Richard Nantel

We’re getting great feedback on the quality of the sessions at this week’s conference. What stood out for me the most about this event, though, was the level of socializing taking place during breaks and after hours.

Serenaded by the Jeff Silberman Jazz Quartet, the opening poolside reception was a lovely night under the stars. At 10 p.m., the hotel staff requested we move indoors so as not to disturb hotel guests with rooms adjacent to the pool.

Adaptability is a great human characteristic, so a large group continued the conversations in the hotel bar. Operitel’s Dan Medakovic pulled out his guitar and started singing. The Marriott found itself with perhaps its first Maritime-type kitchen party on its hands.

We sang until the bar closed at 1 a.m. Continuing to practice adaptability, a number of brave souls took the party to a hotel room, where I’m told the singing continued until 3 a.m.

Tuesday night: people recovered from Monday night.

Wednesday night featured a wine tasting and sight-seeing tour on the Santa Cruz pier. (Martha Stewart is right. The California coast “is all good.”) The bus ride there felt like a high school field trip, complete with pranks of locking someone in the bathroom. (Mike Skinner: Adrian Griggs is sorry. Really. Well, sort of. Actually, he’s not.)

The bus returned back at the hotel at around 10:30 p.m., so, once again, the group headed to the hotel bar, which found itself with its second kitchen party in three days. By the time they kicked everyone out at 1 a.m., the Marriott staff must have been convinced that CEOs, CLOs, directors of learning, and instructional designers party as hard as rock stars.

To everyone who attended, isn’t the learning industry wonderful when we shed our inhibitions?