So a librarian does what on vacation?

Recently, I decided to take a vacation. I needed a chance to get away for awhile, have some fun, relax. Yes, I needed an escape.

So where did I decide to go to get away from it all?

To Minnesota... For a library convention- the Public Library Association (PLA) to be exact.

Yes, my idea of getting away from it all is to spend my free time at a conference devoted to my profession. What can I say- I really LOVE my job!

I happen to find library conferences to be quite fun. There are always interesting programs, fascinating people, and terrific events to attend. And, my absolute favorite thing about library conferences is the exhibit floor. Aisle upon aisle of vendors with books- lots and lots of books. The best part about all those books? A vast majority are free! Yes- FREE! It's heaven for a book lover!

As I'm not the only book lover in my family, I was joined on vacation by Andrew and my mom (where do you think my love of books came from?). Yet, right away, we were aware of a problem. Three adults, all book lovers, traveling together to a convention where lots of books will be given away- for free!- and only itty-bitty cars to our names. What to do, what to do?

Our answer: Rent a massive SUV to travel in!

Isn't it pretty?

Sure, we felt a little silly at first, driving that big SUV in the hopes of returning home with a ton of books, but we got use to it. The SUV was actually fun to drive. It provided great views of the road, handled awesomely, and had really cool features, like a CD player you could control from the steering wheel! We made full use of that CD player, but listening to John Irving's Until I Find You on the long drive to Minnesota.

Along the way, we also found time to stop at cheesy (literally!) tourist attractions, like these:

After a long and enjoyable ride (the audio book was great fun to listen to!), we arrived in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our hotel was in the heart of downtown, a great location. It had everything: a nice restaurant, a pool, a hot tub, a bar called Timbuktu (I just love that name!), and Internet lab, and a designer with questionable tastes!

Questionable tastes? How so? Well, basically, our hotel room was the most clash happy hotel room we had ever seen. Leopard print curtains and checked carpets, crazy art deco mirrors and tan-colored laminate furniture. Let your eyes burn on these images from our, um, charming room- oh, and yes, these patterns were all side by side in all their garish glory:


When our eyes had finished adjusting to the room, we decided to run over to the convention center to pick up our registration packets for the conference. These packets are like gold to me- they contain the keys to the conference: your badge, your programs, your tickets to special events, and sometimes, if you are lucky, some sweet freebies. This was one of those occasions were the registration packet had some really sweet freebies in it- namely, two books! They were James Patterson's first two Maximum Ride novels- a series I found to be a fun and addicting ride, great for a quick read.

After we registered, we met up with a friend of mine (and fellow blogger!) Andie for a little exploring of Minneapolis and some dinner. We found a great little downtown neighborhood, with lots of neat restaurants, and our eyes were immediately drawn to a very interesting looking restaurant called The Bad Waitress.

It was a hip sort of cafe, that lived up to its name by having you, its customer, fill out your own order and bring it up to the counter to the cook. The walls were filled with images from old B movies and comics, and the booths were retro looking red and black numbers. They made a mean hamburger- really delicious!

After dinner, Andie and I said goodbye to Andrew and my Mom and headed over to the first event of the convention- a party for an ALA (American Library Association) presidential candidate. It was fun and interesting to meet a candidate and all of her supporters. I was also thrilled to meet the current ALA president. That's why conference rock- you never know who you are going to meet!

By the time the party came to a close, it was almost midnight and I was tired. Andie and I bid each other good night, and headed back to our hotels. I was beat- it was a long, fun day, but I just knew the next day would hold even more for me (and more free books!)!

Book Count of the Day: 2