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Technology can be a great enabler, but it can also be a challenge. This week, I visited Seattle for the first time, and decided to embrace both sides of the coin. My mission; my challenge: a travel blog created entirely with my iPhone.

I like to bring my DSLR with me on trips (when possible) and I had it this time. But, I opted to favor my phone for photos. In addition, I made use of the Phone’s GPS and apps wherever practical. The results are here in this blog post.

Upon leaving my hotel the first day, I found myself in front of the Space Needle. I was able to capture this unique viewpoint, with the bruised and sullen clouds providing a dramatic backdrop.

I went downtown and found the Pike’s Place market. They were closing for the day, so I didn’t get to see the guys tossing the fish around. Maybe next time.

I did get a chance to visit The Pike brew pub. If you go there, try the "Kilt Lifter." A great beer!

While downtown, I decided to visit Starbucks. Perhaps even more interesting than seeing the original Starbucks was using the Starbucks iPhone app to locate it. Seattle loves their coffee!!

I had a chance to visit some friends I had only met online, Joe and Heidi Hendricks. I met Joe on the forums of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, and he and Heidi have been an inspiration to me for quite awhile. Read his blog or friend him on facebook to find out why. Tell him I sent you!

Joe paddled me around some beautiful waterways in his 2-man kayak, letting me sit in front and take pictures (with my real camera!). We saw all sorts of interesting birds and beautiful scenic vistas. They live in a breathtaking area! Thanks, Joe, for a memorable visit!

Back in Seattle, things got a little crazy at a downtown dance party in an open park. I couldn’t quite figure it out, until I realized it was 4/20.

I finally made it to the top of the Space Needle my final evening, and grabbed a couple of pictures. Just missed a beautiful sunset but it was still a wonderful view!

While bopping around Seattle, I made sure to check in at most of the places I visited using the FourSquare iPhone app. I earned the Adventurer and Bender badges, and became Mayor of my hotel. Not real proud of that last one!

Finally, I wrote this entire post and published it to my blog using the WordPress app for the iPhone. I had to cheat right at the end and make some final edits online, as I can’t get the app to do two things: allow inline pictures (the app appends all the images at the end) and add hyperlinks (must be possible, but I can’t figure it out).

So, In conclusion, I faced the technology challenge of capturing my Seattle trip with the tiny computer I carry in my pocket. While not 100% successful, I was able to get most of the job done. Mobile computing is a bit of an art, but technology is definitely a great enabler.