Last week I spent 5 days in San Antonio for the 2009 Tool Fair. It was a lot of fun to talk to people about the products we develop. It’s also nice to hear feedback from one step closer to the end-user; that really helps us as we try to make items that meet the customers’ needs. At the show was Chip Foose’s latest creation, the Terracuda. It’s quite the car – a 1970 Barracuda that Foose transformed.
Our booth was the largest among outside vendors. We spent all day Wednesday getting it perfect for the show. I think we each spent just a touch over 20 hours on the show floor, with lots of demonstrating, explaining, and displaying. We have a lot of new and exciting things happen and we had a chance to showcase some of those things.
On one of the nights, we went to the “best Mexican restaurant in the world,” also known as Mi Tierra. Some of my coworkers used to live in San Antonio, so they knew the local bests. We liked it so much that we went a second time on the night before we flew back. My enchiladas were excellent. They opened the doors in 1941 and haven’t closed them yet! The decorations are lively, as is the roaming mariachi band. Pictures are on the wall of many famous visitors, and many of the walls have murals painted that include many of these visitors.
Our hotel was about a 3 minute walk to the Alamo. Unfortunately, the show schedule didn’t allow me to visit while it was open, but I did get to see it at night after we were done. I still have a bunch of Alamo shots to work on. San Antonio’s downtown area is really beautiful and I recommend the Riverwalk area to everyone. I flew back on Sunday afternoon, excited to return to my family.