Hockey roadtrip suggestions

[Oz27]

Hey guys,

I'm planning to head back to the US in late November and early December to catch as many Ducks and Clippers (and hopefully Rams) games as I can. I'm looking to head on the road to catch a couple of Ducks games and the best time for me to do that is in early December - when they head to Vancouver, Edmonton and then Calgary. Have any of you guys done games in those cities? If I only did, say, two of those three - which would be the best ones to do? I'd be solo in all of those places, would I have any reason for concern cheering for the Ducks in any of those places on my own?

Any thoughts, comments or suggestions are welcome!

[nate]

32 minutes ago, Oz27 said:

Hey guys,

I'm planning to head back to the US in late November and early December to catch as many Ducks and Clippers (and hopefully Rams) games as I can. I'm looking to head on the road to catch a couple of Ducks games and the best time for me to do that is in early December - when they head to Vancouver, Edmonton and then Calgary. Have any of you guys done games in those cities? If I only did, say, two of those three - which would be the best ones to do? I'd be solo in all of those places, would I have any reason for concern cheering for the Ducks in any of those places on my own?

Any thoughts, comments or suggestions are welcome!

Edmonton and Calgary are both pretty remote.  They are big cities by Canadian standards but they are in the middle of basically farmland.  Think Fresno but with nicer people and no minorities.  As far as tourism goes, not a whole lot to see there.

Vancouver is one of the greatest cities in the world IMO.

Also Edmonton in the winter will be cold as balls.  That is the midwest of Canada, open plains, freezing cold winds etc, different kind of cold.  Doesn't bother me but I know it matters to a lot of people.

[Thomas]

If you are driving between the cities I can't imagine driving through the Canadian Rockies in winter is without challenges.

[gotbeer]

I think Vancouver is close to Seattle isn't it?  December 15 is Rams at Seahawks. 

From what I hear, Calgary sells out every game.  And it's a tough/expensive ticket. 

Looking at the schedules, seems Nov 20 is a home game for the Rams.  nov 27 is at New Orleans, which isn't a bad place to visit I guess.  Dec 4 at Chowdar land. 

But for the Ducks, the 15-30 seems ideal. 

Maybe the Gulls?  Their schedule isn't out yet though.

 

Also, if you have leeway in your schedule. 

Coming early November and doing the Columbus, Nashville, Carolina swing is probably a better weather prop than the Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver in December.  If you did that trip, you can finish it in NY and watch the J E T S Suck suck suck.

[Oz27]

Thanks for the tips so far, everyone. I'll be booking flights today - arriving November 24 and leaving December 14. So I'll get to do plenty of home games in that time and I have the chance for a few road ones too. I've got that Canada option I talked about before and also @ San Jose on November 26. I'm actually starting to think I'll do two separate road trips - I'll pop up to the San Jose game, come back to So Cal, then a few days later go to Vancouver and spend a couple of days there (I'll likely skip the Edmonton and Calgary bit). All of that depends on the NBA schedule though and if there's any great Clippers road trips or home games. Ideally I wanted to do that late December roadtrip you mentioned, gotbeer, but it's hard for me to be away from work around Christmas time. There's still heaps of good hockey for me to see though. I imagine Black Friday v the Blackhawks will be a lot of fun.

[mrwicked]

vancouver - hell yes.

edmonton and calgary? skip it.

sharks games are great, i can give you some tips on where to pre-game beforehand. are they playing the ducks the game you go to? i usually try and get to a couple ducks vs sharks games a year.

[Tank]

Buddy of mine did Vancouver and Calgary back in April and had a blast at both games. Said Calgary was really friendly and he didn't get any flack for wearing his Kings gear.

[Oz27]

18 hours ago, mrwicked said:

vancouver - hell yes.

edmonton and calgary? skip it.

sharks games are great, i can give you some tips on where to pre-game beforehand. are they playing the ducks the game you go to? i usually try and get to a couple ducks vs sharks games a year.

That would be awesome. Yeah it's a Ducks game. I won't know for sure until the NBA schedule comes out but the chances of me doing it are pretty high. Would you recommend staying in SJ or SF? I'll probably only be there 24 hours, 48 at most. I plan to do Black Friday in Anaheim the day before then head up to the Bay Area the next morning for the Ducks game. That is assuming there isn't some awesome Clippers thing in the NBA schedule which makes me want to do that instead.

