National Book Festival

Yesterday was the first day of Autumn.  It was still hot, but you could see signs of fall if you looked for them.  

In the afternoon I went down to the National Book Festival on the mall.  I had just talked up the Festival to two days of classes and wanted to see for myself what the scene was like.  I hadn't been down for it in quite a while.  It was a pretty day, with brilliant blue skies making a wonderful contrast against the white tents.  

 I listened to Geraldine Brooks' talk and heard some of Jerry Spinelli's.

I had decided not to get any books signed, but I checked out the line for Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. It was long!  Here is the line as it approached his table:

Here is part two of the line:

And part three, waiting patiently on the other side of the path down the mall.  

And finally, here is the end!  He was scheduled to sign books from 3:00-4:00 and I took these photos at 3:30.  The person holding the sign told me that he said he'd stay to sign until 5:30 and expected to get through everyone who was in line in front of the sign.  Whew!  

I came home and had a very pleasant evening grilling and eating outside with Ben's brother and his family.  A cold front was moving in, making the night air cool and bug-free.  

This morning we are enjoying wonderful autumnal weather, crisp and cool.  Basking in the aftermath of a great evening with friends, I'm anticipating a beautiful day.