Long story short– the phone-in-the-rice trick did not work.
Long story — I left it in the bag of rice overnight and this morning it was as good as new! For about 20 minutes. Then it died. Not one single functioning key.
RIP.
The good news is I was able to save all the pictures from the media card/phone memory. That’s really what mattered most. And I was able to get a loaner phone for the next two weeks so…text me! 🙂
-Betty
Betty Zee in PC 
Your blog is becoming so incredibly developed! I LOVE the voice. I’m SO happy we got to share days together before your big adventure.