August 7-8 was the 2nd dsp.me laptop crop held at the Adobe Headquarters in San Jose, CA. I attended this crop last year and was so thrilled to be a part of it I couldn't wait to attend the 2nd one.
That Friday I headed to the Atlanta airport to catch my flight to San Fransisco. I flew Airtran to San Fransisco because their flights were so much cheaper. The 4+ hour trip was quite enjoyable the flight crew handed out a code for a free trial of the GoGo Inflight Internet and WOW I must say that is such a great feature that Airtan has added. I think over half the plane was on the internet. If only my laptop battery could last for 4 hours.
I again took the Super Shuttle van from the San Fransisco airport directly to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown San Jose. I really would recommend this shuttle service especially in the Northern California area. They're very professional and you get to see a little bit here and there of the different towns as you drop others off. You have to be prepared to invest alittle more time in your travel to and from your destination but really it wasn't much longer than 1 hr. Again this year the van made a stop at Stanford University. They were hosting the National Senior Games, and it looked like a major production I would have loved to stay and watch an event. I really like the shuttle service especially while traveling alone you get picked up at the curb and dropped off just the same.
Friday evening was the photowalk through the Guadalupe River Park.
All the team members who were at the crop attended the photowalk along with a large group of DSP members. Lauren Bavin, was our photowalk leader and organizer she had picked a great park that really filled up the time we saw lots of sculptures and art installations...great for taking photos. This location was really great for a large group as you could walk at your own pace and each of the interesting parts weren't too far apart. The park is many blocks long but for most of it you cross under the roads.
Miss OrangeSue was appropriately dressed though to direct traffic (or hunt a waskly wabbit):
If you want to check out photos from the DSP.me Photowalk and the Laptop Crop you can check out the DSP Flickr Pool.
After the photowalk Team Digital enjoyed a meal together we chatted and laughed ALOT! I had a really delicious chicken quite pricey but darn it was good! We all went back to the hotel and stuffed the goodie bags for the crop the next day. After that we all went back to our rooms and chatted and eventually fell asleep. It was fun getting to meet more members of Team Digital and some of them share my addiction to coffee and love for Starbucks.
Saturday was the big day!!! It was fun getting to see some DSP members that I met last year and getting to meet new people. We all passed out our ATC cards (see mine here). We shared tips & techniques we listened to presentations and tutorials from vendors and DSP Designers. In addition to the goody bags (stocked FULL of free stuff) there were tons of giveaways. Two Wacom Bamboo Craft Tablets were given away and the latest versions of Photoshop CS and Photoshop Elements!!! There were SOOOOOO many prizes!!!! Many members and Team Digital brought albums, projects and samples of their work. It was neat to see dsp products showcased so nicely in some form of printed materials. I brought a 4x4 canvas I had printed at Artscow, and my ATC album.
Sadly I didn't not scrap a thing! I pretty much scrap on my desktop and I have a nice comfortable set up with all my presets and add-ins all where I like them. Along with all my photos. In order to scrap on my laptop I have to do some prep work and add photos and elements. I just didn't have time to do that before I left so I was very unprepared. However I did have time to set some scrapbooking goals and really think about how to implement a plan to accomplish those goals. I will be blogging about that soon. Being around so many talented scrappers I really was energized and motivated to go further when it comes to scrapbooking and photography.
Saturday after the crop I went to bed and got some much needed sleep. I have determined that next year (if there is one) I want to come out atleast 1 day early, to give me time to rest up before the crop. Most of the other team members had a wild time out and about in San Jose (there are pictures but I'm sure they're totally confidential! -- What happens in San Jose stays in San Jose). It was neat though this week end was soo busy a huge Jazz Festival was going on along with a bunch of conferences so there was plenty to do and lots of people everywhere, a change from the year before.
It was Sunday and it was time to go home :( The shuttle picked me up right on time and got me to the airport without delay. I had anticipated eating at the airport but the lines were sooo long I decided against waiting. I don't think that was a very good idea I got pretty sick to my stomach for a bit before the pretzels and drinks came around. I had decided after trying the inflight internet on the way there I'd go ahead and spend the $12.95 for the flight home. Definitely worth it. I used it on my laptop and I even watch an episode of Monk on hulu.com and started another show. It was a bit slow you had to wait for the video to buffer for a while but once u did it continued pretty smoothly. After my laptop battery died I switched over to my blackberry and continued to chat with friends. SOOO NICE! I even im'd the hubby to pick me up some food which he did and I scarfed it down on the way home. The hubby and the kiddo picked me up at the airport it was sooo sweet to see them again blessed my heart sooo much!!
Well that basically was my trip. Definitely WAY TO SHORT but definitely TONS OF FUN!!!! If there is a crop next year I definitely want to go...do you want to go with me???
