The rest of the Seattle Trip

Ok.. so I've been a bit laxed getting to write but I'm here to tell you, once the conference began, there was no time to breath let alone write. Here's a brief run down:

Day 5 - Halloween. The plan was to get up early, head down to the Pacific Science Center (PSC), do the King Tut tour and explore the center a bit. After that, Jani would meet a friend that lives in Seattle to hang out with her for the rest of the day.  Yeah... the best laid plans...  Chris and I got up extremely late. By 10am, we were out the door of the hotel and headed to the Light Rail when we should have been out the door an hour or more earlier. I believe Jani had to move the time she was meeting her friend to 1:30pm instead of the 11:30am it was originally. We arrived at the PSC around 11am and noticed several bus loads of pre-pubescent kids filing into the court yard.  My first thought was "Oh great! Here we go.." and then I thought, well, it's King Tut, what kid wouldn't want to see this exhibit? It was only mildly annoying taking that into consideration. I do have to say, it was a bit disappointing, though it could have been more about not being able to spend time looking at the artifacts than the exhibit itself. Jani found it disappointing as well. By the time we got out of the PSC, it was past time for lunch and we went our separate ways. Chris and I went to the Armory for lunch and was about to go back to the PSC to explore the rest of the center when we noticed the time. It was about 2:30pm and our friend Jana Jessee was flying in for the conference at 4:30pm. We wanted to be able to meet her at the airport as we did for Jani (It's about to get confusing... I have many friends that have Jan in their names. These are but two.) and we also wanted to do some more hat shopping before the conference started. So we hopped the Monorail to Westlake Center and walked down to Pike's Market and on to Gorrin Brothers hat shop instead. I'm so glad we did that. Chris and I both found hats for each other as 'Christmas Gifts' and got to try on some very nice hats that were way outside of our price range. By the time we finished hat shopping, it was time to head back to the airport to pick up Jana. We hopped on the light rail and headed to the airport. Jana's plane was on time and the plan was to get her settled in the hotel room, then dinner. While Jana was unpacking, Jani called and was on her way back to the hotel. We ended up walking to Roasters and while we got great service when we went with Jani earlier in the week, this time, it was something to be desired. We didn't let that get us down though and went back to the hotel to call it an early night. The convention was starting the next day and we all wanted to be bright eyed and bushy tailed for that.

Days 6 - 10: The convention. This time is so close to my heart that I cannot adequately describe it to you. Let me just say, I learned more about myself than I ever imagined I would. The skills and connections that I developed while there were invaluable. The deeper connections I made and understandings I have with those from Kansas City that attended this conference was an unexpected blessing in my life; one that I will carry with me always. Most of all, the greater love that I feel for Chris through this shared experience was a surprise to me. Every day is new with him and my love for him grows deeper, even when I don't think I could love him more. (Goopy, I know... but it's the way I feel.) Speaking of Chris, you may ask what he was doing while I was off at the convention. He was not participating in the convention and used the time as a writing retreat. He made tremendous progress on his novel. We both feel rejuvenated in our passions and are actively looking for ways to do the things we love (other than each other) more. I'm so incredibly blessed.