The last day of the events I participated in at the Amelia Island Book Festival included an all-day Author Expo where we displayed and sold our books. The event was set up in a middle school gymnasium. We’d been assigned booth numbers prior to our attendance, and people were standing by at the curb to check authors in and assist carrying their stuff to the booths. We also received a ticket voucher for a box lunch.

Guests started streaming in starting at 10:00 am. Various celebrity authors gave talks during the day, and there was always an influx to the marketplace when these authors came in to sign books. I enjoyed meeting readers as well as other writers.

Dinner was at Brett’s Waterway Café downtown at the marina. We had a lovely view of the water as we dined on jumbo shrimp cocktail and stuffed flounder. This was a fitting conclusion to our weekend on Amelia Island.

A variety of interesting restaurants and gift shops, historic buildings and museums, state parks and boat rides are only some of the things you can do on the island, aside from lounging by a hotel pool or hunting for shark’s teeth on the beach. It’s worth a long weekend during one of their monthly festivals to relax, dine, shop and stroll along the beach. Amelia Island is north of Jacksonville nearly to the Georgia border and then east toward the beaches. Plan ahead so you can make the most of your time while there.