2005 MVP Summit - Day 1

The 2005 Microsoft MVP Summit kicks off today in Redmond. As registration doesn't officially begin until 1PM, I had the entire morning to wander around downtown Seattle. The weather today was a beautiful 73 degrees and sunny. Many of the locals told me this is the last nice day of the year before the rain begins. So it's probably the last time they'll see someone like me walking around in Hawaiian shirt, shorts, and Tevas for a while.

I had a nice walk down to the famous Pike's Place Market where I was able to grab a great breakfast at the Athenian for $6.95. It's too bad San Francsico can't offer something like this: classic 1907 building overlooking the bay, decent grub at a fabulous price, and no pretention or jaded demeanor.

I then checked into a few of the fresh fish markets, sampling the best crab and smoked Salmon I've ever tasted. Again, I was left wondering why San Francisco, right on the Pacific Ocean, offers such dismal seafood choices.

Finally, I spent an hour looking around the new Seattle Public Library. This is a 12 story glass building with great views of the city and surrounding mountain ranges, environmentally friendly and sustainably built. I had the feeling that I could get anything in print in this building.

I'm sure once the rain starts tomorrow, I'll miss the 80 degree Indian Summer of Silicon Valley. But for now I am thoroughly enjoying kicking around in Seattle, a cleaner, friendlier, more walkable version of the city to the south.

Back tommorrow with real MVP Summit news!