[Tank]

5 hours ago, Oz27 said:

That would be awesome. Yeah it's a Ducks game. I won't know for sure until the NBA schedule comes out but the chances of me doing it are pretty high. Would you recommend staying in SJ or SF? I'll probably only be there 24 hours, 48 at most. I plan to do Black Friday in Anaheim the day before then head up to the Bay Area the next morning for the Ducks game. That is assuming there isn't some awesome Clippers thing in the NBA schedule which makes me want to do that instead.

i would stay in san jose. traffic up there sucks donkey balls.

several years ago my wife and i were celebrating our anniversary in the area. had tickets to see the Kings v. Sharks. pulled into our hotel at 4 pm to check-in, and as i look around the big crowd of mostly men in the lobby, i recognize Bob Miller and Nick Nickson. seems this was the Kings hotel, too, and they were just checking out to head over to the arena. the most awesome thing about it? it was trade deadline day, and Nickson asked me if i wanted to take a look at the fax he'd received with all the deals listed. that was fun.

and i should mention that this hotel was an exceptional easy walk away from the stadium. don't remember the name of it, unfortunately, but don't imagine it's hard to find online. we had to walk under the freeway overpass to get there.

[mrwicked]

6 hours ago, Oz27 said:

That would be awesome. Yeah it's a Ducks game. I won't know for sure until the NBA schedule comes out but the chances of me doing it are pretty high. Would you recommend staying in SJ or SF? I'll probably only be there 24 hours, 48 at most. I plan to do Black Friday in Anaheim the day before then head up to the Bay Area the next morning for the Ducks game. That is assuming there isn't some awesome Clippers thing in the NBA schedule which makes me want to do that instead.

stay in SJ no question.

there are a bunch of hotels right there within walking distance of the shark tank.  i have stayed down there many time so i can hit the game then party at the bars nearby afterwards. then drive/caltrain back up to the city the next day.

[Oz27]

Righteo, I'll definitely stay in San Jose then. I've done a little research and it seems like there are heaps of good hotels and bars in the vicinity. I'm guessing if I spent two days there and decided to head up to San Fran for one that would be pretty easy to do as well?

Now I just wish the NBA would release their f**king schedule so I can start locking this stuff in.

[mrwicked]

15 hours ago, Oz27 said:

Righteo, I'll definitely stay in San Jose then. I've done a little research and it seems like there are heaps of good hotels and bars in the vicinity. I'm guessing if I spent two days there and decided to head up to San Fran for one that would be pretty easy to do as well?

Now I just wish the NBA would release their f**king schedule so I can start locking this stuff in.

Well if you have two nights, you could do either. I would only spend time in SJ for the game (and potentially pre/post game). 

1 night, definitely just stay in SJ. You could spend the day in the city, then roll down on the caltrain for the game. Crash nearby in SJ.

But if you have 2 nights, you could do one or both in the city. Getting to/from SJ on the caltrain is super easy, takes like an hour. So you could have your hotel in the city, bop around there, roll down for the game, head back up after, and do the bars/restaurants in SF that same night. 

Or do one night in each town. But I wouldn't spend two nights in SJ.

Once you know how many nights you're in the area let me know and I can help figure out good plan.

[Oz27]

On 06/08/2016 at 1:05 AM, mrwicked said:

Well if you have two nights, you could do either. I would only spend time in SJ for the game (and potentially pre/post game). 

1 night, definitely just stay in SJ. You could spend the day in the city, then roll down on the caltrain for the game. Crash nearby in SJ.

But if you have 2 nights, you could do one or both in the city. Getting to/from SJ on the caltrain is super easy, takes like an hour. So you could have your hotel in the city, bop around there, roll down for the game, head back up after, and do the bars/restaurants in SF that same night. 

Or do one night in each town. But I wouldn't spend two nights in SJ.

Once you know how many nights you're in the area let me know and I can help figure out good plan.

So I've sorted out a basic plan and I'm keen to get your input, if you don't mind (and input from anyone else is most welcome too). I'm flying into San Jose the morning of the Ducks game there and watching that. I'll spend either two or three nights in the Bay Area then head to Vancouver and catch two games there, against the Wild on the 29th and then the Ducks on the 1st of December.

I'll probably split it straight and do three nights in the Bay Area and three in Vancouver (although I could do two in San Jose then four in Vancouver). Would three nights in San Jose be too much? If so I could pretty easily get my way to San Fran, spend a night there and then fly to Vancouver from there. My first night in San Jose would be the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, so if I did three days in the Bay Area it would be Saturday to Monday. What would you recommend?

