August Stats

Wild Releases: 23
Catches: 4

Year-to-date:
Wild Releases: 162
RABCKs: 39
Catches: 30
Wild Finds: 2
Bookrays: 2

New label!

I had a boxful of romances to register and I was tired of the labels I had been using, so I made some new ones! Warning: they may use more than their fair share of ink. You can download them here, and find links to other user-created labels in this thread on the BookCrossing forums.

Wild Release #999

Visitors to Cracker Barrel in New Stanton may be lucky enough to go home with more than a full belly and a few souvenirs if they find "The Road to Oz," by L. Frank Baum, on a rocking chair on the porch.

Wild Release #998

Sister No. 6, Mom, and I went to Rizzo's in Crabtree, Pa., tonight and had a delicious Italian dinner, complete with a shared bottle of wine. On our way out, I left "The Vendetta Defense," by Lisa Scottoline, on a café table on the sidewalk. Salute!

Wild Release #997

It was a beautiful day to eat alfresco at Panera Bread today. I would have liked to stay there in the sunshine for longer than my lunch hour allowed, but, alas, it was not to be. Not for me, anyway. For C.S. Lewis' "The Silver Chair," it was another story. I left it behind on a silver chair on the patio around 1:45 p.m.

Wild Release #996

I love a good book sale, and I found one today at the Greensburg-Hempfield Area Library. I smuggled "Pearls Before Swine," by Mary Clayton, into the library's book sale and left on a table in the basement. I also supported the book sale by purchasing seven books to read and release!

Catch #146!

I found a late-night treat in my inbox: a journal alert for "Ice-Cream Dreams." Its AnonymousFinder says, "This was a great book according to my 3 1/2 year old daughter who gets a kick out of SpongeBob and also loves icecream."

Wild Release #995

Late-night visitors to Eat 'n Park in Greensburg should keep an eye out for "Cries and Whiskers," by Clea Simon, which I left in the tourist information rack in the lobby around 8 p.m.

Wild Release #994

I was in the mood for steak tonight, and as it takes Mom very little convincing to eat out rather than eat in, off we went to Texas Roadhouse. One steak, one chicken breast, two baked sweet potatoes, four hot rolls with cinnamon butter, two salads, and countless peanuts later, we were on our way out the door, but not before I left "Red Dragon," by Thomas Harris, on the back of the tall bench in the waiting area.

Wild Releases #992 & #993

Home, sweet home! I did have a couple of unplanned detours that led to a more scenic route, but I made it home safe and sound and two books lighter. I left Brian Daley's "A Tapestry of Magics" on top of a gas pump at the Village Fare BP in Laurel Hill, N.C. This was the very first BookCrossing release in Laurel Hill!

My second release was also on top of a gas pump, five hours later at the Little General in Glen Jean, W.Va.: "Love Overboard," by Janet Evanovich.

Wild Release #991

The week went far too quickly (it does that when it's only four days long!) and we're heading back to Pennsylvania today. Hopefully, I'll have an easier time getting home than I did getting here. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm going to stop at the gazebo on the pier before leaving the island so I can release "Life's A Beach," by Claire Cook, on one of its benches. I hope it's not another 15 years before I see Sunset Beach again!

Wild Release #990, a/k/a Catch #145!

Even if you don't like seafood, you can't go to the beach without eating at least once at a seafood restaurant. There is one right across the bridge from Sunset Beach, but the nieces and I saw a guy being taken away on a stretcher and put in an ambulance the last time we passed by, so we nixed the idea of going there. Instead, we headed back to Calabash and dined at Ella's. We got there early, to beat the rush, and since they had a nice white bench outside the restaurant, I left "Twelve Sharp," by Janet Evanovich, there at 5 p.m., sharp. It turns out it was there less than 10 minutes before an AnonymousFinder picked it up: "Found this book on the bench at Ella's restaurant (found out here that it was less than 10 minutes after is was released). We were intrigued by the tag on the cover and took the book inside to find out more. My daughters, 13 and 8, were as fascinated as I was about the premise of bookcrossing.com. I plan to read the book, and the kids are already thinking of places to release it back to the wild." Enjoy!

Catch #144!

Well, hello, old friend! Last I saw you, you were sitting outside the Crowne Plaza Valley Forge in King of Prussia, Pa., two years and two days ago. Where have you been? Oh, your AnonymousFinder in Princeton, N.J., says: "I've had this book for some years now, but just rediscovered it." I'm glad your AF let us know where you are—don't be a stranger!

Wild Release #989

I have the best brother-in-law ever. He is not a fan of the beach, so he stays at the house while the rest of us laze in beach chairs under the shade of our umbrellas, listening to the wind and the waves. Every day at Noon, however, he shows up with a fabulous lunch for all—sandwiches, chips, hot dogs, fresh fruit, cold drinks. It's awesome.

