Going, going back, back to Cali, Cali

Arrived in California today. I've got a conference/exhibition to attend tomorrow.

My luggage for this short 4-day trip includes an oversized pop-up booth. The pop-up booth's travel case measures L + W + H = 209 cm, exceeding the maximum allowable limit of 203cm. So, if Eva Air wanted to make a fuss, they could penalize me the cost of 3 luggage pieces (> $300 CAD). Fortunately, while they noticed it was big, they didn't bother measuring its dimensions. Although I got quite a few looks as a wheeled around that massive luggage.

Hint to those taking long-haul flights... request that you don't get seated in the first few rows behind the "baby row" (where the young parents with their crying babies are seated). I was behind a row of 3 babies. 3 babies do a lot of crying over a 10 hour flight. Fortunately, I had the foresight to bring my earplugs, so I wasn't annoyed by them nearly as much as the people around me, I bet.

After landing at SFO, I rented a car and drove to Fremont, CA. Chevy Impala. Big car, big trunk - perfect for my oversized luggage. Checked into my Holiday Inn - got a big room with a kitchen. Drove around the surrounding area, just to see what's around. It looks like Langley - with all the outlet type stores.

I had a Wendy's chicken club burger... just because I haven't had Wendy's in a long time, and because it was just around the corner from my hotel. But what's funny is that the guy behind me (in our two-person queue) ordered his meal in Spanish. Because he, and all the people behind the Wendy's counter were Hispanic. Not sure if I should be surprised.

Anyway, a pretty normal work day tomorrow. Driving down to San Jose after lunch for the conference. 3 hours on Wednesday, 3 hours on Thursday. Pretty short, and guaranteed to be uneventful.