Yay! Thank you for the icon. :) I'm still smiling over it.

Oh wow. That is something of an insane trip and you must have been exhausted. I'm with you on the finding a reason to move there. I make a point of mentioning it frequently to soften the s.o. because by hook or by crook, I'm planning to live there some day.

I don't know when you'll next get there, but if you haven't yet discovered it, I cannot recommend highly enough the ferry to/from Sidney, B.C. and Anacortes, Wash. We lucked into it the first time we visited. For the price of driving back, a ferry takes you and your car on a 3 hour sailing tour through the gorgeous San Juan islands. I know that wouldn't work in a quick trip like the one you just took but if you have some leisure, it's beyond lovely. I hadn't counted on the water portion of our NW circuit being as stunning as it was.

.... and I just looked at your user info. Didn't we meet in Dallas last year?

Yes, we did! I just looked at your user info and realized I'm talking to RocketChick, whose Gatecon 2004 photography I seriously envied. In fact, it was seeing your pictures and comparing them to my cruddy Point N Shoot ones from Gatecon 2004 that inspired me to look into photography. This is now the second time I've accidentally "met" you. I think we're doomed fated. ;-)