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Saw a lot of highway 69 today, more than intended. We were driving along headed to Ft. Wayne, IN when I spotted a sign for several museums. The one that caught my eye was the Kruse Victory Military Museum. It’s a huge industrial type building that looks like a massive aircraft hangar and houses military vehicles on one side and a vast collection of carriages and cars on the other. We had to back track to see it, but it was well worth the detour. When we arrived I made a beeline for the military vehicles and wow, there were a ton of them. Bobbie (the manager I believe) and Mark (served two tours in Afghanistan) were very generous with their time and I got to see their expanding library (of course I’d want to see the library) in addition to the huge vehicle collection. It was nerdvana.

Went for lunch and parked in funeral home lot. I popped into the home to explain the big RV and said while my parents were still healthy, their naps are getting longer. Do you have a lay away plan? When I told my mother she was not amused. Dad liked the oak with brass handles.

While my folks went to eat, I went to find a dentist. A tooth that had been bothering me for a few days flared up and was really causing me pain. White, blinding kind of pain. The good news is it didn’t last for more than five or ten minutes at a time, but those minutes felt like eons. Alas, no luck in locating a dentist so we headed back on the road and after going a couple of lights saw a huge medical complex and found my salvation.

Even if you don’t live anywhere near Fort Wayne, IN I would urge you to consider booking a flight and visiting the office of Dr. Samuel Corey – www.slcdentistry.com – for any dental needs. Yes, my cerebellum is currently wrapped in the soothing embrace of Vicodin, but even if it weren’t I’d still urge you to visit. Ava, Amy, and Cindy were fantastic. Angels in blue scrubs. And Dr. Corey was able to diagnose the problem and quickly provide me with a plan to complete the rest of the book tour and do so without curling up in a ball and sobbing every half hour ( I gather women aren’t attracted to guys weeping on the floor). For that I am eternally grateful.

After zipping into the Walgreens down the road and filling my prescriptions, the RV Tour got back on track and made a stop at the B&N at the Glen Brook Mall outside of Fort Wayne. Manager Kate already had the books piled on the counter ready for me to sign, which was a big help because the pain killer was starting to kick in at that point. If I’d had to look for the books I might have tried to sign Starbucks’ napkins. Luckily, bookseller Dave was there to point me in the right direction and I was able to sign all the books…or at least put an X in them.

I was feeling, um – I think the medical term is loopy – so we double-backed to a campsite we saw right beside the military museum and unhitched the horses for the night. Currently writing this in the RV while giggling for no apparent reason.

Just ordered the big breakfast with a side order of wi-fi at McDonald’s in Marshall, IN. Cool and clear this morning. I can now check “slept in a Walmart parking lot in an RV” off my bucket list. We would have gone to a camp ground but they all start shutting down this time of year so Walmart and truckstops become defacto rest areas for the RV set heading south.

I’m struck by the enthusiastic greetings I’ve received at every bookstore I’ve gone to whether they were in Canada or the US. And the staff seem really taken with my parents. I guess it’s not everyday an author rumbles up in a big RV with his folks.

Highlight this morning – stood out in traffic to guide the rig back out of gas station after we fueled up with diesel. I am happy to report I did not back my dad into a telephone poll. Missed it by a good seven inches.

After seeing the crazy snowstorm that went through New York and the eastern seaboard I’m not complaining about Canadian weather again! It’s been beautiful here in southern Ontario. Perfect fall days.

Yesterday was a looooooooooong day. Visited 6 Chapters & Indigo stores – Oshawa, Kennedy Road in Toronto, Milton, Guelph, Waterloo and Kitchener. I have ties to most of these places. I was born in Toronto, my brother went to the University of Guelph, I did my Masters at Wilfrid Laurier in Kitchener-Waterloo. Received a wonderful reception at every store. The staff across the board were very nice and incredibly professional. I signed all the books they had finally settling on my disposable fountain pen as the best one for writing. Each book has a little message in elvish in it, too. You’ll know what it means once you see it.

We covered around 400kms which I think equals 2,000 miles or something when you make the conversion 🙂 Today, I’m in London and currently sitting in a Starbucks attached to the Chapters bookstore. Kendra of the coffee and pastries section, was a huge help in getting me connected so that I didn’t have to attempt writing all this on my tiny Blackberry. Thank you, Kendra!!!!

Donna was a saint on the book side rounding up all the copies of the series for me to sign.

Earlier today I was in the Coles bookstore in Argyle Mall. You can follow them on twitter @colesargyle  I urge you to do so as they are currently working to get their lease renewed so they can stay there and keep serving the reading public. It’s a great store with absolutely wonderful staff. My parents go there all the time and they’ve treated them well each and every time. A special thanks to Cathy for choosing Ashes of a Black Frost as her staff pick. Also great to meet manager Sandy and Mel, dressed as a fallen angel for Halloween. I thought the wings meant Victoria’s Secret model…

In parent-son news, I haven’t been disowned. We have not one, but two GPS systems working as we chart our course and thus far my mother still spots the turn off signs before the satellites. I suggested we shoot her into space to help with the navigation, but the look on her face suggested that was a no go. My dad thought it was funny.

My access to my blog won’t be regular as I travel, but I’m tweeting my fingers off to keep everyone updated on what’s going on. If you aren’t following yet and want to keep up with the adventures of author and parents as they load the RV and head south for the winter, pop over to Twitter and follow me at @cevansauthor  In Facebook news, I’m just 51 fans away from hitting a big milestone – 1,000!  To celebrate, the 1,000 person to like my Iron Elves page gets the satisfaction of being the 1,000th person to do so…but I think it’s entirely possible there is another contest in the offing. Stay tuned. The secret found in the Lost Library is pretty cool and will be revealed soon.

Cheers from the road!

Chris

Other than the cold snap, (which I’m playfully tweaking my homeland about) I’m having a terrific time. I realized this is my first real vacation this year. But let’s be honest, going to bookstores to meet fans and sign books is not work. This is fun.Every time I set foot in a bookstore no matter where I always feel a sense that I’m coming home.

Lest anyone think I’m only focusing on big chains, I visited two independent stores yesterday – Greenley’s in downtown Belleville where I met proprietor Tammy Grieve. The store is quite large and has an entire second level that’s not obvious when you look at it from the street. Very neat and organized. In the afternoon I went to Novel Ideas on the main strip in Kingston. For those who don’t know Kingston, it’s a university town which means when you see all the students walking down the street you suddenly remember you went to school a loooooooong time ago. They looked like kids. Did I look that young when I was 19? Anyway, Novel Ideas is another wonderful independent bookstore and well worth a visit.

I really enjoy visiting stores and saying hi and getting to know the people that work there. They’re readers, book lovers, and they’re the folks on the front line fighting for our society’s literacy rate. I often ask what they’re reading because odds are it’s going to be something interesting. That’s why (if you’ve ever wondered) why I go out of my way to get names and cards and mention them on my blogs. They aren’t likely to show up in acknowledgements, or get a shout out at an awards show, but they are indispensable and make bookstores the haven they are for fans of the written word.

In other news, I bought my parents a new GPS for the trip. This one has a bigger screen and more functions. Now I just need to find out how to search for routes to the nearest place with a senior’s coffee discount and my dad will be thrilled.