Signing books on our family road trip to Seattle

Last week my family went on a 1,734 mile trek to Seattle, and we had quite the adventure. Originally I had planned to fly up to Seattle for a few book signings, but my husband suggested we turn the trip into a tax deductible business trip/family vacation. That sounded like a great idea to me so we packed up our two boys and hit the road. We made stops in Bend, Portland, Seattle and Crater Lake.

It was so good to meet up with fellow Words of Wonder authors Marissa Burt, J. Anderson Coats and Anne Nesbet. Thank you to The Seattle Public Library (with University Book Store), Third Place Books & The Elliott Bay Book Company for hosting the signings.

Here are a few pictures from our road trip.

We found a place called Slappy Cakes in Portland that was incredibly fun. You can make your own pancakes right on a griddle on your table. My boys loved the experience so much that we went twice. This was a pancake shout out to my Mom.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was going to Pike Place Market in Seattle. There is so much to do and see. I loved the flying fish, free samples and eclectic stores. This is a picture of the gum wall in an alley behind the market. I’d never seen such a huge gum wall. Neither had my children, and they enjoyed chewing up their gum and chucking it at the wall. (Note to self: Bring hand sanitizer next time.)

We did all the touristy things like visit the Space Needle and ride the Duck Tour, but one of the best things about Seattle was the parks. We visited 5 different parks, but Gas Works Park was definitely one of our favorites. These are my husband’s feet as we both sat and enjoyed a panoramic view of the city. By the way, you can see the Sleepless in Seattle (my favorite movie!) house from this park. (We actually watched Sleepless in Seattle IN Seattle, which was awesome).

Here we are at Third Place Books sharing about our books and connecting with the crowd. It was so nice to be able to get some time with author friends. I also met a reader who had done a book report on Seeing Cinderella. I love moments like that. Novels, News & Notes did a write-up and shot several videos of the signing.

One of the best parts of my book signings was when my 6 year old decided he wanted to buy a copy of Seeing Cinderella with his own money. It melted my mother’s heart.

Here we are at Elliot Bay Book Company.

Our last stop was at Crater Lake. It was absolutely beautiful, and surprising to see snow on our summer vacation. Honestly, by this time of the trip I was so tired and ready to be home. We originally scheduled 10 days of road time, but cut back the trip to 9 days as the trip went on. You can only be packed in a car traveling for so long.

Any trips or fun plans for you this summer?

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