Angels vs Dodgers Legends & Celebrity Benefit for ALS

Yesterday I had the pleasure of volunteering to support an event to benefit the Local ALS Chapter, which works tirelessly to provide support to people with Lou Gehrig's Disease. If you are not familiar with ALS, its one of the bad ones to be diagnosed with, but fortunately there are great organizations like the Golden West Chapter.

Yesterday's event was a softball game at Angels stadium between former Angels and Dodgers, legends of baseball and celebrities of TV and film as well. My company, Natural Balance helped organize the event and was on site to help add some fun the day. Our tents were set up giving out free samples and some really cool reusable tote bags to everyone attending the game that day. Angel Stadium is a really great ball park. Its clean, well designed and has great seats too! Anyway, to add to the fun we brought along Tillman, the world famous skateboarding bulldog who arrived in his rock-star style tour bus. He hopped on his skateboard and did his stuff along the main entrance of Angel stadium to cheers and applause of the crowd.

posters asked people to watch the ALS benefit

There was a regularly scheduled Angels/Dodgers game at 5:00 pm, then the ALS benefit softball game followed immediately afterward. Last year's benefit was at Pepperdine University, which was a much smaller venue. This year it was great to be at an official MLB stadium with a huge crowd to watch.

soon it was time to go inside for the big game...

I helped put field banners up- It was awesome to be on the field

We put up sponsor banners for Natural Balance and PETCO

...Then Jose Canseco hit a few home runs

There were a lot of people who remained after the regular game to watch the ALS benefit softball game. During the game, team members and announcers asked people to TEXT 'FIGHTALS' to 25383 on their phones to donate $10. You can still do that if you want to help now. It will be much appreciated. Whether or not you personally know someone affected by ALS/Lou Gehrig's Disease, the facts are staggering. According to their website, the mission of the Golden West Chapter is "To lead the fight to cure and treat ALS through global, cutting-edge research, and to empower people with Lou Gehrig's Disease and their families to live fuller lives by providing them with compassionate care and support".
If you would like to make a donation to support ALS research and patients, donate online here.

The Saturday Seven: Favorite Traditions at Major League Baseball Games

After several days in NY on business I returned to Southern California by way of San Diego. I couldn’t go straight home to Palm Springs as I was previously committed to attend a San Diego Padres game for work. A few months back, my company’s charitable foundation held a fundraiser auction which included a few packages to attend a baseball game with various officers of the company. I was happy to make myself available, particularly when 100% of the auction money paid by the winning bid went to help animals (shelters, rescue organizations, spay/neuter programs, etc). So when our company foundation asked me to be one of the “prize packages” I was all to happy to participate. The timing of this game was just unfortunate in that it was last night, the same day I had flown back from a week in New York. So as soon as I collected my luggage from baggage claim I retrieved my car and drove directly to the ball park downtown. Despite being tired from a long flight, I was excited to be at the game. I’d stop short of declaring myself a major baseball fan, but I truly enjoy the sport. It goes back to my childhood, when my Italian great-grandfather Luigi would watch Boston Red Sox games all summer long. He hated the New York Yankees with a passion, and would shout at the TV set whenever the Red Sox played poorly or God forbid- those Yankees scored. To this day I have that same bias, all because of him. When I lived in Chicago I became a big Cubs fan, which is what cemented my love of baseball as an adult. Chicago is such a great sports town that it was hard to resist the tidal wave of passion for our Cubbies.

Despite having lived in Southern California now for over ten years I still have a soft spot in my heart for my Cubs. So whenever I attend a Padres game, it isn’t genuine love of the team, but rather a love of the sport and its traditions. This brings me to another scintillating edition of The Saturday Seven: Favorite Traditions of Major League Baseball Games

#1 Hot Dogs....mmmm you can't just have one.

#2 Seventh Inning Stretch- “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”

#3 National Anthem

#4 Catching a baseball from the stands

#5 Cold beer

#6 Peanuts in the Shell- messy but worth the work!

#7 Loveable Mascots and Pep Rallies
Bonus Feature: Fireworks After Last Night's Game

Every Friday night after a Padres game, they have a fireworks show, right there in the ballpark. I took a short video of it. Enjoy!

-Rick Rockhill

An Afternoon at the Ball Park

Yesterday I went to see the San Diego Padres take on the Florida Marlins at the ball park named after the company I work for. (you, know "where the pets go"). It was a day game, and I was in our company box, with several of our vendors. It was a beautiful day to be out watching baseball- 80 degrees, no humidity and plenty of sunshine. This has not been a great season for our Padres, they are in last place for the western division, with just 36 wins and 56 losses. It wasn't a spectacular game but we all had a fun time.

above: I took this photo while walking down the stairs of a nearby parking garage. I just like the view of the park from between the two buildings.

above: I love this photo because we have palm trees along the edge of the ball park.

above: In case you still didn't guess the name of the park, here it is on the scoreboard.

This Caught My Eye...

above: I was walking back up the stairs of the parking garage, and on the 7th floor looked out over the railing at the apartment building and saw this little puppy running around the apartment. In the photo above you can see him in the lower left hand corner, standing on his back two legs, sniffing at the plant.

above: then a moment later he ran away and came back with his teddy bear, which he shook violently in his mouth. I just had to snap these photos. It made me wonder what Sheldon was into...Anyway I had a nice afternoon downtown, it was a nice break from the hectic pace at work.

