Mom and I planned on attending the 3rd (or was it 2nd) TTP Anniversary as soon as we found out about it. Now this was going to be no easy feat since I would be on vacation that week and down the New Jersey shore. However, a BB/Ns gotta do what a BB/Ns gotta do so I left the sun and surf behind and drove back home Friday 7/10. Mom and I left our Philly home at 9AM on Saturday with high hopes and nervous stomachs. We were finally going to meet and greet not only Nora Roberts on her home turf but actually get to put some faces to the BB/Ns we had been chatting with and sharing posts with for several months now.
The drive was beautiful. Thanks to Rand McNally's Roadmaster and directions from BW from Baltimore into Boonsboro we arrived without mishap. However, we were truly shocked to find ourselves high up in the mountains. These two city gals were amazed and delighted!
We arrived at TTP close to oneish and found a nice parking spot (one of the lasts it seemed LOL) near to the store. Like two nervous Nellies, we walked up onto the porch and into the bookstore. We immediately picked out Ruth, kind of easy since she was behind the cash register, and made ourselves known. A voice off to our right called out "TwoJeans. is that TwoJeans?". We met our second BB/N, Ottis and picked up our prized ADWOFF tees that we'd ordered. Next we were accosted by a smiling woman who demanded we identify her. It could only be our dear Sue Noyes and we exchanged smiles and hugs. Mom and my board name elicited several confused looks as we continued to meet more and more BB/Ns. Forgive me if I miss some names but I recall greeting , Sue's sister, Phyllis (our own Phantom), Debbie (Frizzlet) who we had first met at the King Of Prussia Mall signing, Snowbear, Jaci ( another old friend from King of Prussia), Edith and Nancy D, who's cookies made a long drive home much nicer LOL. There may have been others, and I'm sorry if I left anyone out, but it was just such an exciting time that things got rather confusing.
We received great guidance from Ruth who pointed us in the right direction to meet and greet the Queen and the other authors. While standing on line, we caught a quick peek at Nora's son Jason. What a doll! After a few minutes, we finally reached the signing tables. Wow! As usual, our Nora made the meeting memorable. Mom and I kidded around with her for a bit as we sorted out just what books we wanted to purchase and how each was to be signed. Once again, our names created a mess. TwoJeans were separated into Jean (the mother) and Jeannie (the daughter) and then things worked out just fine. Although meeting Nora again was our biggest thrill, we were also quite excited to meet Lisa Scottoline, a fellow Philadelphia native. Lisa was loads of fun to talk with and her personalized book signings were extra special when she called Mom and I her "home girls" LOL! It was a special thrill for me to finally meet Mary Kay McComas and purchase Ms. Miller and The Midas Man. I haven't been able to find her books in any of my local bookstores and kicked myself on the way home for not buying up more titles. Oh well, guess I'll have to make up for that in October!
The trip home was spent in talking about the great time Mom and I had. Meeting Nora and the other authors is always great, but the real fun comes in meeting the other Board Broads who share our passion. We're already planning next year's trip and this time we intend on making it a long weekend. TTP 3 (or 4 LOL) here we come!
TwoJeans (aka Jean and Jeannie B.)
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