Biz Trip To California

LEGSHAVE Challenge update: More donations are coming in and I'm getting nervous that I'll have to make good on this deal. The goal is only $106 away! If you want to make me shave my legs, donate now because the challenge ends Saturday (Valentines Day - fitting).

I've been in Southern California the last three days, hence the lack of posts. I was down there for a trade show (MDM West) at the Anaheim Convention Center.

We stayed in the Marriott next to the convention center (it was nice to be in walking distance). I got a suite the first night.

On one side of the room is this swanky sitting area.


I also had this cute mini-bar. I kept feeling like I should be shaking a martini.


And a nice bathroom (the toilet is standing at attention for dug's inspection - flush lever on the proper left side, check).


A desk (for writing my memoir) and a nice LCD hi-def TV - too bad the TV was fed a fuzzy and distorted analog signal, thus wasting its capabilities and causing me to weep. But I still watched some Comedy Central.


And the grand bed.


There was only one problem with this room: the elevators are on the other side of the wall against the bed. I didn't discover this until I turned off the TV to go to bed and heard the noise. It sounded like a heavily loaded Home Depot cart being rolled back and forth across a concrete floor. And some whooshing. And clanking. And chimes dinging.

I called the front desk to switch rooms, but they were booked solid. Amazingly I got to sleep, but it took a while. The elevator traffic slowed down after 11 PM.

The show didn't open until 10 AM, so I went for a swim. The air was cool, perhaps even cold by California standards, by the water was warm (heated). I swam some laps in preparation for total domination of my neighbors this year at the Salem Spring Triathlon (I registered last weekend - this may have something to do with my current enthusiasm).

The show was good - lots of walking.

The next day they moved me to a smaller, but still nice room.





That evening we drove down to Laguna Beach, but arrived after sunset. There was still plenty to enjoy. We walked along the beach breathing in the sea air, listened to the crashing waves and feeling the sand beneath our feet. I love the beach.



At a rocky point we ventured out to look in some tide pools. Lots of muscles and a few anemones. (I admit, I pulled off a small muscle and dropped it into an anemone to watch it's tentacles collapse upon it.)



Today I did another morning swim, went to the show in the morning then flew home. Back to the cold and blustery Winter. I miss California already.