[Tank]

i think you'd find a lot more to do in san fran. san jose has an amusement park (six flags) and you're not too far from monterey and the aquarium, but three days is probably too long. i'd spend at least 1-2 days in SF instead.

[gotbeer]

 

Nov 25 Ducks vs Chicago
Nov 25 Clippers @ Detroit
nov 26 Ducks @ San Jose
nov 27 Clippers @ Indiana
Nov 29 cippers @ Brooklyn
Dec 1 Ducks @ Vancouver
Dec 1 Clippers @ Cleveland
Dec 2 Clippers @ New Orleans
Dec 3 Ducks @ Edmonton
Dec 4 Ducks @ Calgary
Dec 4 Clipper Vs Indiana
Dec 7 Ducks vs Carolina
Dec 7 Clippers vs Golden State
Dec 9 Ducks vs San Jose
Dec 10 Clippers Vs New Orleans
Dec 11 Ducks vs Ottawa
Dec 12 Clippers vs Portland
Dec 13 Ducks @ Dallas

Personally, I think there is more to do in the San Jose area than in Vancouver.  Depending on what you want to do of course.  San Francisco.  Nappa.  Monterey. 

 

 

[nate]

Vancouver is incredible so I think either way you are good.  Monterey is definitely worth visiting, it is one of my favorite places.

[Oz27]

Thanks for the advice, @Tank and @nate

That is my exact schedule @gotbeer except it's possible I'll do the Rams on December 11 instead of the Ducks, close enough either way though. I haven't done Vancouver in more than 15 years so I'm keen to hang out there for a bit, I think I'll do three nights there. It sounds like three nights staying in San Jose might be a bit much so I might just stay there game night then head up to San Fran the next day and check out some wineries from there. If I really wanted to be adventurous I could go to Indiana for that Clippers game but that feels like a shitload of effort and a long way to go for one NBA game!

[gotbeer]

Just a heads up.  If you do the Rams game.  Take Uber or a rideshare or the train.  Parking they are charging $50+.  I hear more in the $200 range.  And you still have a walk to the stadium. 

[Tank]

who would pay $200 to park for a football game??? 

[gotbeer]

1 hour ago, Tank said:

who would pay $200 to park for a football game??? 

https://www.stubhub.com/los-angeles-rams-tickets-parking-passes-only-bills-at-rams-los-angeles-los-angeles-memorial-sports-arena-and-coliseum-parking-lots-10-9-2016/event/9625602/?mbox=1&rS=0&abbyo=true&sliderpos=false&qtyq=false&dUpg=false&sort=price+asc

Cheapest is lot 19 for $45.  That's about a mile+ away from the stadium in the Ghetto. 

[Oz27]

Yikes, that is ridiculous. I'll catch an Uber for sure. What is the Coliseum like in terms of places to drink nearby before and after a game?

[gotbeer]

30 minutes ago, Oz27 said:

Yikes, that is ridiculous. I'll catch an Uber for sure. What is the Coliseum like in terms of places to drink nearby before and after a game?

Not that great.  Your better bet is to go to the game, then take the train to someplace like Staples Center area, and do some partying there.  You can check to see if there are any pre/post game parties that a restaurant might be having.  They will usually start advertising for it week of.  I'll keep an eye out and see if I hear anything.  But overall, USC/Coliseum is in the middle of the hood.

[mrwicked]

On 9/20/2016 at 6:28 PM, Oz27 said:

So I've sorted out a basic plan and I'm keen to get your input, if you don't mind (and input from anyone else is most welcome too). I'm flying into San Jose the morning of the Ducks game there and watching that. I'll spend either two or three nights in the Bay Area then head to Vancouver and catch two games there, against the Wild on the 29th and then the Ducks on the 1st of December.

I'll probably split it straight and do three nights in the Bay Area and three in Vancouver (although I could do two in San Jose then four in Vancouver). Would three nights in San Jose be too much? If so I could pretty easily get my way to San Fran, spend a night there and then fly to Vancouver from there. My first night in San Jose would be the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, so if I did three days in the Bay Area it would be Saturday to Monday. What would you recommend?

I would probably do either one night in SJ (after the game) and two in SF.

Or honestly just head up to the city after the game and do all 3 nights in SF. This would be my vote as there really isn't too much to do in SJ compared to the city.

I take the train back and forth between the city and SJ for Sharks games all the time, it's easy. Unless you really wanted to party in downtown SJ after the game, but it would be better to party in SF after the game.

I'll probably be at the Dec 9 Ducks vs Shizzies game, but that's after you're in town.