Lilith Saintcrow

I got back early last night from Spokane. A big thank-you goes out to Jonathan and his wife Holli out at the Spokane Valley Mall, as well as Dale and all the other employees at the Waldenbooks, who made me feel so warmly welcomed. Another big thank-you goes to the Spokane Fans, who made me feel like a princess. Thank you so much for inviting me out and making the signing such a success!

Driving out to Spokane was nice; we took 84 east and went up 395 and 90 (which probably means very little to anyone who doesn’t drive in Eastern Washington.) The weather held, dry and sunny and cold, all the way. The hotel (Oxford Suites, right across the street from the mall) was very nice despite the lack of room service. Normally I’m not a room service type of girl, but after driving for eight hours my brain had turned to complete mush and I didn’t even want to walk across the street to a restaurant. We made do with hummus and pita bread instead.

I say “we” because I took the Froop along as my assistant. He kept me awake and navigated me through the confusing tangle of interchanges near Pasco, as well as scolding me to eat and remembering Daylight Savings Time when I didn’t. If not for him I’d probably be lost near Yakima somewhere (still).

After the signing we went with Jonathan and Holli out to Red Robin, for Yours Truly desperately needed a margarita. Jon and I geeked Very Hard about Star Wars and Joss Whedon. It’s amazing that you can go anywhere in the States and find Star Wars, Whedon, or LOTR fans. And once you show a bit of knowledge and interest, all sorts of fun doors open up to you. Jonathan is very charming, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of sci fi and not such a bad grasp of everything else, and Holli is very fetching and enthusiastic. I had a great amount of fun.

Driving back we chose to come up 14 on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge instead of 84 on the Oregon side. It’s a prettier drive, even if twisty and time-consuming. UNfortunately, there’s also almost-no restrooms for eighty-odd miles of a particular stretch, and we were both too hungry to appreciate the scenery; but we stopped at a mini-mart somewhere along the way which, thanks be to every god there is, had a lovely little painted-red loo. The place was an answer to our prayers.

After that the drive was pure magic, with all the right songs on the Ipod coming through the car radio and a wonderful clear sunny day to enjoy them. We stopped at Stonehenge and I took oodles of pictures, and we stopped in Bingen for Mexican food before burning up the road all the way home. There was a half-moon out, reflecting in the water like a swan. The last few miles of 14 are very twisty, but passed quickly and then…we were on familiar ground, and home a few minutes later to a windy night. I even managed to unpack last night instead of spreading the unpacking out over a week.

It is a wonderful thing to wake up in the morning to your cat (that is, the one that has chosen you to be their human) making a nest in your hair and nibbling your ear. It is even more wonderful when this is your final “welcome home.”

Tonight I hand out candy to ghosts, ghouls, and goblins, clean out my fireplace, and leave a white candle burning to light the way for those who have gone before. Plus,I get to dress up the Princess as a witch, complete with broom.

She can’t wait, and neither can I. It’s good to be home.

Happy Samhain and a wonderful new year to all.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 31st, 2006 at 11:45 am and is filed under Neato Keano, Real Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.