Alabama & Louisiana: check!

Hello from Knoxville, Tennessee! In the last three days, I have been to five states, driven more than 25 hours, and photographed two bookstores.

Ron holding court at Page & Palette

Suzanne, who made me
the best iced coffee

Book Group

The first store I went to was Page & Palette in Fairhope, Alabama. I had a few butterflies. But as it turns out, I couldn't have picked a better store to be my first stop. The owners were super nice and all the local patrons hanging out in the store were friendly and hysterical. Everyone wanted to be in the pictures! There are some regular book models down in Fairhope.  The guys in the picture to the right out, hanging out at the table, told me I came on a good day because they were the readers. The non-readers didn't show up that day. 

Unofficial picture of Garden District
Bookshop in New Orleans

Bourbon Street

The second bookstore I went to was Garden District Bookshop in New Orleans. It's a very cute, small store packed with lots of books and character. It's located inside a building called the Rink which was originally built in 1884 to attract tourists who were in town for the World's Cotton Centennial Exposition.  This was my first time in New Orleans so I also took a chance to check out the French quarter and walk along Bourbon Street for a little while.   Finally yesterday I drove Hattiesburg, Mississippi to Knoxville, Tennessee.  Tennessee is going to serve as my home base for the next week.

Our attempt to take a picture outside
of a froyo shop in Knoxville.

Photo booth
Silliness

I did my undergraduate work at the University of Tennessee, so I still have a lot of friends in this area.  I have to admit that after the whirlwind of the last few days, it feels awesome to get to spend time with some of my closest friends who I don't get to see very often anymore. And if you've never been to east Tennessee, I highly recommend a trip here. The area is beautiful and the people are friendly as heck.


Starting tomorrow I will be visiting Nashville, TN, Spartanburg, SC, Asheville, NC, and Lexington, KY. Stay tuned for more bookstores and cities! 

Facebook: Page & Palette; Garden District Bookshop

Twitter: Page & Palette

Next Bookstore: Malaprop's Bookstore in North Carolina