As I stepped out of the airport into those soft California breezes for the 2012 Life Sciences Meeting Management Forum, I had to stop for a moment and revel in how much I love San Diego for meetings! The quick hop to downtown from the airport, the lovely walk along the harbor, which this time of year has some seriously holiday-decked boats bobbing along, and the fact that, even if you don't get out of the hotel, as I haven't since the night before last, most of the waterfront hotels at least provide such gorgeous views and terraces that you can still enjoy being in California.
Kudos also to our host hotel, the Manchester Grand Hyatt, which is going above and beyond to provide impeccable service, a beautiful meeting space, and some of the best salads I've ever eaten. Seriously, two salads in a mason jar at lunch yesterday were amazing (a chopped salad and one with heirloom tomatoes and mozzarella), and two at dinner last night at the hotel's Sally's Seafood on the Water (a spinach/kale concoction and one that featured beets and pomegranites, among other goodies) were just amazing. Crab cakes also were to die for.
