We arrived at Mission Bay RV resort on September 15th and on October 15th we had planned to leave the park… but only for 24 hours. The policy here is that you can only stay for 30 days and after that you must leave the park for 24 hours before returning. We decided we were not quite ready to leave beautiful San Diego so we pulled out of the RV park and simply went across the street in the parking lot to spend the night boondocking with a great water view of the Mission Bay Park. Hard to beat that for convenience!
Now there are plenty of signs posted warning that there is no overnight parking 
however we have been here for a month and have everyday seen people overnighting in all the Mission Bay parking lots. To be safe we did not pull out the slides nor run the generator much. This was easy to accomplish with 77 degree weather and the Bay breezes flowing through our open windows. The park is heavily used by fitness enthusiasts and families but other than one guy who parked beside us to listen to his hard rock music full tilt a couple of hours, it really wasn't bad.
Actually the boondocking timing was perfect as our friends and neighbors here gave us tickets to the Monday Night Football game between Denver and San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium… How cool is that?! Thanks to Blake and Dawnderee for the tickets! It happened because Blake had to unexpectedly fly back home to take care of some time-sensitive business concerns. He is a rabid Chargers fan and although he wasn't happy about missing the game, he really wanted Dawnderee to go and to have us accompany her. Therefore he generously gave his tickets to us.
Since the traffic is absolutely crazy on game day we decided to drive over to the Hazard Center to catch the tram to Qualcomm Stadium ($5 per person, round trip). The tram was stuffed with people as we squeezed in and become like one of many sardines preparing for game night at Qualcomm Stadium. The energy and excitement of the fans clad in their Charger gear was infectious so even in crowded conditions there were many smiles and laughter all around us.
After several stops where others tried to cram into the tram car we finally go to 
Qualcomm Stadium! We followed the masses to the stadium entrance. We picked up a couple of cold beverages and made our way over to our seats on row 10 section 50, so close to the players we felt like we knew them. The game itself was only a part of the whole experience. A great deal of entertainment was simply people watching as there were numerous dedicated fans sporting elaborate game day costumes all around the stadium. 
Not to mention the festive fireworks and hoopla surrounding starting lineup introductions and scoring celebrations.
The first half was all San Diego as their quarterback Rivers picked apart the Denver defense with precision. The Chargers defense and special teams contributed greatly to the 24 to 0 half time score. The blowout looked to be a certainty by halftime. Another cold beverage and the second half started…
One highlight of the game was getting to watch defensive player Von Miller in action. When I was a statistician for Texas A&M University I got to see him a lot while he played college ball for the Aggies. Also, another special treat happened at half time when golfer legend Phil Mickelson made a 100 yard chip that landed on target thus winning $50,000 for charity.
The second half was all Payton Manning and the Denver defense as the score rapidly changed and before we knew it the outcome swung completely 
the other way changing the score to Denver 35 Chargers 24… needless to say disappointing lots of San Diego fans. As we realized we still had to get home amidst the throngs we raced to the tram to be one of the first ones on. Just like that the sardine tram arrived and we nabbed seats for the ride back to Hazard Station. We found the car and made our way back home slowly but surely…
What an absolutely fantastic experience to see a Monday Night Football with future hall of famer Payton Manning forcing a comeback win for his team. We are truly blessed and living right to encounter such special people as Blake and Dawnderee . Without their friendship and generosity we might otherwise never have seen a Monday Football Game… Our lifestyle really rocks…
We watched most of that game on TV. What a turnaround from half to half. We were in Nashville last Thursday night fighting the crowds heading to the Titans upset of the Steelers, but we weren't luck enough for anyone to give us tickets. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome experience! You are definitely right...this lifestyle rocks!
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely living the life! Great closing picture. Sorry the home team didn't pull it out. Bet they were shocked thinking they had it in the bag.
ReplyDeleteFun times. We saw the superbowl at Qualcomm- great stadium.
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