Yes, we finally got to see it! Admittedly, it was a bit faint, off in the distance, but on a beautiful day in the city of Kirkland, we took a boat ride on Lake Washington and had this wonderful sighting of Mount Rainier.
We were with our friends Debra and Pete, and we celebrated our first day together on the water. The view included lots of lucky homes, the stadium of the University of Washington and a huge building project – replacing the 520 bridge, which is the longest floating bridge on earth. Amazing! And pricey!
But here was the really exciting part. We got to see the physical rewards of tech success – many of them Microsoft millionaires’ homes.
And then there was the biggie: the Bill and Melinda Gates compound. They didn’t seem to be at home, and nobody waved. But hey, we had a peek! You gotta love their beach – which has sand imported from the Caribbean every year. But the roof must leak – seems like they’re having some work done…
And then we got back to port. The Kirkland waterfront is lovely, and a just a short walk from Deb and Pete’s home. (You’ll know them by their cool footwear if you’re ever in the area. And maybe you’ll get to meet Ruffin, a king among dogs.)
But what happened to the weekend, you ask. Ah, well, speaking of distance, that was when I flew back to New York for a wonderful event on Saturday. We had the privilege to work with North Shore-LIJ Health System on a very special rally of their leadership.
This was a knock-out home run, held at the New York Hilton, with about 3,000 in attendance. The staging was perfect – continually focusing attention on leadership -and the surprise guest speaker was amazing. Imagine getting to hear Diana Nyad talk about a dream and the incredible perseverance, guts, and teamwork it took to finally make the swim from Cuba to Key West. What an inspiration! And what a great role model for leadership. The crowd loved her. Michael J. Dowling, the wonderful, charismatic, and charmingly Irish CEO, was absolutely captivating. Our HR leader, Elaine Page, was a knockout! Walk through this day and get a glimpse of just how amazing it was.
It was bizarre being back in New York so briefly, but like a huge shot of adrenaline. While I was gone, Don had a great time touring Seattle. This is a lovely city with lovely weather – believe it or not. Today I get to see it for myself!