Today was the first day of Adobe MAX, and I was at the conference from about 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
The opening reception featured a keynote by Kevin Lynch, Chief Technical Officer for Adobe. Walking into the auditorium (that was big enough for the 5,000+ attendees) was absolutely stunning. This doesn’t do it justice, but here is a video of the stage and the beautiful presentation that kept us entertained as we were seated:
After that I attended the following sessions and labs:
Tips, Techniques, and Secrets: Hidden Gems in Illustrator and Photoshop hosted by Terry White and Colin Smith
Maximizing Your Web Workflow hosted by Joe Lowery
Building CSS-Based Websites with Dreamweaver CS4 hosted by Kristin Long
At the end of the day, dinner and entertainment was served for all of the attendees. It was primarily an opportunity to talk with the sponsoring vendors and learn about their products. My coworker, David, and I wandered around and talked with some of the vendors, visited the Adobe MAX Photo Booth, and drank for free until it was taken away.
Afterwards, I was hungry for real food, so David and I visited The View Lounge: the 39th floor of the Marriott (where the MAX labs were being held) for an incredible 360° view of San Francisco. (Seen here, here, here, and here.)
It was a great day — and I’m ready for more tomorrow!
Walking further west in Fisherman’s Wharf, passed the Cannery and Ghirardelli Square, stuck my hand in the ocean, walked out along a long pier, walked up a giant hill, turned back towards Ghirardelli.
A scoop of chocolate ice cream and much needed bottle of water at a Ghirardelli store.
Checked in at Adobe MAX — tomorrow (and Tuesday and Wednesday) will be amazing!
Caught up with coworker, David, and his wife, Rachel, and went to The Stinking Rose for dinner. I smell like garlic now, but it was worth it.
Muni bus back to Union Square, David and Rachel walked me back to my hotel and now I’m quite ready to pass out for the night.
My photo uploads to Flickr were very slow last night, so I am going to have to wait until later to post today’s photos. (Note: I edited this entry to add photos.) I don’t know how many photos I’ll get in the next few days since I’ll be conferencing like crazy, but I’ll try to keep updating.
I got into San Francisco at about 11:30 a.m. today. After picking up my checked bag and winding my way through the maze that is San Francisco International Airport to the BART, I found my hotel, the King George, near Union Square pretty quickly. I checked in, dropped off what I didn’t need and set out to find food.
I picked up a 7-day municipal transit passport, but I wasn’t quite sure how to use it (I asked the hotel concierge tonight), so I decided to walk to Japantown (about a mile from my hotel — up and down hills, too). I was starving and exhausted, so I didn’t spend much time browsing the random little shops (mostly bookstores and candy stores). I wanted to find something cheap to eat, but couldn’t stand waiting in the long lines for all of the tiny restaurants. Eventually I found Tanpopo, which was nearly empty when I arrived (it filled in pretty quickly). I tried the broiled mackerel lunch special and watched a Japanese pop music TV show.
Afterwards, I walked back to my hotel (with a stop to watch people at Union Square) and promptly took a nap. The photo below is me trying to relax with an Anchor Steam Beer in my hotel room. (My room is tiny. I feel like it’s a guest room in someone’s house.) Later I went down to the hotel bar and got a glass of wine, too. I met another woman who is in town for Adobe MAX, though we didn’t exchange our names or anything. I’m hoping I’ll meet more people tomorrow and Monday when this hotel really fills up with conference attendees.
Tomorrow I’ll hopefully wake up early and head out to the ferry building. Then I’ll follow the Embarcadero around the northwest coast and eventually get to the Aquarium of the Bay. Tomorrow afternoon I plan to check-in at the conference and perhaps attend an early reception.
It’s still a couple hours away for me, but it’s very nearly my birthday. I’ll officially be in my late twenties. (How did this happen??)
I’ve actually been celebrating for a couple weeks already (which is usually how I roll ’round birthday time — it’s more like I’m celebrating my birth month or entire birth season). I’ve gathered freebies from several email lists ($15 at Old Chicago, a free beverage at Caribou Coffee, a free gift and bonus points at Aveda, and a free entrée at Noodles & Co.) so the joy abounds.
It’s especially nice this year as I’ve been trying to save money for my trip to San Francisco. I leave on Saturday! I’ve been ready since July. I’m so excited to get out there and wander aimlessly for a few days. I plan to post my photos and update with my daily happenings while I’m out there. You can also follow my Tweets (which are also located in the sidebar to the left). Stayed tuned!
Usually I am very relaxed and go-with-the-flow on vacations, but I also like having plans and knowing what I’m doing. Next month (just two days after my 27th birthday) I’ll be spending a week in San Francisco, and here is my rough itinerary (with a lot of time left for all of those fun, unplanned activities).
Saturday, November 15
Depart Minneapolis and arrive in San Francisco around noon. Find hotel, get situated, jump on the bed in my first solo hotel room ever. This is very exciting for me. I’m staying at the King George until Thursday.
Sunday
Find the Aquarium of the Bay and spend many hours oohing and ahhing at fish. Then probably eat seafood for dinner. (Fish are fascinating and delicious!)
Monday – Wednesday
The ultimate purpose of my trip: attending Adobe MAX.
Thursday
Switch hotels to Club Quarters. Take a ferry ride and visit Alcatraz. I need to make a reservation still, but I’m hoping for an evening tour because apparently it’s creepier. But hopefully not too creepy…
Friday
Renting a car to visit the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. While I have the car I’ll also find some Painted Ladies and the Full House house. Maybe I’ll drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, too.
Saturday, November 22
Leave my heart in San Francisco and get back home to my kitties in Minneapolis.
Have you been to San Francisco? Anything else that I must see? Any awesome restaurants you can recommend? Send ‘em my way!
