Day two of four...I need new feet.

I have stood for over 21 hours over the last two days...on a concrete floor. It is interesting how painful this can be. One would not, necessarily, think that it would be....and one would be wrong. It is painful. I have two days to go. I wish I could stand on my hands.

It was an ok day. Steady/heavy rain. Rather slow traffic...but very good/interesting visitors and several very promising new contacts. As I have mentioned before, we really do look at shows as marketing/branding exercises (the cost of shows goes under "advertising" on our P/L statement). It is always nice (very nice) to have a show pay for itself immediately...but it is not necessary for a "successful" show. One of our "best shows" did not become a best show until a month or two later. We are doing ok thus far...but hopes are high for tomorrow.

On the plus side, we discovered a wonderful market not too far from the hotel that should be the model for such markets in other cities. Dozens of stalls, fresh fruit, fresh bakeries, delis, great ethnic spaces, etc., etc., etc. Most importantly, no effort to make it trendy and expensive. Fresh made donuts for 40 cents or 4 for a dollar. Great breakfast sandwiches (two eggs, sausage, cheese on toast for $1.50). Really nice, fresh fruit salads for $1.00. The result: the place it teaming and people appear to be making good money (most stalls have been in place for years/decades). I wish the Portland Public Market would have looked here. The PPM was great if you wanted overpriced veggies, dry goods or meat...interestingly, this does not draw a great number of people (motto: "Portland Public Market: Why Pay Less").

More from Baltimore later.