Vacation Lessons

Today is my first day back from a week and a half long vacation. I went to Florida for a cousin's wedding, and then to Ohio for the birthday parties of my niece (1) and nephew (7). I had a few goals for the trip, so here's the update on those along with a few things I learned along the way:

1. Playaways (at least with the included earbuds I used) are not loud enough to be heard when you're sitting on an airplane next to the engine. Next time perhaps I'll try a noise/anti-noise arrangement
2. Key West isn't much fun when it is evacuated before a hurricane (I didn't make it to the library)
3. People in airports don't take other peoples' books, even when "free book!" is written on the cover. I released five Bookcrossing books in airports this trip, and watched at least three people sit down next to one of them, look at it, and then go about their business. I found this interesting, but I'll have to rethink my guerrilla strategy for promoting literacy
4. The Brevard Country Library System is wonderful. I used both their main library and Cocoa Beach branch, and everything worked, the staff were all nice, and it was just pleasant all-around - exactly what I needed while on vacation. I also picked up a few tips to bring back and implement in my own library
5. Boston's Logan Airport has chairs with power outlets and USB jacks built right in - great
6. Even if you're not in a hurricane, it can still effect you - the Keys were evacuated in advanced of Hurricane Ike, so I had to change plans and go north to Cape Canaveral. And then at the end of the trip when I was flying back from Ohio, the remnants of Ike knocked out power to much of southern Ohio and shut down the Cincinnati airport, thus canceling my flight
7. A birthday party of eight seven-year-old boys is never dull

It was a good trip all around, and now I'm back to real life and the library. But NELA's annual conference is just over a month away, so that's another trip to look forward to. I'm part of a panel presenting "Library 2.0 For You" (or, L24U, if you like that sort of thing) on Monday, so mark your calendars.

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Gone Traveling

Not that this is going to break anyone's heart, but I'm going to be traveling for the next week and a half, and so won't be posting anything for awhile.

The first part of the trip is to the Florida Keys for my cousin Johnny's wedding, and then to Ohio for the birthday party for my nephew Andrew and niece Samantha. Andrew is turning 7 and Samantha is turning 1, and it's even more special because they're brother and sister and were born on the same day.

Since you can take the boy out of the library but not the library out of the boy, I've got a few library-related activities planned for the trip:

• I'm taking two playaways with me. I generally don't like mp3 players, but listening to these on the airplanes will allow me to knit at the same time (I'm taking a few print books, too)
• I'm curious to stop in the Key West Library to see how it balances serving local patrons and tourists (and for the air conditioning and internet access)
• I'm going to release Bookcrossing books in airports to continue with the Airport Public Library project

Between these two events, I think I'm going to see everyone on both sides of my family - which is nice, because I don't see them enough. And luckily, I think I'll slip right between the hurricanes.

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I [heart] Audiobooks, Side 1

For Thanksgiving, I drove from Massachusetts to my hometown in Ohio. It's about a 12-hour drive, each way, and I found that 12 hours in the car means different things to different people.

Most people reacted with, "ugh, that sounds miserable" or "I could never sit in the car that long."

I suppose I am lucky that I am an excellent sitter, but I also don't mind driving distances like that at all. I enjoy traveling and seeing the country (though it is unfortunate that not much can be seen at 80 65 mph). But this trip also meant 24 hours of audiobooks.

For this trip, I listened to The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman, and also Washington Schlepped Here, by Christopher Buckley. The last one was kind of walking tour of Washington, D.C., with history, humor and current politics all blended together, and the first two are the two books that come after Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass. I was thoroughly entertained for the entire trip, and although I didn't know much about The Golden Compass before, now I'm really looking forward to the movie.

But do you know what I like best about audiobooks?

audio book, audio books, audiobook, audiobooks, driving, traveling

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