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Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 12:12PM Well as expected, I didn't really get the chance (or have the inclination if I'm honest) to blog during the trip. However, I did twitter extensively, along with @podfeet and @spsheridan (that would be Allison and Steve Sheridan) my partners in crime during the Star Trek portion of the trip. If you followed us on twitter you would have been kept right up to date with developments.
Can I just say thank you again to Allison and Steve. I doubt very much if I would have made the trip if it wasn't for their generous offer to pick me up, put me up and travel with me to Catalina. Not forgetting traveling back, a scrummy Sunday dinner at their home and dropping me off at LAX for the transfer flight. I'd already met Allison a couple of times at various events but I'd not met Steve before, what a fantastic couple. I won't forget their kindness in a hurry and I'm sure we'll be best buddies for a long time to come.
The day I arrived in LA, Allison treated me to a Taco Bell - Yum! Well it was a Thursday! We spent the evening chilling out and then on the Friday, I ended up spending a few hours on Santa Monica beach whilst Allison had a meeting. I think I got the best part of the deal!
Friday afternoon Steve, Allison and myself headed off to Catalina Island for the special Star Trek screening as guests of Rod Roddenbury. What a beautiful Island! I'd never even heard of it before and was amazed to find such a gem, so close to LA. We basically kicked around in the sun on the Saturday before the event at the historic Avalon theatre in the company of the original Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) and Mr Sulu (George Takei). Allison managed to snag an interview with Rod and she's just posted it here - Actually, Allisons photo tour has a lot more photos!
The screening was, how shall we say, unique! But very enjoyable.
Sunday morning, we caught the early ferry back, most unhappy
Sunday morning was spent in the company of an old friend of mine now living in Beverley Hills, with a second breakfast at Mels Drive In and a trip around the usual tourist spots and up into the Hollywood hills in his open top Thunderbird - very cool!
Back to @podfeet HQ for the Sunday afternoon and a live appearance on the NosillaCast with Allison. Finished off the day with a slap up steak dinner with Steve, Allison and Kyle - Phew!
The rest of the trip went very much according to plan with lunch at the Apple HQ on the Monday, staying over in Sausalito on the Monday evening, then traveling up to Petaluma on the Tuesday.
Again, more kindness extended by Dane Golden and Leo Laporte over at the TWIT cottage, a setting worthy of any "Man From Uncle" episode - if you don't know the address, you'd never guess it was the TWIT cottage. I was over there for a live episode of MacBreak Weekly and also met up with Alex Lindsay live in the studio and Andy Ihnatko beaming in from Skype. Actually being in the Studio was slightly surreal as I'd seen it so many times, and in reality, it's a tiny place, packed to the gills with all sorts of equipment. There is a small Flickr set here.
Lots of support from my Twitter friends who tuned in to see the live broadcast and live video stream - so no pressure there then!
Following the MBW, it was a drive back to SFO (stopping to take some photos of the Golden Gate bridge) and then an overnight flight back home. I've now had an overnight sleep in my own bed and feeling OK (albeit a little "spaced out")
The only thing now is I'm in catch up mode with some tasks I'd left to tackle on my return, plus just about to start putting the 200th show together.
Of course, the next big adventure is the trip to MacMania9 which kicks off in seven short weeks from today. That's a two week trip to China, South Korea and Japan with myself, Leo, Andy and Derek Storey as presenters on the cruise. It also included a pre-cruise visit to Inland China. I suppose I really should get the presentations in order and start preparing the ScreenCastsOnline shows I need to do in advance to cover my time away.
Busy, busy......
Reader Comments (4)
Thanks for taking us along on your jaunt. It was very enjoyable.
Don - the pleasure was all ours! For everyone else out there who might wonder if @donmcallister is as genuine and kind and fun as you hope, he's all that and more. Don slipped into our family rituals like Taco Bell and ping pong as though he'd been with us for years. I loved traveling with him too - he travels like we travel. Go out and explore for a few hours, then back to the room to geek out on the computers, explore for a few hours, back to the geek palace.
We miss you already Don,
Al and Steve
The pictures looked good Don. How did you find the G10, did it live up to your expectations? I have had mine about 3 month now and find it very nice to use. Though I miss the swiveling monitor display that the G6 had.
The G10 was a delight to use. I'll have to try and put a blog post together about my experiences with it and the GPS dongle.