Friday, April 19, 2013 - Work and Transfer to San Jose Day

Got up early to work with another team of presenters, then observed about half of their afternoon presentation before leaving the hotel. We hired their town car, with a very nice driver, to take us to the car rental place at the San Francisco airport, where I picked up my "Wild Card" car from Thrify, which turned out to be a really neat white Jeep! Four wheel drive and everything, it was perfect for me, just high enough to be above most of the freeway traffic, and much more like what I'm used to driving anyway. Great choice for me, Thrifty! Headed down to San Jose where we were booked at a LaQuinta near the San Jose airport. Because of some budgetary restrictions from our next client (a not-for-profit), and because apparently there is some kind of event going on as all the usual prices have been doubled at most hotels, we were compelled to stay here, and at first, we were quite hesitant, as the outside looked barely better than a common motel, but as soon as we entered the lobby, that impression changed dramatically. Despite it's humble exterior the interior had obviously been completely redone, and everything was done on a very high quality level. The front desk greeted us warmly and helped me find a suitably quiet room. My biggest concern was the wall-type A/C unit, but it was new and relatively quiet, plus there were windows I could actually open, which will be great at night, since the nights are still cool here. We moved in and were settled down quickly enough, then headed out to a grocery store for some essentials, grabbing an early dinner at the Royal Chinese restaurant nearby, before we had a relaxing evening in the hotel. The only drawback here is that it is under the flight path of the San Jose airport, which fortunately isn't too busy. The last flight out is a bit after 11:00, though the first flights are promptly at 6:30 am. Can't wait to get back into the peace and quiet of the woods!