Ron signing for the customers..............
Friday, February 4, 2011
Weekend # 5 Part 3.1 - Lakers - Ron Harper
So, here are the Lakers pics:
Ron signing for the customers..............
Hey, hey, hey..............what a nice guy!
That NBA Championship Ring was HEAVY! He has five...maybe he won't miss this one.
In the suite.....................................
Happy customers...................
Ron signing for the customers..............
Weekend # 5 - Part 3 : Sports!
One thing about LA Sports......... there are a lot of teams!!
California is a big state but even in a small distance there are many sports teams that compete against each other.
Examples: Clippers, Lakers - Ducks, Kings - Angels, Dodgers. It kind of feels like the SEC Football in Atlanta.
Wednesday night I went to my first Mighty Ducks game at the Honda Center in Anaheim. I am not having a good track record. My first Lakers game was a loss. The Ducks also lost to the Sharks on this evening. But the event was great none-the-less. I took a customer to this event and also got to spend time with some work counterparts from other divisions. We have a suite that we share with other companies, so we only get the suite every 4th event. The suite experience was very nice. The ice was great. The game was good. I'll be back.
Here are the pics:
Ice WAS NICE...
The action.............
Ducks!.............................
Happy Customers!................
My collegues........................
California is a big state but even in a small distance there are many sports teams that compete against each other.
Examples: Clippers, Lakers - Ducks, Kings - Angels, Dodgers. It kind of feels like the SEC Football in Atlanta.
Wednesday night I went to my first Mighty Ducks game at the Honda Center in Anaheim. I am not having a good track record. My first Lakers game was a loss. The Ducks also lost to the Sharks on this evening. But the event was great none-the-less. I took a customer to this event and also got to spend time with some work counterparts from other divisions. We have a suite that we share with other companies, so we only get the suite every 4th event. The suite experience was very nice. The ice was great. The game was good. I'll be back.
Here are the pics:
Ice WAS NICE...
The action.............
Ducks!.............................
Honda Center........................
Thursday was the Lakers! I know, I know, I've been 3 times now. But, this was different!
We had a premier suite, we brought in customers, we had a deluxe dinner at the Staples Center before the game, and we had RON HARPER hanging out with us, signing jerseys, taking pictures and answering questions all night long.
Ron has won 5 NBA Championship Rings with the Lakers and the Bulls. He is a Cinci boy: J-Crew U for yous in the know.
He was so cool! The nicest person ever! I did get a nice kiss from Ron....on the cheek! But the best part was when we were just talking and he said that his life after the NBA is all about his kids. He told me that he is so happy that he didn't burn his money. He earned it and he saved it. Now, he can just be a dad. He said his greatest accomplishment and joy now is getting his kids up and ready for school. He drops them off every day. He told me, this is what it is all about, enjoying life and being able to do it!
What an awesome experience!!
Weekend # 5 - Part 2 - Santa Barbara - The Town
It is a toss up.........................
Florence, Italy or Santa Barbara, CA........Most Favorite City Ever!
The architecture, culture, history, mountains, beaches, food, wine and pretty, pretty people...Describe both places. SB is ahead in the polls because I can speak the language. Sometimes, fluently.
Coolest tale I heard about SB Lore:
There is this rainbow colored sculpture in the town. I was told that the native indians that lived in Santa Barbara beleived in a Goddess that helped them. Some of the tribal people got sent out to the island off of the SB coast. In order to join the tribe back together, The Goddess created a rainbow bridge and all of the exiled people were able to walk across the rainbow bridge to reunite with their tribe......That is not the most eloquent rendition but it was a lovely story.
Here are the pictures...
The court house is the most famous landmark. Apparently, in Cousin Vinny this is where they filmed the court scenes. At least that is what I was told. I thought the movie was in Alabama. Those sneaky Hollywood folks are such tricksters.
Unfortunately, when I was there the weather was rainy and overcast. Very unusual, still beautiful.
On my next trip to SB, I will go to Neverland. Then, I will try to get to Oprah's house!
All I can say about SB is that I will see you again - soon and often!!!
~S
Florence, Italy or Santa Barbara, CA........Most Favorite City Ever!
The architecture, culture, history, mountains, beaches, food, wine and pretty, pretty people...Describe both places. SB is ahead in the polls because I can speak the language. Sometimes, fluently.
Coolest tale I heard about SB Lore:
There is this rainbow colored sculpture in the town. I was told that the native indians that lived in Santa Barbara beleived in a Goddess that helped them. Some of the tribal people got sent out to the island off of the SB coast. In order to join the tribe back together, The Goddess created a rainbow bridge and all of the exiled people were able to walk across the rainbow bridge to reunite with their tribe......That is not the most eloquent rendition but it was a lovely story.
Here are the pictures...
The court house is the most famous landmark. Apparently, in Cousin Vinny this is where they filmed the court scenes. At least that is what I was told. I thought the movie was in Alabama. Those sneaky Hollywood folks are such tricksters.
Unfortunately, when I was there the weather was rainy and overcast. Very unusual, still beautiful.
On my next trip to SB, I will go to Neverland. Then, I will try to get to Oprah's house!
All I can say about SB is that I will see you again - soon and often!!!
~S
Weekend # 5 - Part 1: Santa Barbara (SB) - Wine Tour
Hey sports fans!
This was a very busy weekend. So, busy that it has extended all the way until tonight (Thursday). Therefore, I am going to break up this blog entry into 3 parts: SB Wine, SB and Sports.
