[insert clever title here]: majestic backdrop

seattle and vancouver were great. definitely not long enough, and there are so many things still left to see in vancouver. we wasted the better part of an hour in the wrong section of town trying to find the way to the hotel. matt was stoked that we ran into some store that carried his beloved kinder bueno bars, so all was not lost.

we ran into a minor snafu at the border heading north, as the guard saw a large box in the backseat and questioned its contents. when he found out there was nothing in it, he seemed even more suspicious. when matt told him we'd be there about 24 hours, i saw the guard raise his eyebrows. there was nothing in the box, of course, but it formerly contained a bunch of gag gifts matt brought me from his trip to spain. it was pretty hysterical thinking that we'd have to show the sex-toy looking objects (and related chocolates) to the guard.

once we found the hotel, we walked around for several hours and shopped and saw some sights. we even found a photobooth, and he humored me by posing for a couple of strips with me. we had big plans to do dinner and go out, but after our unintended FIVE HOUR nap, it was 11:30p and denny's was the only thing open. we shrugged it off and decided to stay in and just hang out.

we stayed less than 24 hours in vancouver, and this got us another eyebrow raise from a border guard as we were heading south. the guy peeked in the car, walked all the way around, then sent us on our way. i guess people don't just drive 4 hours to stay for a few hours, then do the same drive back down? (sarcasm) i made matt do several illegal turns once we spotted a drive-through tim horton's off the road. he wasn't impressed with the donuts as much as he was with the breakfast sandwich, but by the time we got to the border we were both sick of smelling the sugary fried dough in the car.

we stayed at the westin in seattle, which is located right where we wanted to be. and because it's where his conference was, those Heavenly Beds (which, by the way, really are heavenly) didn't cost us a dime. i walked to all of our usual hangouts while he was in seminars all day and we met up in the evenings for drinks and dinner with his coworkers. i'd never been to todai, which he raves about, so we went the first night we were there. it was good, and there was a large assortment of sushi, but something was "eh" about the place. it definitely wasn't lacking in the the made-to-order crepes or chocolate fountain departments, though.

i do love walking through and around pike's place market. there's a fabulous piroshky place up the block from the first starbucks (ick) that is to die for. they have a cheese, green onion and garlic one that makes me drool just thinking of it.

each conference attendee got several coupons for local attractions, and since we'd both been up in the space needle before, we skipped it in favor of the pacific science center. the ulterior motive for this may or may not have been that there were three (!) photobooths in the center. but what thrilled me the most, surprisingly, was the butterfly exhibit. i'm not normally a freak for stuff like that, but it was pretty darn neat.

in between the photoboothing, the eating and his conference, we did a bit of shopping. i finally found just the right green purse for me, and bought it, only to be tempted by a black one calling my name. i'm happy to say i resisted. i went to a couple fun antique shops, mostly for window shopping, but came away with a vintage cocktail shaker that i've been after.

too soon it was time to pack and head our separate ways, but not before we had one last meal.