When my sister rented our house, she got gift cards for the Calabash Creamery—delicious ice cream I sampled for the first time last night, though it was their third trip since Saturday. We went back tonight, because we *still* had money left. They have a nice front porch full of rocking chairs and two fiberglass cows under a shade tree in the parking lot. The baby cow looked lonely, so I left Sesame Street's "Follow the Monsters!" with it to keep it company.

Wild Release #988

Wow, things have sure changed at Sunset Beach in the last 15 years! The island, itself, is pretty much the same, other than the high bridge they are in the process of building to replace the one-lane drawbridge. It's the mainland that has changed quite a bit. There are shopping centers and restaurants and all kinds of houses and condos. We went into Calabash, N.C., tonight—formerly seafood capital of the world—to get ice cream and go souvenir shopping. I left "See Jane Die," by Erica Spindler, on one of the many benches outside one of the many doors of Callahan's of Calabash around 6:30 p.m.

Wild Releases #986 & #987

For the first time in 15 years or so, I'm in Sunset Beach, North Carolina! My sisters and I and their families and our friends used to come here quite often in the mid-1990s until we discovered how much closer the Outer Banks were. This trip, I'm joining Sister No. 2 and her family, who have been here since Saturday.

It turned out to be an arduous journey, though it started out in a meandering, laid-back kind of way. I drove down by myself, so I didn't feel the need to stick to any kind of timetable or yield to the pressure of getting my passengers there as fast as possible. I thought I'd stop and see things I wanted to see or get out and stretch my legs or take some photos or whatever I fancied. My first detour was to the New River Gorge National Park in Glen Jean, W.Va. It was a hot and humid day, but I left the comfort of my air-conditioned car and climbed down a gazillion stairs to an overlook where I could see the road I had been on far above me and the New River still far below. After taking a few photos, I left "The Heights," by Brian James, on a high spot at the scenic overlook. I think it took me twice as long to climb up the gazillion stairs. The A/C in my car was truly a blessing as I got back on the road.

A couple of hours later, after crossing the West Virginia/Virginia border, I stopped at a rest stop to release a book in honor of Nephew No. 2's 8th birthday: "See You Around, Sam!" by Lois Lowry, was left on a bench, and I hope to see it around soon in my inbox, letting me know it was caught.

It took another eight hours or so to get to Sunset Beach—I had so-so directions from Google and MapQuest that seemed to contradict each other so there were some wrong turns and I crossed the North Carolina/South Carolina border at least twice, when I shouldn't have at all! In the end, though, I finally arrived. Bring on the beach—tomorrow!

Wild Release #985

The Hampton Inn in Greensburg has several lovely benches outside on their sidewalk. Usually they are bare and lonely. Today, one of them has a book on it: Brenda Joyce's "Masquerade."

Wild Release #984

Mom and I indulged our ice-cream dreams with small cones at The Meadows in Greensburg tonight. On our way out, I left SpongeBob SquarePants' "Ice-Cream Dreams," by Nancy Krulik, on the window ledge inside the store.

Wild Release #983

Steak 'n Shake was my lunchtime destination today—I love their skinny fries! After thoroughly enjoying my lunch, I left Robert Whitlow's "Life Support" on top of the garbage can outside the front doors.

Wild Release #982

My friend's son performed in a play tonight at the Greensburg Garden & Civic Center and he seemed to have a lot of fun doing it. I had a lot of fun leaving "The Giver," by Lois Lowry, on a bench outside the theater!

Wild Release #981

Gasoline, food, and BookCrossing were on the agenda for lunch today and I was able to accomplish them all at Sheetz in Greensburg. I left "The Doomfarers of Coramonde," by Brian Daley, on top of one of the gas pumps.

Wild Release #980

If you walk past the Pennsylvania Avenue entrance of the Westmoreland Bar Association this afternoon, you'll have probable cause to look on a window ledge for Clea Simon's "Probable Claws."

Wild Release #979

I met a friend and her active boys at Burger King in South Greensburg for lunch today. The kids love the indoor playground; we grups love the relative peace and quiet when the kids are in the playground. Oh—the fries are pretty good, too. After we were done playing and eating, I left "The Beast," by R.L. Stine, on top of the newspaper boxes on the sidewalk.

Wild Release #978

Dinner at Bob Evans presented the opportunity to do my 978th wild release. I left "Prince Caspian," by C.S. Lewis, on the bench outside the front door around 8 p.m.

Wild Release #977 & Catch #143!

I did a little shopping in North Huntingdon this afternoon, combined with a little BookCrossing. At Panera Bread, I left "Resident Evil: The Umbrella Conspiracy," by S.D. Perry, propped up against an umbrella on a table on the sidewalk. When I got home, I found a journal alert for "If Looks Could Kill" in my inbox! New member gbgmomma writes: "I haven't read the book yet, but was very excited to find it. Looking forward to reading it and passing it on!" What a great start to the month!