Sorry for the couple of days off, folks. I've been away from LA (just up the coast in Santa Barbara), celebrating Our Woman in LA's 30th birthday. That's right, everyone! I'm much less of a cradle-robber than I once was. Take that!

Anyway, onto the post o' the day. Our Woman in LA (aka, Birthday Girl) and I took our first trek down to Anaheim to see the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties on Tuesday night. Steph's dad and stepmom were in town, and regular readers will remember that my father-in-law does not recognize the existence of a National League franchise in the Los Angeles area.

"They stole my childhood," he'll tell you.

So a trip to Chavez Ravine was out. On to Anaheim!

Gotta say, I was pretty impressed. Nice stadium, decent turnout of fairly devoted fans, good food options, ample parking, and a perfect night for a game.

And did I mention that the Angels scored 16 runs?

Sixteen! In one game!

I have to admit that I was hoping to see the Rally Monkey (see above), the Angels' mascot and secret weapon, that night. But he was not necessary to put away the Minnesota Twins.

Of course, it was a bit of a disappointment to Our Woman in LA. A birthday without a monkey is not nearly as good as a birthday with one, after all. So we had to make do with presents, a trip to Santa Barbara, and a lot of wine.

Seriously. A lot.

So much wine, in fact, that this morning, we probably could have used our own . . .

Wait for it . . .

Wait . . .

Rally Monkey!

Didn't see that coming, did you? Go Angels.