Cowboy, domesticated (well close - maybe), St-Louis & PHD, eh? If she's worth having you packup and move away from the salt - she must be one fantastic catch Dave... It sounds like you are being very supportive of her and that makes for great things... Until you return, there's always cheap flights back east...
Fortunately, my wife likes it here and has no pressing reason to uproot - especially after I showed her where we'll live in a few years - Bonnet Shores
Mike - you probably can still get the blem blanks - no structural defects - from Lami for $50-75. They are usually available around Dec/Jan and it is usually not advertised on their site or anglersworkshop. You need to e-mail them...