It's too bad the OpenStack Summit changes cities every year, because I think a lot of us would be content to keep going back to Vancouver.

The Vancouver Convention Centre sits right on the waterfront, overlooking the mountains. From the expo floor, huge windows give you a view of the seaplanes taking off and landing. You just don't get that in the underground halls of San Francisco's Moscone Center.

So that's the excuse Keith Griffith and I are using for posting this slideshow of OpenStack Vancouver. The atmosphere brought out the shutterbug in both of us. We'll look forward to the upcoming OpenStack Summits in Tokyo and Austin, Texas — but speaking just for myself, I'll still be pining away for Vancouver.\

[caption id="attachment_27047" align="alignnone" width="300"] The Vancouver Convention Center Was our home for the week.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_27048" align="alignnone" width="300"] Opening keynote. The buzz before the storm.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_27051" align="alignnone" width="300"] The seaplane was the symbol of this OpenStack Summit.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_27052" align="alignnone" width="300"] Mirantis wasn't the only vendor picking up on a hockey theme for its booth.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_27054" align="alignnone" width="300"] Told you. Here's Tesora, talking about database-as-a-service. Rumors of a Mirantis/Tesora street hockey match never came to fruition.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_27055" align="alignnone" width="300"] AMAX showed off its build of Open Compute Project storage hardware.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_27056" align="alignnone" width="300"] The edge of the expo floor, where you could access Wi-Fi, sip free coffee, and gaze out over the water. Who needs a press room?[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_27057" align="alignnone" width="300"] The harbor just outside the convention center. No, this wasn't distracting at all.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_27058" align="alignnone" width="300"] A defunct, renovated train station was the site of the Summit's "Supernatural Evening" event, sponsored by HP and Scality. Magic tricks and food trucks abounded.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_27059" align="alignnone" width="300"] Inside at HP's Supernatural Evening party. HP is known for going all-out for its OpenStack shindigs.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_27060" align="alignnone" width="300"] HP's Supernatural Evening party[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_27061" align="alignnone" width="300"] Performers at HP's event included magician Rob Zabrecky — who also used to be the singer for Possum Dixon.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_27062" align="alignnone" width="300"] This Orca statue on the lunch terrace was the closest we got to spotting a whale.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_27063" align="alignnone" width="300"] Their jerseys made the Mirantis crew easy to spot. Many conference sessions were standing room only.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_27064" align="alignnone" width="300"] Free coffee all day, right on the expo floor. Can't beat that.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_27065" align="alignnone" width="300"] Vancouver Harbor Sunset[/caption]