Can I send my location in an imessage directly from the messages app? I know I can go to the Maps app, and then click on the pin for my current location, and then select to share it, and then pick to send a message (vs. an email etc.)

But I can't find any way to send my location from the messages app, the way I might send a photo.

Which is silly - how often are you hanging around in the maps app when you want to tell someone where you are?   It makes sense when you're sending a location where you aren't, say the restaurant you'll meet at tomorrow, but you'd think a solid percentage of shared locations are "here's where I am", and in almost all of those cases, you're starting in the message app, not the map.   

A I missing anything?
Edit: Sorry, I skimmed a bit and missed that you figured this part out already. I don't believe it can be done directly from the Messages app. In conceptual terms, the iOS model for data sharing is typically such that you send data from an app, but the "sending apps" generally can't grab data from elsewhere. This is true for most things except photos, i.e. you can send a contact from the Contacts app, but you can't directly attach one from the Messages app.



Original post:

You can do this by tapping the blue arrow (blue i on an iPad) on any location (dropped pin, current location), and tapping Share Location. It will give you the option of sending via email, Message or Tweet. Your recipient will get sent a contact with a maps url and address.