Dear Friends:
It's been a while since I've posted to this blog. There are really two reasons for that. First, I actually haven't traveled anywhere for a couple of months. Shocking, isn't it? Second, I'm crazy-busy...just like everyone else.
This particular post covers two trips - as they took place just a week apart. The first destination was Cupertino, California. I was there on business...although it was a very, very short trip. I used to work down in Cupertino...but more on that later.
I arrived the night before meetings. My son and his family had actually arrived in Austin for a visit, while I was away. They went to one of my favorite BBQ restaurants...so I decided to go to one of the few good BBQ places that I used to visit in the Bay Area...Armadillo Willy's:
It was quite good...although not as good as Rudy's or Salt Lick in Austin. It definitely hit the spot.
The next day, I was there to meet with Amazon. More specifically, I was meeting with one of Amazon's technology groups - called Lab126.
This team actually handles the hardware and software for Amazon - especially their Kindle and Fire products. We had some deep technical discussions - which I really can't go into detail on. However, the meetings were really good.
While in Cupertino, I decided to head on over to my old "stomping grounds" - good ol' Apple Computer:
I worked there for a few years, and had a fantastic time at that company. I walked around some of the buildings that I actually worked in. Some were still Apple buildings, while others are now occupied by other businesses...as Apple consolidates many of it's employees to new buildings.
I left the Bay Area that evening...but came right back only a week later. This time, I went to downtown San Francisco for meetings. The focus for this trip was discussions with the largest game "engine" developer in the industry - Unity. They have a gorgeous HQ office in San Francisco, right near Market Street:
The building is beautiful - similar to a lot of other high-tech buildings in SF. Lots of glass, wood and and exposed brick.
They basically hollowed out the basement...and expanded it, to create a large meeting room, with enough room for all the employees to gather:
The meetings there went really, really well. I was very happy with the level of collaboration that I experienced on this trip.
Since this was yet another super-short trip, I was scheduled to leave that evening. I took advantage of a couple of free hours to go visit my daughter, and my youngest grandson:
As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I'm really lucky to see him several times a year. He's such a happy boy...and we always have fun playing when I visit. Talk about something that brightens your day!!!
The best part is that I flew back to Austin, and just a few hours later, my other grandkids were there to greet me. The best of all worlds!!!!!
That's it for now...a couple of trips to California that usually don't last more than 24 hours. I'm glad that I can get back to my family so quickly ; )
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