Philadelphia Freedom...

Last day in Philly today after an amazing NCTE Conference. Met lots of great new people, and reconnected with some familiar faces -- our presentation went very well and we've had a great time.

Yesterday, Lee Fodi and I spent the afternoon taking a quick peek at the city -- we hit the portrait gallery [second largest in the US after the Smithsonian], the Liberty Bell, the Delaware River waterfront, a very cool bookstore called The Book Trader...and had our palms read by a lovely gypsy woman. [Actually, she wasn't a gypsy...and her crystal ball was set up beside a stack of US magazines, but it was beyond fun anyway!]

This is a shot of the clock outside our hotel on Chestnut Street, evidence that we were having a bit of trouble adjusting to the time change.

Today is our Freedom Day -- a few hours to wander round and check out the city before we fly home. Freedom to Read seems like a workable theme, so we're planning a Canuck Guerilla Reading on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Gallery. I've talked my slightly stunned-by-the-idea friends into reading a line or two from their books on the steps ... and then finding someone in the crowd to donate the books to.

Will be twttering details as the time approaches and report back here with photographic evidence!

Speaking of pictures, I'll be posting the best ones up to my flickr page, and will liven the link here as soon as I do. Lee has also been recording snippets for his podcast 'Authors Like Us', so will link to that when it appears, too.

Now -- time to go spread a little Canadian author love around the streets [and steps] of Philadelphia...

~kc