ROAD VIRGINS: ELLIOTT & ANNIE

Forget Abelard and Heloise. Our favorite bookish couple is Elliott and Annie. Seattle's Elliott Bay and Portland's Annie Bloom's, that is.  The Book Babes' appearances at those bookstores took place on rainy nights, but that didn't stop the dedicated readers who showed up to observe our well-honed Thelma and Louise act -- literary style, of course. (We only jump off cliffs in our imaginations.)

The three-hour drive up to Seattle from Portland (fueled by a java stop halfway) was seamless, and we arrived in time to have dinner with Seattle book editor pal Mary Ann Guinn at Cafe Pamplona, just down the street from Elliott Bay. A shout-out to Ellen's relatives who came to hear us and to Grant Bailey, who had hosted Margo when she was writing "Between the Covers" at his home in the San Juan Islands.

On the way back to Portland, we stopped at a hotel in order to be well-rested for our VERY early morning call at Portland's popular TV show "A.M. Northwest." (Kids, don't try this at home: Getting up at 5 a.m. to make a 9 a.m. curtain call is not the best way to begin your day.) We dutifully wore jeweled tones as requested -- red! -- for our interview with Dave and Helen. Dave stumped us when he said, "Name some titles." (Where to begin??? We feature about 600. Could you please be more specific??) But when we got down to particulars, we think we may have convinced even Dave that it would be fun to join a book club.

That evening in Portland, we appeared to a standing-room-only crowd at Annie Bloom's. Among the crowd were more of Ellen's relatives (what a supportive family!) and members  of the Book Babes Book Club. (More about that long-established Portland book club -- hey, we love your name! -- in future posts). Portland writer Floyd Skloot gave us a touching introduction, which included admitting his discomfort at using what enlightened men consider a pejorative term to describe us. Don't worry, Floyd -- or anyone else, for that matter! -- we really LIKE it when you call us Babes.