LA–Day 10

I arrived from Las Vegas into LAX and picked up my bags. I then headed out to the Supershuttle to catch my shuttle to the hotel.

The trip to the Sheraton on Harbor in Anaheim took about 1 hour.

The room was pretty swish but for some reason contained two double beds? Oh well, at least it was on a low floor which meant I could by pass the lift. This was especially handy given the amount of other computer people here at the moment attending the conference.

After settling in I headed over to the Anaheim convention center to register for my conference. It took me a little while to find the right entrance but it wasn’t too hard once I found all the other people doing the same thing.

The next few days where taken up with the conference. However, on one night we all headed over to Disneyland to watch the show and take in some rides.

They basically shut down the whole park just for conference attendees.

After entering the park we were treated to a musical show around the lake.

Sorry the video is a bit small.

The first ride I went on was the haunted house. Perhaps a bit tame by todays standards but still very impressive in its implementation.

After a few more rides,including Splash Mountain, where indeed I got splashed, or probably more correctly – soaked, I headed over to Space Mountain.

Space Mountain is basically an enclosed roller coaster which means you have no real idea of which direction the ride is going to take since it is basically in the dark. The other nasty surprise is that at the end the zap you with a bright light (to take your photo) which I can tell you is really blinding after you have been in the dark all that time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_ZxXq9es-U

Here’s a video to give you a better idea of the experience, although it is pretty hard to see what is going on in the dark! If you ever make it to Disney you really need to have a go on this ride as it is unlikely any other I have been on.

As I finished up for the night and headed out I passed Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse’s statue in from of the Magic Kingdom castle.

It was time to head back down the main street to the exit,

passing one more reminder about who’s the boss here.

Las Vegas–Day 3

Today was again spent at the SMBNation conference.

After which we headed to dinner at the Voodo Steakhouse which sits atop the Rio Hotel on the 50th floor, with a view over all of Las Vegas.

We didn’t have much time to dwell as we had tickets for Penn and Teller. It was a great show and always great to grab a live act of some very famous magicians.

Tomorrow is the last day of the conference and I am heading out in the early afternoon to Los Angeles to attend my second conference in Anaheim.

Las Vegas–Day 2

An early start to the day as I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep. No worries, plenty of emails to read and things to get ready.

After sending an email to a mate also attending SMB Nation we decided to meet up for breakfast.

After that I spent some time with him going over some content he was preparing to present for the conference. We then took a ride out to the Fry’s (the local computer mega-mart) to buy a few extra things he needed.

After we returned I headed into two sessions. After that I caught up with a few people and headed out for dinner again. Japanese grill. Different but enjoyable.

As we drove back my friend pulling the car in Caesar's casino while he ducked off to get a chocolate desert for us. I was left still in a no parking zone, in the passengers seat with the engine running. Was feeling a little exposed but luckily no one came alone to tell me move along.

We returned to the Rio, consuming our chocolate desert (which again was excellent).

Here’s a few shots from the car park overlooking the strip.

Here’s a video also which perhaps gives you a better idea of the extent of the strip.

 

I headed back to my room to grab some sleep as the conference has an early start tomorrow and I want to get everything in.

Las Vegas Day 1

Time to once again make the trip to SMB Nation in Las Vegas. This mean taking the Qantas A380 to Los Angeles and then onto Las Vegas.

Luckily, I was able to upgrade to business class using my frequent flyer point and boy can I tell you was it worth it. Business class on an A380 is amazing. If you sit an a seat your legs can’t even touch the seat in front! Even when full stretched out! This is because the seats recline flat so you can lie down. There is just so much space!

Unfortunately, having seats that do recline to totally flat didn’t help completely overcome jetlag but travelling business class is certainly the way to go.

Arrived in Las Vegas without incident, bags came off quickly and was then on my way to my accommodation at the Rio Hotel and Casino.

 

Gotta say that I am pretty impressed with the room. Well, it isn’t really a room, more of a suite as you can see from the photos, with a lounge, desk etc.

The view out the window ain’t too bad either.

 

Here it is at night.

The Rio is about a 5 minute drive from the strip so it is a little isolated but none the less has all the amenities. I counted at least 3 Starbucks so we are covered there.

Had dinner with a contact and then headed back to the suite to catch up on some sleep. Depending on how I recover tomorrow I’ll try and catch a few pre-sessions. After that there is a party at one of the in house establishments.

That’s tomorrow planned and the conference starts the day after.

Vancouver–Day 7

I took a car service from my hotel near the airport to just outside the CN Tower where I could catch the tourist bus.

I jumped aboard the www.citysightseeingtoronto.com bus and headed off for a full loop of the city.

CN Tower

One of the stop is at Dundas Square which is supposed to be the ‘Times Square’ of Toronto.

Bata Shoe museum.

Casa Loma

CN Tower

CN Tower

Financial district

 

Art Gallery

Union Station