From Los Angeles, we went south first, to San Diego and more sunshine, a cozy afternoon tea organized by the intrepid reader behind Adventures By The Book, then transcendent sushi at Sushi Hane, where the beer was icy, the peppers spicy and the sushi like velvet.

Just a day later, we flew up the coast to Seattle. Seattle! I met Molly's baby girl June, ate Delancey's pizza and tomatoes so good I'd happily take them and nothing else to a desert island. Tara from Tea & Cookies did a bang-up job of hosting the book event at Seattle's University Bookstore, asking great questions and being her delightful, twinkly self.

Then on to Portland, in a terrifyingly tiny airplane that flew into the clouds and past Mount St Helens (!) for just one short evening. (Too short, since we fell in love with the city right away.) I read at Powell's to an incredible crowd and debated pitching camp in the cavernous bookstore for the rest of my life. What an incredible place! What I didn't know is that it would soon get competition.