Up early and off to Hootsuite. This company is at the leading edge of the social media revolution. They are currently growing at a really fast rate. They have 500 employees for a company that has 9 million users.

We met the VP of talent (HR Manager to you and me) who told us that she has to hire 150 new employees over the next 5 weeks. We also met the founder of Hootsuite Ryan Holmes who is a high school drop-out and dog lover who runs an amazing company.

We then took a water Taxi over to Granville Island. This is an Island which has a really interesting market and was packed with tourists. The old warehouses have all been transformed into really interesting individual shops and cafes.

There are no chains or International brands here just the very best of Artisan food and real craft shops. This is what the IFSC could have looked like and is a really creative way to use old buildings that are steeped in history.

We had lunch in Bridges restaurant on the Island and our speaker was Tori Holmes an amazing girl who had rowed across the Atlantic with her then boyfriend Paul who we had spoken to in druids Glen the previous Saturday.

Rower Tori Holmes with Bobby

Tori told us the real story about the rows on the boat and she was both inspirational and fun. She is now in the fresh juice business and employs 15 people. Interestingly we had tasted her juice in the office at Hootsuite earlier that day.

Then we said goodbye to Canada it was off on a road trip to Seattle in Washington by bus. Not quite route 66 but our bus trip brought us through some amazing countryside with some spectacular coastal views.

The only negative part of the trip was crossing the border whereby we had to get off the bus and be subjected to a really long customs clearance which took an hour and a half to get through. We arrived quite late at our hotel in Seattle so a quick bite and off early to the nest.

Day 4 - Seattle

Up Early and we set off to the Boeing factory which was probably the highlight of the trip for me.

Here we visited the largest building in the world which has a working population bigger than Waterford and really is a small city. We saw the production lines which were amazing feats of engineering. The traditional 747 and the new 787 dream liner production lines are like something I had never seen before.

There was 35 billion dollars’ worth of stock sitting on the runway adjacent to the runway which was awaiting pickup.

There is a seven year waiting list for orders an Boeing has 12000 commercial jetliners in service which is 75% of the world’s fleet. We were addressed by Ray Conner the Vice Chairman of the Company who started life as a mechanic at the factory. Ireland was very much on his radar as he had many dealings with Michael O'Leary of Ryanair and all the aircraft leasing Companies that are based in Ireland.

We bought some Boeing merchandise from the factory shop and then headed back to Seattle where I had the pleasure in interviewing John Connors a former CFO of Microsoft and a tech investor. He gave us a unique insight into Bill Gates and Microsoft and told us about investing in high tech start-ups which is a very risky business and not for the faint-hearted.

Former Microsoft CFO John Connors with Bobby

It was then time to go to the City hall to meet the Mayor of Washington Ed Murray. An openly Gay man who has been an avid campaigner for gay rights he spoke about his passion for Ireland and the importance of his Irish roots.

After the reception it was off to EMP (Experiential Music Project) a museum dedicated to Jimmy Hendrix and Nirvana built by Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen. This is essentially a rock music museum but it also now has Sci-Fi and horror sections as Jimmy Hendrix and Nirvana were not paying the bills for Allen he split it in two and introduced some new concepts.

There was some fun and games as we got to form bands and have a recorded karaoke session. Producer Brendan Howard and I recorded an unforgettable version of Purple Haze which has been captured on DVD!!

Bobby & Co 'jammin' in Seattle

A late night ensued ending up at the German Bar Von Traps where we got to drink beer and play boccia. More on that later!

Day 5 - Seattle

More work today as we went to Entercom studios which were kindly made available to us by Noreen McCormack. We interviewed two groups of the EY finalists and found out a little bit more about their businesses and what being a finalist in the 2014 Entrepreneur of the year really meant to them.

It was clear that being a finalist gives you a network of like-minded colleagues for life and is a wonderful PR opportunity to show case your business.

Veteran Hurler and hotelier Liam Griffin popped in to tell us our health really is our wealth and we met Paula Stokes a glass blower and artist who has been living and working in Seattle for the last 21 years.

Glass as an art form is really important to Seattle as it once was for Waterford back home. Paula gave us some amazing insights about when she when she went back to Waterford Glass with Dale Chihuly to work on an art project.

The man himself - Liam Griffin

It was then time to check out the hustle and bustle of Seattle and we visited the famous Pike Street market. We went to the first Starbucks which a had a line of tourists outside (it opened in 1973) and the we visited the world's famous Pike St fish where by if you buy a fish the fishmonger fires it at you and you have to catch it.

I decided to have a go and it brought me back to my line-out jumping days in Bective rangers where I had to climb high to catch my fish much to the applause of the big crowed of tourists who were looking on.

For more on our trip be sure to tune in to down to business this Saturday where you can catch all the highlights of this amazing trip.

Bobby and Down to Business producer Brendan Howard in Seattle

Tune in to Down to Business tomorrow from 11am to here all the interviews, insights and atmosphere from the Ernst & Young CEO Retreat 2014.