Shortly after the craziness of WWDC wound down, Kristen and I took advantage of the opportunity to go on a much needed vacation. The prescription: four days on Orcas Island -- a member of the San Juan Islands chain that's accessible via a 90-minute ferry ride out of Anacortes (itself an hour and a half north of Seattle). I had never been up there before, but had been curious about the area since I first caught a glimpse of the islands out a plane window on a business trip to Vancouver years ago. We rented a cabin in the woods with the perfect set of amenities -- BBQ, dishwasher, and DVD player, but no phone -- and spent our time taking walks, swimming, exploring marinas and small towns and their restaurant offerings, catching up on movies, doing crossword puzzles, and generally not doing much of anything. Just what I'd been looking forward to.

Among the highlights of our stay on Orcas was an afternoon drive+hike to the peak of 2,400' Mt. Constitution, the highest point on the island and a perfect spot from which to survey the surrounding islands and waterways. Following is a near-360-degree panorama (courtesy of my Elph and PhotoStitch), taken from an observation tower that sits on the peak:

The perfect wrap-up to the trip came with the chance to make new friends on our way back through Seattle. Kevin and I have been e-mailing for some five years now, carrying on seemingly without end about Cocoa development, OS X, music, science, etc., but we somehow hadn't yet gotten around to meeting in person. Kristen and I had a truly wonderful time getting to know him and his wife and enjoying their fine company and all too generous hospitality. Next time we'll definitely have to plan our travel to allow for more hang-out time.