Trade Show... in Napa!
Sep. 9th, 2025 08:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerNapa Trade Show blog #1
At the hotel - Mon, 8 Sep 2025, 4:30pm.
This week I'm headed off to staff a trade show for my company. It's JFrog's (a small software company's) annual conference and this year it's in Napa, California. I staffed my company's booth at this show each of the past two years. I've found it a well run smaller conference (~500 attendees) and a worthwhile strategic engagement for my company.
This year JFrog SwampUP (yes, that's what they call their conference, including the unusual capitalization) is in Napa, California. That makes it an easy trek for me as it's just a drive across the San Francisco Bay Area.
I left home around 2pm on Monday and arrived at about 4:15 after a brief stop for gas on the way. The drive wasn't hard though two things did make it a bit of a chore. One, I hit traffic slowdowns in several spots. Yes, apparently rush hour begins at 2:30pm now on this route! And two, the weather in places was a bit on the hot side, with temperatures in the upper 80s. That, combined with the grinding traffic, made it less enjoyable commute— because I was in my convertible!
I started out with the top down, planning to enjoy the warm afternoon, fresh air, and wide ranging vistas as I drove over the mountains and through the valleys to get to Napa. If I'd been able to drive 55+ mph the whole way, the sun and heat wouldn't have been bothersome. But sitting in grinding traffic climbing the Sunol Grade on I-680, boxed in on three sides by gravel trucks and a concrete divider on the fourth side, sucked all the joy out of a warm afternoon. I put the top up— traffic was rolling slowly enough I could do that without pulling over— and left it up the rest of the way there, running the air conditioner.
As far as the resort venue I've landed at in Napa.... It's not what you might imagine when you picture "Resort hotel in wine country". Resort seems like too strong a word for it. It's an overgrown 3-star hotel behind an office park just off one of the main highways. In fact the street I turned on is literally called Napa Valley Corporate Way. 🤣 It's comfortable inside. But the only view I have of, say, a rolling hillside covered with grape vines is the framed picture of a rolling hillside covered with grape vines hanging on the wall.
At the hotel - Mon, 8 Sep 2025, 4:30pm.
This week I'm headed off to staff a trade show for my company. It's JFrog's (a small software company's) annual conference and this year it's in Napa, California. I staffed my company's booth at this show each of the past two years. I've found it a well run smaller conference (~500 attendees) and a worthwhile strategic engagement for my company.
This year JFrog SwampUP (yes, that's what they call their conference, including the unusual capitalization) is in Napa, California. That makes it an easy trek for me as it's just a drive across the San Francisco Bay Area.
I left home around 2pm on Monday and arrived at about 4:15 after a brief stop for gas on the way. The drive wasn't hard though two things did make it a bit of a chore. One, I hit traffic slowdowns in several spots. Yes, apparently rush hour begins at 2:30pm now on this route! And two, the weather in places was a bit on the hot side, with temperatures in the upper 80s. That, combined with the grinding traffic, made it less enjoyable commute— because I was in my convertible!
I started out with the top down, planning to enjoy the warm afternoon, fresh air, and wide ranging vistas as I drove over the mountains and through the valleys to get to Napa. If I'd been able to drive 55+ mph the whole way, the sun and heat wouldn't have been bothersome. But sitting in grinding traffic climbing the Sunol Grade on I-680, boxed in on three sides by gravel trucks and a concrete divider on the fourth side, sucked all the joy out of a warm afternoon. I put the top up— traffic was rolling slowly enough I could do that without pulling over— and left it up the rest of the way there, running the air conditioner.
As far as the resort venue I've landed at in Napa.... It's not what you might imagine when you picture "Resort hotel in wine country". Resort seems like too strong a word for it. It's an overgrown 3-star hotel behind an office park just off one of the main highways. In fact the street I turned on is literally called Napa Valley Corporate Way. 🤣 It's comfortable inside. But the only view I have of, say, a rolling hillside covered with grape vines is the framed picture of a rolling hillside covered with grape vines hanging on the wall.