I had a dinner meeting with a customer scheduled for Sunday Night at the Bacara Resort in SB. Check it out on line, it is INCREDIBLE. I did not take any pics while there as I did not want to look like a Walmart-shopping tourist. With this trip planned, I decided to head up Saturday morning and do a wine tour. I looked at the train schedules and the wine tour schedules over and over again. I just couldn't make it work so I drove instead. The drive was so beautiful. I went up the coast on the PCH the entire way. This was definitely one of those times that I wished I still had "sprocket", my lil convertible Alpha Romeo.
I decided to go on Captain Jack's Wine tour. It was the best deal and best wineries in the area. The tour van picked me up at 10 am (with 10 other people) - me the only SOLO - and I got back to the hotel at around 5 pm. Captain Jack (the owner) got his nickname because he had to have an eye operation. While he was in recovery, he had to wear an eye patch. One of his friends called his room and said "Ayh, Is this Captain Jack, the one-eyed Pirate?". Capt Jack hung up. The friend called back again and again and again saying the same thing. Finally, Capt Jack started laughing and that was history.
The wine tour was really cool because we were in "Sideways" territory, Santa Rita Hills. Our guide pointed out all the famous sites that were in the film. I'll remark on those when we get to the pictures. The wineries we explored were: Foley, Melville, LaFond and Alma Rosa. Next time I go, I will do the actual Sideways tour in which you go to the Hitching Post, All of the wineries they visited, etc.
This area is Pinot Noir Area. "I'm not F-ing drinking Merlot!"
Foley: Very nice, typical of the nice wineries in Napa. Our guide did not mention this in the movie but on the way to the winery she pointed out a field which is where they had their picnic.
Next up, Melville. This is where Miles in the movie drank from the spit bucket.
After this tour, we went to a golf course and had lunch. Much needed before hitting the next 2 wineries.
Now we went to LaFond. They also had an olive oil tasting going on. The tasting room was very small. The red's were good. The whites, not so much. But I got the coolest pictures here of me with the wine barrels.
Saved the best for last, this was the COOLEST winery EVER! The wine-guy (Chris) apparently hung out with all the Sideways folks. The director, actors and movie staff were camped out at Alma Rosa Winery for the entire shooting of the film. Chris is in the film. I need to rent it again so I can check out all the spots.
Tangent over...
Alma Rosa breathes California Cool. Everything is uber, laid back, no worries at this place. My guess is they have another crop that they harvest and it is not grapes! You could spend an entire day at this little shack and still not want to leave. I was actually starting to pine for wool socks and birkenstocks.
Well, this concludes the winery portion of this trip. What a BLAST!!! So far, with all the cool things I have done in CA, this is the Tops! I know it has nothing to do with the fact that wine is just about my most favorite thing in the entire world, right?
~S
This was a very busy weekend. So, busy that it has extended all the way until tonight (Thursday). Therefore, I am going to break up this blog entry into 3 parts: SB Wine, SB and Sports.
I had a dinner meeting with a customer scheduled for Sunday Night at the Bacara Resort in SB. Check it out on line, it is INCREDIBLE. I did not take any pics while there as I did not want to look like a Walmart-shopping tourist. With this trip planned, I decided to head up Saturday morning and do a wine tour. I looked at the train schedules and the wine tour schedules over and over again. I just couldn't make it work so I drove instead. The drive was so beautiful. I went up the coast on the PCH the entire way. This was definitely one of those times that I wished I still had "sprocket", my lil convertible Alpha Romeo.
I decided to go on Captain Jack's Wine tour. It was the best deal and best wineries in the area. The tour van picked me up at 10 am (with 10 other people) - me the only SOLO - and I got back to the hotel at around 5 pm. Captain Jack (the owner) got his nickname because he had to have an eye operation. While he was in recovery, he had to wear an eye patch. One of his friends called his room and said "Ayh, Is this Captain Jack, the one-eyed Pirate?". Capt Jack hung up. The friend called back again and again and again saying the same thing. Finally, Capt Jack started laughing and that was history.
The wine tour was really cool because we were in "Sideways" territory, Santa Rita Hills. Our guide pointed out all the famous sites that were in the film. I'll remark on those when we get to the pictures. The wineries we explored were: Foley, Melville, LaFond and Alma Rosa. Next time I go, I will do the actual Sideways tour in which you go to the Hitching Post, All of the wineries they visited, etc.
This area is Pinot Noir Area. "I'm not F-ing drinking Merlot!"
Foley: Very nice, typical of the nice wineries in Napa. Our guide did not mention this in the movie but on the way to the winery she pointed out a field which is where they had their picnic.
After this tour, we went to a golf course and had lunch. Much needed before hitting the next 2 wineries.
Now we went to LaFond. They also had an olive oil tasting going on. The tasting room was very small. The red's were good. The whites, not so much. But I got the coolest pictures here of me with the wine barrels.
Saved the best for last, this was the COOLEST winery EVER! The wine-guy (Chris) apparently hung out with all the Sideways folks. The director, actors and movie staff were camped out at Alma Rosa Winery for the entire shooting of the film. Chris is in the film. I need to rent it again so I can check out all the spots.
Tangent over...
Alma Rosa breathes California Cool. Everything is uber, laid back, no worries at this place. My guess is they have another crop that they harvest and it is not grapes! You could spend an entire day at this little shack and still not want to leave. I was actually starting to pine for wool socks and birkenstocks.
This is the un-assuming Tasting and Sales Room.
Cool Cactus
Dumpy at first sight - Incredible once you settle in
Check out the hipster hotties! The girl was totally bananas. Cute dudes!
Chris, our celebrity wine guy.
Goat herding dog. Yes, those are goats in the background.
Well, this concludes the winery portion of this trip. What a BLAST!!! So far, with all the cool things I have done in CA, this is the Tops! I know it has nothing to do with the fact that wine is just about my most favorite thing in the entire world, right?
~S
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