I've seen some strange things and been to some strange/unique places in my time, so this has some appeal for me. For example, we honeymooned on an island on Lake Eerie called Put In Bay. There is, I kid you not, a walk-in GEODE. A winery was drilling for a well and the drill punched into a void. They started inspecting and found they were in a geode. Sadly, it's not a pretty mineral, it's a dullish material called Celestite. Very little commercial value. But it's still a unique experience.

Oh, turns out that conference that I went to in Seattle is going to be in the same place this November, so with a little luck and no further deterioration in the economy, I'll be back up.