Working vacation (or is that an oxymoron?)

[resqgeek]

 The very nature of my job means that opportunities for work related travel are extremely limited. I am currently in Seattle on a rare work excursion to visit some of the companies that file applications in the technology I work on (image analysis). These trips are intended to be educational, a chance for us to meet with inventors and attorneys on their turf and learn a bit more about what they do. I'm being paid, but off the production clock, so it should be a relaxing week, sort of a free, paid vacation of sorts. This is only my third such trip during the 27 years I've worked for the Office, and the first that didn't go to Silicon Valley in California.

Yesterday was our travel day, and we flew out on Alaska Airlines on a non-stop flight from Reagan National Airport, which got us here before lunch time. We took advantage of the free afternoon to do some sightseeing, visiting the Space Needle and the Pike Place Market. The weather was incredibly clear, and we got some absolutely breathtaking views of Mt. Rainier throughout the day. Today we start our visits, which will continue through Thursday and we will fly home on Friday.