Work + Play in Palm Springs

 

That’s not a postcard.

For most of last week I was in Palm Springs for Alt Summit, a conference I’ve proudly spoken at more than a handful of times. I’ve grown used to heading to Salt Lake City every January for the event, so when it was moved to The Saguaro in southern California for 2017 I was more than a little excited. Five days away from the Pennsylvania winter? Sign. Me. Up.

 

 

I opted to fly into San Diego rather than Palm Springs because one of my best friends, who was also going to Alt, lives there. Fly across the country and then roadtrip for two hours? Yeah, sure. And even when it turns out to take three and a half hours because of rush hour it’s okay, because I got to see two Sizzler restaurants. (Did you know they still exist? I didn’t.) That first night there was a lovely poolside party that we lasted about a half hour at before going back to our room where I finished slides for a panel the following morning.

 

 

One of the biggest travel perks for me is not having to make breakfast. And in this case I got to eat it with a (different) good friend before heading over to hair and makeup for my 9am panel.

 

 

If you’ve ever wondered what I look like A) speaking on a panel B) after roughly 4 hours of sleep C) with too much bronzer on D) and my jacket falling off, well, here you go! Dreams do come true.

All joking aside, our talk on making old content new again went fantastically well. I always think a successful panel teaches the panelists as well as the attendees, and this one did just that.

 

Justin Hackworth

The good thing about speaking first is that any pressure is off immediately and you’re free to explore and enjoy the rest of the conference. All of the colors of The Saguaro made for some amazing photo backdrops, and I busied myself popping in and out of other talks, catching up with blogger friends I rarely get to see, and chatting with sponsors.

 

 

 

 

Lunch was always held outside in the California sun, which was still blazing even in 70-something degree weather! One afternoon the parking lot was filled with the most amazing cars, each one armed with a small business owner ready to share their story.

 

Justin Hackworth

Justin Hackworth

The main portion of the conference ended Thursday evening with a great keynote by Todd Oldham. Yup, that Todd Oldham. I’m happy to share that he’s personable, down to earth, and very direct – three qualities I look for in everyone I meet.

 

 

 

I spent the last day hanging out with other longtime bloggers discussing the nitty gritty of our industry. Where it’s come from and where it’s (maybe) going, best practices and new concerns, etc. It rarely happens that so many of us are together and we definitely took advantage.

 

 

 

But my favorite thing, a bucket list item in fact, happened on the drive back to San Diego that evening. A stop at the Cabazon Dinosaurs! You might not know, but I am a deep down dino nerd. It was chilly and crazy windy when we stopped, I think we were out of the car for all of ten minutes and I managed to snap at least fifty photos including one of me hugging T-Rex’s leg. If you hop over to Instagram there’s more proof…

Until next time, one of my favorite places on Earth!

Posted In behind the scenes, my life