Kensington Day of the Book Festival

I had been looking forward to our event in Kensington for months. After the fun we had at the Carroll County Community College event back in November, I knew how much fun it could be to promote BookCrossing at a public event by giving away free books.

I had already set aside a pile of books and made release notes for them. Saturday evening, I loaded my boxes into the van, along with a hand truck to transport them from whatever parking space I could find. I also packed lunches for my daughters and I, along with my camera and some raincoats, as the weather forecast looked less than optimal.

Sunday morning began with our normal routine. I got the girls up and we went to church and they attended their religious ed. classes while I ran a few necessary errands. Once the girls' classes were done, though, we immediately headed across the Potomac River to Maryland. Kensington is almost exactly on the opposite side of Washington from where I live, so it was a bit of a coin toss as to which way to go around the city on the Beltway. I gambled on the west side and lost, as we hit a traffic jam (on Sunday!!) that inched its way the last four or five miles to our exit for Kensington. As a result, I arrived a bit later than I had hoped, to our tent fully set up and people already browsing through the books.

I added my boxes of books to the collection, and introduced myself to the couple of new faces in the group, including teotakuu who had arrived with MaryZee after spending the previous day with Zemarkable in New Jersey. The remainder of the afternoon was spent talking to other BookCrossers, and explaining BookCrossing to various passers-by, inviting them to take some books with them.

Between us, we had brought more than 2,300 books to the event. The selection of books was almost overwhelming...equal to the book buffet tables at the convention in Charleston last year! Crrcookie out did herself with her posters and signs, which made our tent look festive and inviting while providing lots of information about BookCrossing. One chart provided boxes for people to check to count the books we had given away. Not everyone marked the chart, but we did make it to 1,000 by the end of the event, allowing us to meet our goal of giving way more than 1,000 books! And all of this under gray clouds that threatened rain and probably kept many potential visitors away from the festival.

My daughters had a lot of fun as well. They helped other kids sift through the small mountain of children's books we had available, walked around the festival, leaving books with BookCrossing sticky notes on benches, and helped refresh the chalk-drawn Ballycumber on the pavement in front of our tent.

As the afternoon drew to a close, we packed up our books (there we still LOTS left) and loaded our boxes, bins, chairs and the tent into various vehicles. My wife arrived and took the girls home with her while the rest of us formed a convoy over to a nearby Panera Bread store to get a bite and to share stories. Reluctantly, we had to leave at 8pm, when the store closed.

teotakuu in DC

After a long afternoon of promoting books at the Kensington Day of the Book Festival and a relaxing evening meal at Panera Bread, it was time for everyone to go their separate ways. I had to honor of hosting teotakuu for the night, and so after making sure all her luggage was successfully transfered to my van, we set of for what would be her fifth different state for the day. We crossed the Potomac River into Virginia and drove down the George Washington Parkway towards the heart of the nation's capital. We crossed the river again at the Memorial Bridge, admiring the views of the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument as we drove. I found a parking space on Constitution Avenue, right next to the Vietnam War Memorial, and we got out for a stroll.

The night was damp and chilly, with a bit of wind, but even so, there were still a number of tour groups moving among the monuments as we payed our respects to those who served in Vietnam and in Korea. As we walked, we talked at length about these conflicts, and the histories of our countries, and it was clear that she found these monuments quite moving. We also walked up to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, but the climb was simply too daunting after such a long day, so we decided to take a pass on a closer look at old Abe. We did pause and admire the view down the National Mall at the Washington Monument and the Capitol dome, though, before heading back to the van.

The rest of the tour was conducted from the vehicle, as I drove past the White House and the Jefferson Memorial, before returning to the Virginia side of the river. We drove within an easy stone's throw of the Pentagon before heading down into Old Town Alexandria, where I think teotakuu was a bit surprised to find street names, such as King, Duke, and Royal, that are clear holdovers from our colonial days. Finally, we arrived at my house, where my wife was waiting up for us to return. We sat and talked for a spell, but eventually we all needed to get some sleep.

Monday morning started with the usual bustle of getting the girls up and ready for school. I don't know if teotakuu managed to sleep through all the ruckus, but she (perhaps wisely) stayed out of the way until the girls were on their way. She had some tea and toast and checked her e-mail and such, while we waited for crrcookie and her son to join us from Maryland for the trip to Manassas to meet buffra and futurecatnz. The steady, soaking rain made any detailed sightseeing at the battlefield an unpleasant prospect, so we limited ourselves to the views from the visitor's center and a quick glance through the small museum.

We then headed for lunch, after which we said our good-byes. It was lovely to meet both travelers from New Zealand, even if it was only for such a brief period. I hope they enjoyed their brief time here, and I look forward to reading about the remainder of their travels in the coming days.

[cross posted in bcxchange]