2019 Sharks versus Canucks

Sharon and Janie to the San Jose Sharks versus the Vancouver Canucks NHL hockey game. Sharon got Janie the tickets for her birthday. The Sharks won the game by the score of 3 to 2.

2016 San Jose Sharks versus St. Louis Blues

Jack and Jason went to game three of National Hockey League Western Conference finals between the Sharks and the Blues. The Sharks won the game by the score of 3 to 0.

This is the third time that Jack has been to hockey game in San Jose. Sharon, Jack and I went to games during Christmas vacation in 2010 and 2011.

In one of those random twists of fate, I had been paired up with Jason during the first day of the Freshman Overnight in September of 2012. Subsequently, Jack and Jason become friends.

2011 San Jose Sharks versus Anaheim Ducks

Getting ready for January, we spent the morning taking down Christmas decorations. Next month is going to mark the start of a year filled with a number of major changes in our lives...

We took off in the early afternoon for San Jose. Like last year, the plan is spend the night at the De Anza Hotel and see a San Jose Sharks hockey game.

With some heavy traffic through Tracy and over the Altamont Pass, it was a little before 4:00 p.m. before we got the hotel. After getting settled in the junior suite, Sharon and I had a quick drink in The Hedley Club. We had an early dinner at La Pastaia, the restaurant in the hotel. The food was not very good; Jack's pizza was burnt, my risotto was bland and Sharon's pasta special was just plain bad. I would not recommend the restaurant.

One of the advantages of the De Anza is that it is very close to HP Pavilion. Ducking back to the room to get our jackets, we walked to the arena. Last year, I had got some seats down close to the glass at one end. I felt like it was hard to watch the game from that angle. This year, I got some seats right at center ice about 2/3's up the lower deck. It was a great spot to watch the game.

Unfortunately, the Sharks lost by the score of 3 to 2. Joe Thornton, the Shark's captain, played horrible. He had five giveaways in the game, including one for a breakaway by Bobby Ryan giving the Ducks a 2-1 edge early in the second period.

After the game, we walked back to the hotel and finished the evening raiding the pantry. The hotel offers a feature called "Raid Our Pantry." They have a stocked pantry that you can open with your room key from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

2010 San Jose Day 1

Taking off in the late morning, Sharon, Jack and I headed to the South Bay for a couple of days. The first stop was the Winchester House. For years, Sharon and I have talked about touring the house. It was not quite what I expected. When they talk about craftsmen working on the house for 38 years, I was thinking more Hearst Castle. The house is more of a curiosity than a masterpiece. The Grand Mansion Tour that we took covered 110 of the 160 rooms in the house.

From there we headed to the Hotel De Anza. We got settled into a very comfortable junior suite. Significant for its architectural style, the Hotel De Anza is one of San Jose's few Art Deco buildings. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. More importantly, it is less than three blocks from HP Pavilion where the San Jose Sharks play.

After checking into the room, we had a drink in the Hedley Club Lounge. Back to the room to fresh up, we headed to the arena about 6:45 p.m. We had three tickets to see the San Jose Sharks versus Los Angeles Kings NHL game.

We had a great time. This was the first hockey game that Jack had seen; he really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, with the game tied 0 to 0 in the third period, the Kings scored four goals in the third period to win by the score of 4 to 0.

We wandered back down the street to the hotel. The hotel offers a feature called "Raid Our Pantry." They have a stocked pantry that you can open with your room key from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Jack wanted to head there and we loaded up on some late night snacks. Jack talked about this the rest of the trip; he said that he was going to patent the idea and sell it to other hotels.

We crashed in the room about 11:30 p.m.