I Walked Today...

Okay, so I'm posting from a Microtel Inn near the Philadelphia Airport. In the top pocket of my backpack is my digital camera and I have over 200 pictures on that memory card. My feet are killing me, I have a few more freckles and I'm pretty sure that I'm going to pass out very effectively tonight.

That said, I am back from a lot of *squee* moments. Today involved a lot of driving. After going to services at both Christ Church (Episcopal) and the Philadelphia 4th Ward (Mormon), we got into our rented Hyundai Accent, revved up a very ineffectual GPS unit and set off on a "book tour."

I now have pictures of the benches where Ella sits when she first finds out that she's not your average teenager. I took pictures of the intersection where the book opens. On 16th St., we pulled up to a corner and I squealed "Hedgrow apartments! THAT'S LETICIA'S APARTMENT RIGHT THERE ON THE FOURTH FLOOR!" before jumping out of the car to take a picture of a very ordinary blond-brick building. On 53rd St., I seemed to confuse three people who were on the other side of the street when I photographed a house, the neighborhood, the alleyway next door and even the rooftops of the surrounding buildings. I now know that Ella can look out of her living room window and see...another window, surrounded by eye-hurting yellow siding. I know that she's down the street from Maria's Super Market and if Alex is picking her up, he can probably hang a right on Parrish Street and find better parking there. I've also gotten the lay of the land at her high school, though more information will have to wait until tomorrow.

This is day three. On days one and two, we hopped subways, played location scouts for certain scenes of the book... We found the bad guys' headquarters after wandering off in search of the DAR rose garden. Not only did my friend practically keel over, but when I took pictures of a specific corner, there was a huge difference in the quality of the photo. I've decided it's an anti-Muggle charm.

So, more later, but *SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!* And my next book series, I'm going to cheat and write something in Boston.