Jun 4, 2009

Mr. Bear Visits NYC & BEA Wrap-Up

If you missed Anna's wrap-up of Book Expo America, go check it out for Mr. Bear's first jaunts into New York City.

Amtrak Travel

The Amtrak trip from Washington, D.C., to New York City was surprisingly smooth, even Mr. Bear enjoyed himself. Check out his perch. He got bored and hungry during the trip, so we took him to the cafe car for a snack. Then he got a little crazy with Anna, check out these shots of him. Or maybe, its Anna getting fresh with Mr. Bear?

Cafe Car Amtrak

Bear Love

Once in NYC, we headed to the Javits Center after dropping our bags off at the hotel, and Mr. Bear had a great time on the bus.

Bear on Bus

After his long day with us at the Expo, we took him to the BEATweetUp. Back at the hotel, you can tell Mr. Bear was just as exhausted as we were.

Bear Rough Night

It was great meeting all our "imaginary" friends--Amy of My Friend Amy, Alea of Pop Culture Junkie, Kathy of Bermudaonion, Julie of Booking Mama, Dawn of She Is Too Fond of Books, Natasha of Maw Books, and many others.

I took some great shots of the buildings around the hotel, of the great bloggers we met, Times Square, and many other places, check out the photo set on Flickr, here.

Friday, Anna and I didn't want to plan because we didn't know exactly what time we would get into NYC, so we started off on the exhibition floor and ran into Cornel West speaking on one of the stages. My pictures of Cornel West did not come out as well as I had hoped, but the autograph on his book, Hope on a Tightrope, looks fantastic.

Anna and I didn't really listen to any of the panels this year, just went to author signings, listened to Brother West, and the Book Blogger Panel. Check out the Book Blogger Panel:



Anna and I came out of our shells and met some great publicists, PR people, authors, and others at BEA. We handed out our business cards and hope that we made some great personal connections even if we only met these people briefly--from Lisa Roe, who is bubbling over with energy, to Miriam Parker of Hachette, who is professional, fun, and enthusiastic, to everyone else who introduced themselves. It was great meeting every one in person, and they are exactly who you think they are when you meet them in person. I want to send a special thanks to Dawn of She Is Too Fond of Books for letting Anna and I stay with her in NYC.

Check out the Hubbub Around the Blogosphere feature to the right for more BEA discussions and wrap-ups. I'll try to update them regularly.

Did you got to BEA? What was your plan? If you go to BEA 2010, will you have a plan?

Don't forget these great giveaways:

1 copy of Reunion by Therese Fowler, here; Deadline is June 4, 2009, 11:59 PM EST

1 copy of Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham, here; Deadline is June 10, 2009, 11:59 PM EST

22 comments:

Anna said...

I swear I wasn't getting fresh with Mr. Bear. He can't handle his caffeine. I'm glad we traveled together. Wasn't it nice to get away?? Next time, though, we definitely share suitcases...one for our clothes and one for our books. Those tote bags are painful after a while!

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric

Serena said...

I think we should start planning for BEA 2010!

Sandy Nawrot said...

You can tell it is early...I thought this was Anna's post at first (got confused because Mr. Bear was on her posts yesterday!). That little guys gets around! I am not only envious of your time at BEA, but that you have a good friend to share it with! I'm having a blast reading about all the fun that was had!

Serena said...

sandy: you'll have to come in 2010!

Amanda said...

I love the Mr. Bear pictures! That is AWESOME!

Lezlie said...

I do not like to travel *at all*, but you all made this look like so much fun that I may have to give it some thought for next year!

Lezlie

Serena said...

Amanda and Lezlie: I highly recommend traveling to BEA in 2010. I think it would be great to meet more of my "imaginary" friends! I loved bringing Mr. Bear around for Anna's girl...it made it interesting and some of the looks we got from New Yorkers were priceless.

Julie P. said...

So much fun in just a few days. I hope Mr. Bear has recovered.

bermudaonion said...

That Mr. Bear is wild! You got some great pictures! It was so much fun meeting you and the delightful Anna. I really didn't have a plan when I went to BEA - to be frank, I was a little overwhelmed when I first entered the Javits Center. I will be better prepared next year. I think I already have a roomie lined up!

Serena said...

Bermudaonion: Wow, already making roommate plans. you are ahead of the game, but I definitely hope to have a better plan than wandering around Javits in Awe!

Beth F said...

Hope Mr. Bear came home with some good stories! I'm already planning for next year.

Serena said...

Beth: I can imagine we all are planning for 2010!

Lisa Roe said...

LOVE seeing all the Mr. Bear pics! Such a cute idea.

It was super great to meet up with you and Anna. I'm so glad you ladies had so much fun and appreciate the mention. ;-) I managed to keep that energy up the whole weekend, then came crashing down as soon as I saw my house. lol. That was the best sleep ever!

Unknown said...

LOL! I love the photo essay featuring Mr. Bear! I certainly think that plans for 2010 should be in order here, since I did not plan very well for this one and even though I managed to go to BEA on Friday, I missed out big time on meeting you guys.

Serena said...

Lisa: I cannot believe you kept up that energy the whole weekend...can I borrow some?

Lilly: It would be great to see you in person at BEA 2010.

The Bookworm said...

Mr.Bear looks like he had a great time! The EXPO sounds like lots of fun.
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

Darlene said...

Serena, I'm so glad you and Anna had a good time. Looks like Mr. Bear really enjoyed himself too. lol.

Luanne said...

Thanks for sharing the trip with those of us who couldn't go. Sounds wonderful. Although I think Mr. Bear had a little too much fun.....

Wrighty said...

I envy the three of you. It sounds like such a fun trip! Someday I'm going to have to go. I would love to meet everyone in person. Thanks for all of the great photos!

Lenore Appelhans said...

It was great to meet you, if only for a minute!!

Serena said...

Naida: the expo was awesome. I highly recommend it.

Dar: Mr. Bear had a great time. I think you should come on down to the next expo.

Luanne: I'm glad the post was fun and you liked Mr. Bear's adventures.

Wrighty: I would love to meet you at the next expo

Lenore: I wish I had more time to chat with you. Maybe next year.

Monica said...

Hahah those pictures are fantastic!