take our road trip.
We anxiously waited for the day the 2009/2010 schedule was released. The day it was published, I checked it. I double checked it. I had Michael check it. There was no such road trip this year. Maybe because all the teams had to work their schedule around the Winter Olympics. Who knows? Whatever the reason, we were disappointed.
Then we had an idea. Let's create our own road trip! I checked the schedule for the entire NHL and looked for lots of Candien home games back east close together. I also was checking Pittsburgh's schedule because we also wanted to go there, them being the reigning Stanley Cup Champions and this being the final season in Mellon Arena. I noticed the Pittsburgh Penguins have back-to-back home games on a Friday and Saturday. So I began looking at the NHL schedule just before and after these 2 games.
I noticed the Kings will be visiting Detroit about 10 days before this. Ah, back to where it all began: Wings vs. Kings. I thought, maybe we can start there; go root for our Kings in Detroit. I studied the schedule for all the games within driving distance of Detroit & Pittsburgh. So many teams, so close together! I came up with options and we discussed them.
We debated following the Kings to Columbus, but decided instead to go to Montreal. Afterall, we wanted to go to Canada. And seeing the "cross town" rivalry of Ottawa vs Montreal was something we couldn't pass up.
After debating for a couple of days, we came up with our schedule:
Los Angeles Kings vs. Detroit Red Wings
New York Islanders vs. Buffalo Sabres
Ottawa Senators vs. Montreal Canadiens
San Jose Sharks vs. New York Rangers
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders
Boston Bruins vs. Philladelphia Flyers
Florida Panthers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
New Jersey Devils vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Then it was time to shop for tickets. I love comparison shopping, which is part of the reason I work at Shopzilla. So I began having fun. I started at Stubhub. Then thanks to a survey they asked me to take, I learned of many other sites that list tickets for sale. I happily started making spreadsheets of what tickets were available from where, for what price and what the fees were. I tried to wait for individual game tickets to go on sale, but most of the home teams we're going to see don't have many good seats not taken by season ticket holders. Montreal actually had a lottery for a chance to purchase the few available seats.
So as I found good seats for decent prices, purchases were made. I also started making the travel arrangements. And now, after more than a month of planning, shopping and anticipation, its time to go!
It was game 4, the Wings lead the series 2 - 1. Detroit took a 3 - 0 lead. Then in the last 6:07 of the 3rd period, the Kings scored 3 times to tie the game and send it into overtime. The crowd went wild! The excitement was contagious. Then the Kings won in OT & the crowd went insane!
The Kings went on to win game 5 in Detroit to take the lead in the series. They now lead the best of 7 series 3 - 2. Game 6 was at Staples Center. We decided to go. Again, the Kings came from behind and won the game in OT. The excitement & energy wasn't only contagious, it was addicting. We were hooked. And we were Kings fans.
In November of 2002 we went to a game in Calgary while we happened to be there. They were playing our hated rivals the Colorado Avalance. The crowd energy there was amazing. You only get that much energy in L.A. when it's a playoff game. So ever since we've wanted to see more hockey in Canada. Every year it seemed the Kings schedule had one long road trip thru the east with many games in Canada and we always wanted to follow the team on that road tirp. This summer, we decided the time was right, and this hockey season, we would take our road trip.
We anxiously waited for the day the 2009/2010 schedule was released. The day it was published, I checked it. I double checked it. I had Michael check it. There was no such road trip this year. Maybe because all the teams had to work their schedule around the Winter Olympics. Who knows? Whatever the reason, we were disappointed.
Then we had an idea. Let's create our own road trip! I checked the schedule for the entire NHL and looked for lots of Candien home games back east close together. I also was checking Pittsburgh's schedule because we also wanted to go there, them being the reigning Stanley Cup Champions and this being the final season in Mellon Arena. I noticed the Pittsburgh Penguins have back-to-back home games on a Friday and Saturday. So I began looking at the NHL schedule just before and after these 2 games.
I noticed the Kings will be visiting Detroit about 10 days before this. Ah, back to where it all began: Wings vs. Kings. I thought, maybe we can start there; go root for our Kings in Detroit. I studied the schedule for all the games within driving distance of Detroit & Pittsburgh. So many teams, so close together! I came up with options and we discussed them.
We debated following the Kings to Columbus, but decided instead to go to Montreal. Afterall, we wanted to go to Canada. And seeing the "cross town" rivalry of Ottawa vs Montreal was something we couldn't pass up.
After debating for a couple of days, we came up with our schedule:
Los Angeles Kings vs. Detroit Red Wings
New York Islanders vs. Buffalo Sabres
Ottawa Senators vs. Montreal Canadiens
San Jose Sharks vs. New York Rangers
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders
Boston Bruins vs. Philladelphia Flyers
Florida Panthers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
New Jersey Devils vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Then it was time to shop for tickets. I love comparison shopping, which is part of the reason I work at Shopzilla. So I began having fun. I started at Stubhub. Then thanks to a survey they asked me to take, I learned of many other sites that list tickets for sale. I happily started making spreadsheets of what tickets were available from where, for what price and what the fees were. I tried to wait for individual game tickets to go on sale, but most of the home teams we're going to see don't have many good seats not taken by season ticket holders. Montreal actually had a lottery for a chance to purchase the few available seats.
So as I found good seats for decent prices, purchases were made. I also started making the travel arrangements. And now, after more than a month of planning, shopping and anticipation, its time to go!
Starting Up
It took me hours to read all the different "Travel Blog" reviews and ideas. Inthe end I decided to just create the blog here.
Enjoy
Wojo
Enjoy
Wojo
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