My rest in the hotel room did give me my second wind. I stopped by the hotel bar for a glass of wine and a light dinner. While I was eating, I saw Garrison Keillor cross the road near my hotel. It was my first celebrity siting of the trip. We're big NPR fans in our house, so seeing Garrison on the street is like bumping into Tom Cruise. I know I'm a geek. Did I mention that I'm at a librarians' conference?
The Exhibit Hall officially opened tonight, so I decided to check it out. The exhibits are hundreds of booths set up by different vendors and book publishers. Many booths have free Advanced Reader Copies of books that will be published soon. I scored about a dozen ARCs and a subscription to School Library Journal for Half price.
After an hour in the hall I was beginning to get overstimulated, and my bags were full. I left and went to check out the Kid Lit gathering at a pub down the street. It was sponsored by a group of children's book authors and illustrators from the area. I mingled and chatted with lots of people including Karen Cushman! I'm a huge Karen Cushman fan, so it was bit surreal to be sipping my beer and chatting with her about the DC weather.
When my glass was empty, I decided to call it a night. I timed it perfectly and was able to take the last shuttle back to my hotel to rest up the next day.
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