Archive for » November 15th, 2009«

November

Day five was Oakland Seagull Book and Tape and Beehive Books. As Josi mentioned in her blog, the traffic gods either hate us, or they hate California roads, but either way it affects us the same. Mr. Wright always drives in California so I never have had to deal with it before, but this trip I have Dora and though I love her, she is no replacement for Mr. Wright. I’ve seriously yelled at Dora. And yelled at the drivers sharing the freeway with me. But once we arrive at the bookstore, we are greeted with nothing but kindness and sweetness, which makes me feel slightly(though not entirely) guilty for my road angst. It isn’t road rage. I haven’t purposely driven anyone off the road yet, but it is definitely a step or two down from road bliss, or road peace.

The managers at the seagull, John and Marilyn. were wonderful. Though we didn’t get much time there in Oakland, I feel that our time there was well spent. Loved the store set up.

Beehive books was another thing of amazement. The manager/owner, Vicki, had decorated her store and set out a table of wonderful foods–sandwiches, lemon tart and English Trifle (in honor of Josi), and drinks. It was fabulous and what a sweet and generous thing for her to do! We couldn’t stop for lunch since we were so tight on time and since the traffic gods had already declared war on us. We were starving! So to find sustenance when we arrived was appreciated in every way.

We then went and stayed with Victoria Gunther for the night. She was a very gracious hostess and is a truly stalwart woman. Her husband deserves many kudos for making us breakfast and her daughter was awesome. Victoria is a new author with a new book out and we were able to spend the day with her doing signings at three of the Ensign Books stores: temecula, riverside, and upland. Helen is my hero of bookstore managers. She was wonderful! And to our absolute delight, we were surprised with a visit from Lael Littke! Lael is an amazing author and a great friend and it was wonderful to see her.

Here are some pictures from the days: