Wow! What an incredibly informative post on all fronts! I have never visited Seattle, but your post is very enticing! I would love to see that Glass Gallery! It's so colorful and photogenic!
I totally understand the part about the balancing act between photographing and spending time with family!It's the story of my life too when I travel with my husband. the problem is that I have such a backlog of images to edit from times when I have traveled on my own recently. LOL!
Seattle is candy land for a photographer! But it's best to go alone or with people that are understanding! LOL
As for a backload of images - use Photomechanic to cull them, then use Lightroom to organize and edit them. It makes life so much easier.
Thanks for stopping by!