Okay, first of all, it's so good to see you blogging again, @meanmommy33! And I hear you on your reasons SF isn't (probably) in the cards this year. I'm also 100% impressed that @roelandp cares enough to try to help you with travel plans. ;-)

I'm sure this year's SF will be fantastic. Wish I could go. I also would love to see a Steem Fest on this side of the world at some point...

I understand that travelling to North America can be harder for many, especially the US in the current political situation. That said, it would be pretty awesome to have something that brings some of our European and international friends this way. Canada is pretty friendly (I live here, so I'm biased, of course). Even Nicaragua or Ecuador or Costa Rica... somewhere in North or South or Central America would be cool for next year's SteemFest... if at all possible. And, yes, more notice would also be helpful, as I'd just booked my ticket to a smaller Steem meetup, but we can all only ever do the best we can. No choice is going to make everyone happy. Keep doin' your thing, @roelandp.

For me, I'm opting for a low-key gathering next month in the Smoky Mountains with some good Steem-friends. We've booked a house for the weekend, and I know it's going to be so much fun!

Hope to meet you someday in person, my friend. 💖