I got back from California a couple weeks ago from an epic Oilers road trip with my dad! This was our second trip where we followed the Edmonton Oilers on their away games. Our first trip was to Buffalo (Sabres), New York (Rangers) and New Jersey (Devils) back in 2014. This time around, we wanted some sunshine so Los Angeles (Kings) and Anaheim (Ducks) were the perfect places to go watch some hockey.
If you are into sports, I would definitely encourage making a trip out of it to watch your favourite team!
First up was Los Angeles and we stayed right in L.A LIVE, their entertainment district, and the Staples Centre was just a few steps away from our hotel. We try to stay as close to the arenas as possible so its easy getting to and from the game. Also, we love seeing what each city has to offer for food and entertainment right outside the arena. The district was filled with bars and bright lights which was great for before and after the game. When we got there during the day, the concierge told us we would have to drive far from the district if we wanted to do anything else but eat. We only spent one day in L.A so we were cool just hanging at the hotel pool before the game. If we were there any longer, we would have picked a different location to stay in with more to do- just a heads up! The Staples Centre was by far our best game day experience. The fans love their team, as they should, with 2 Stanley Cups in the past 5 years! The opening show before the game blew us away- definitely had the hollywood vibe. We also had servers that came to our seats to grab our beer orders, which was awesome! Sadly, the Oilers lost 2-1. 
The next day, we packed up and headed to Santa Monica and Venice for the day. The Anaheim Ducks game was that night, so we had lots of time to hang on the beach. We rented bikes and rode from Santa Monica Pier to Venice Beach. The weather was perfect! After, we walked around and did a little shopping in Santa Monica. At around 3:30 we got back in our rental car and started the drive towards Anaheim. The game started at 7:00 so we thought we had lots of time to get to the Honda Centre, considering the GPS said it would only take 45 mins. One thing that didn't cross our mind until we were stuck in it for 3 hours...L.A TRAFFIC!! We almost missed the start of the game and had to change our clothes in the parking lot because we had no time to check into the hotel. But we made it and had a blast! Great seats again, and this game went into overtime with the Oilers losing again 2-1. 
On our last day, we went to Disneyland and California Adventure Land! We planned our hotel so it was just a shuttle away from the park. We got there at around 8:40 a.m (it opens at 8:00) and already there was an hour wait for the first ride we wanted to go on in California Adventure Land. After waiting, we realized we could get these things called "fast passes" and scheduled our day accordingly. We went on 6 rides (3 in each park) in the 8 hours we were there so there is a lot of waiting around, but we still had so much fun! Our favourite ride was in Cars Land called Radiator Springs Racers. 
Three awesome days filled with hockey, food, sun, disney and spending time with my dad. If you are into sports, I would definitely encourage making a trip out of it to watch your favourite team!
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