Since this was my time visiting Seattle I opted to stay an extra day and take in the sights and sounds of the city. I wasn't signed up for any post-cons so I was able to sleep in past 8 for the first time all week. I met up with Aaron Nelson (Blog | Twitter) for breakfast then headed back to the hotel to pack up and check out. I had collected enough SWAG to have too much to pack in my carry on so I made a stop by the FedEx store to ship some things back home (right in the convention center, how convenient!). I could have checked my carry on and used the plastic PASS bag to haul stuff around, but for almost the same price as checking a bag I had a traceable, insured package and no worries about security checkpoints or theft along the way.

I spent Friday afternoon at the Space Needle with Michelle Ufford (Blog | Twitter), Aaron Nelson (Blog | Twitter), and Mike Wells (Twitter). Mike and I continued on to the Pike Place Market to wander around and grabbed a coffee at the original Starbucks while we were there. From there we headed to dinner where we met up with Andy Warren (Blog | Twitter), Rick Heiges (Blog | Twitter), and Wayne Snyder. After dinner Mike stayed behind to meet up with relatives who were in town while the rest of us shared a ride to the airport. Wayne and I were on the same flight together so we sat for a few hours and talked about PASS and other SQL related things while we waited to catch the redeye.

I finally arrived back in Orlando Saturday morning. It was tough getting back to reality (and East Coast time) but the things I saw and did, and the people I met at the Summit during the week made it worth it. I'll be back next year – count on it!