because I didn't bother to familiarize myself with the most basic geographical features of the area before I embarked, I ended up taking this ridiculously roundabout route from Seattle all the way up to Vancouver and then back down the entire Vancouver Island. It was pretty cool going to sleep on the bus and waking up on a huge boat, though. also, customs officials are full of shit. also, I was only able to follow about 30% of the Mechanizing Metatheory talks, but I guess that's a lot better than I could've done two years ago.