-Rick Rockhill

Panama Cruise, Day 16: San Diego

I’d like to start with a message for any folks who live in San Diego and read this blog. Before you start to snigger and guffaw about me writing a post on San Diego, consider three points: 1. Lots of my readers do not live in SD and might be interested in seeing what is here. 2. Since I live in Palm Springs, and only spend weekdays working in San Diego, I don’t usually spend a lot of time exploring this area on my own. 3. Sailing into San Diego on a cruise ship afforded a unique perspective of the city, and was new to me.
A Brief History of San Diego
San Diego was named by Spanish explorers when they arrived on their feast day of “San Diego de Alcala”. A number of Spanish missions were developed, which started its population growth. After a brief insurge of Gold Rush hopefuls in the late 1800’s, the “Panama-California Exposition” was held here in 1915 to compete with larger cities on the West Coast. The Exposition drove substantial development of mission style architecture, many of which still exists today.

During the 1920’s the US military built bases for the Navy and Marines, which had a significant impact on the economy and further residential development of San Diego. The pleasant climate, seaside location and revitalized downtown areas make San Diego one of America’s favorite cities. Today San Diego has over 1.2 million residents, and a very healthy business in tourism.

Exploring San Diego
I decided to explore San Diego as a tourist. After all, I was walking around with a group of family members who knew very little about the area anyway. The views of downtown and Point Loma were very scenic.

We walked around the harbor and marina areas, Seaport Village, the Embarcadero, the Convention Center and the Historic Gas Lamp Quarter.

Aside from the natural beauty of the waterfront, one of the things that impressed me was the variety of beautiful architecture, old and new.

There are quite a few public works of art and sculptures, which I always think indicate the culture and values of a city.

We also walked past PETCO Park, home of the Major League Baseball team, the San Diego Padres. Since I mentioned a Major League Baseball, what a convenient time for me to once again mention that last summer I had the honor of throwing out the first pitch at PETCO Park at a Padres Game. It was very cool (see photo left). I'm quite modest about it. I only keep this photo on my blog year round and have the framed photo in my office at work. So you see I really am very low key about it. If you ever need a Major League pitcher, let me know- apparently I have quite the arm. But I digress...

Meanwhile the women in the family spent time shopping in downtown San Diego. I think we explored every shoe store downtown. What is it with women and shoes? Case in point: one of the ladies here on this 18 day cruise brought 15 pair of shoes! I brought 5 pair: 2 pair of sandals (1 black and 1 brown), 1 pair of sneakers, 1 pair of casual brown shoes and 1 pair of formal black shoes for my tux on formal nights. I probably could have brought just 1 pair of sandals, but I didn’t want to look tacky. Anyway I think it’s genetic. For gosh sakes, my 3 year old niece is already into shoes.

Back on the ship, we waved farewell to San Diego as the Sun Princess majestically sailed away from the harbor.

For dinner this evening the formal dining room served fresh Alaskan King Crab Legs. Nearly everyone at our table ordered them. Our waitress brought five additional platters of crab legs to our table. We ate like Kings.

The All Important Dessert Update
This evening I had three desserts: Bananas Foster, Black Forest Chocolate Cake and Napolean with Caramel drizzle

Martini Madness
After dinner I went to the Vista Lounge for one of Jose’s delicious “Washington Apple Martinis”. OK, I had two, I was ever-so thirsty, practically spitting cotton, and they hit the spot. Tomorrow I plan to profile all of the daily martinis and drink specials throughout the cruise. Benwu/Todd/Shannon- the Ascot is for you. Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading...especially to Jennifer.
-Rick Rockhill
Welcome CruiseCritic.com members!

Take Me out to the Ball Game....

Last night I went to a San Diego Padres game at PETCO Park. The Padres were playing the San Francisco Giants. We lost 5-6. I missed most of the game because I worked late to meet a few deadlines that were looming. Most notably, dealing with the continuing saga that is the pet food recall on certain wet foods. With the exception of Easter weekend, this recall has literally consumed all of my work time and has overflowed into my personal time ever since it started on March 16th. But I'm not bitter. However, our most important objective is for the safety of animals, so it's time well spent. Anyway that's my "mini-rant" for the day.

Aside from naming it PETCO Park, we also have a suite, which is quite nice, I must say. We usually have plenty of food and beverages, and all kinds of snacks. This photo doesn't show the entire suite, but it has comfy sofas, bar tables, a kitchen, a restroom, and plenty of "private" stadium seating to watch the game. We had great weather in San Diego last night for an evening game and we all had a good time. I usually go to a lot of Padres games in the suite each year for business functions, and believe me, it's easy to get used to.

Since I'm writing about Major League Baseball, what a convenient time for me to mention that last summer I had the honor of throwing out the first pitch at PETCO Park at a Padres Game. It was very cool (see photo left). I'm quite modest about it. I only keep this photo on my blog year round and have the framed photo in my office at work. So you see I really am very low key about it. If you ever need a Major League pitcher, let me know- apparently I have quite the arm.
Below: I love being at the ball park... it's such a rush

Below left: "Red Ruff" and "Blue Mews", our mascots who stopped by the suite to say hello to the PETCO gang. Below right: PETCO Park at night...

-Rick Rockhill