Seattle

Seattle was short, but time well-spent. When I arrived, I was picked up by my cousin Gary and his girlfriend, Shelley. They treated me to a fantastic time: Pike’s Place (the produce!), duck tour (I haven’t even done one in Boston), and Ivar’s for dinner. I particularly loved being back at Pike’s Place, and later picked up two pounds each of raw honey and cherries for my flight to Kauai. I can’t believe it’s been about 7 years since I had seen Gary, and I hope it won’t be another 7 before we see each other again.

The real reason I was in Seattle was CDP-related: the annual meeting of all NIGMS-funded systems biology centers. I was set up at the W hotel downtown, which as Gary promised was very metro: everything was black, tea lights at the front desk, but my roommate was very upset with no coffee maker in the room. Nice beds, though. The conference itself was pretty good. The seats were uncomfortable, but we had excellent food: quinoa and salmon for lunch, BBQ for cocktails, dinner at Ponti’s.