HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022 - Los Angeles - Day #3

Up early, I ran 2.5 miles on the treadmill in 36 minutes. Getting cleaned up and packing up the room, I headed to the Model 6. From there, Tomasin, Snipes and I walked to Norm's for breakfast.

Scooping up Mikey after breakfast, the four of us headed to Dignity Health Sports Park for a second day of rugby sevens. USA played Fiji in a cup quarter final game. I am always amazed at how many Fiji fans there are. USA lost the game by the score of 28 to 12.

USA played Kenya in the fifth place semi final game. They lost by the score of 21 to 14.

In the afternoon, we caught up with Stephen in a suite hosted by the sponsors of the USA rugby team. As I have said before, Stephen's participation in rugby is really a legacy of Tomasin's life.

We ended up rolling to the airport before the last two games. New Zealand beat Fiji by the score of 28 to 21 to win the touranment. Australia beat Somoa by the score of 21 to 7 to win in third.

Getting to the airport early, Snipes and I had dinner and explored the meaning of life. Boarding a 9 pm Southwest flight back to Sacramento with A43, I was able to get an exit row aisle on a 737-Max.

I was home in Carmichael just after 11 pm. I was a great weekend. I always enjoy Snipes and Tomasin's company!

HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022 - Los Angeles - Day #2

Moving slow after a late night, I willed myself down to the work out room at the Marriott Courtyard. I ran 31 minutes for 2.27 miles on the treadmill.

After getting cleaned up, I headed to Model 6 and picked up Snipes and Tomasin. From there, we headed to Dignity Health Sports Park. USA played South Africa in the first game of the day. USA won by the score of 21 to 7.

In their second game of the day, USA lost to New Zealand by the score of 33 to 12. It was an odd game. Tied 7 to 7 just before half-time, New Zealand scored in extra time before the half and then steamrolled USA in the second half.

USA won their third game. They beat Canada by the score of 26 to 12.

With a record of two wins and a loss, USA qualified for the Cup bracket on Sunday. Tomasin's nephew Steven is captain for the USA team for this tournament. He played all three games. More on Steven in a follow-up post.

It was a long day of watching rugby. There were 24 matches over the course of day.

Heading back to the Model 6, Snipes, Tomasin, Mikey and I ended up walking to the Rockin' Cajun for dinner. I had a cup of Chicken & Sausage Gumbo [Home made stew loaded with chicken, andouille sausage and okra cooked slowly in rich spicy rouxbased chicken stock, served over steaming rice] and Rice Jambalaya [Traditonal New Orleans dish with rice chicken, andouille sausage and shrimp with our cajun spice]. The food was solid. The hurricanes were not.

We finished the day with the nightcap or two in Tomasin's room at Model 6 solving world problems. The Model 6 was not a good hotel; it was dirty and not very well kept up. Tomasin said that it was better several years ago.

I was very happy to head back to the Marriott Courtyard and crash.

HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022 - Los Angeles - Day #1

Leaving the house at 3:50 pm, I headed to the Sacramento International Airport. With a carry-on, I breezed through security with CLEAR and TSA Pre. I ran into Snipes grabbing my bag.

We caught a 5:50 pm Southwest flight to LAX. Boarding with A39, I was able to get the aisle in the exit row; it was a newer 737-800.

We were on the ground in SoCal about 7:20 pm. Tomasin and Mikey were taking an Alaskan flight from Santa Rosa to LAX. Their flight was running late so Snipes and I sat and had a beer.

The Tomasins were eventually on the ground about 8:20 pm. Snipes and I wandered across the terminal to catch up with them. The four of us took the Hertz shuttle to pick up a car.

From the airport, we headed to the Model 6 in Carson. Tomasin, Snipes and Mikey are spending two nights there; more on the Model 6 in a future post.

We finished the night with a late dinner at Chili's. I had a Cajun Shrimp pasta.

I had a reservation for two nights at the Marriot Courtyard in Torrance. By the time I got to the room, it was after 11:30 pm. I crashed hard...