Well, it looks like I will be having a long trip back to the UK next year. As neither my wife nor I relish 30 hours of travel all in one rush, we have decided to stop off in the US for a couple or three days. And I thought I could arrange this to coincide with a pen show. The chances of this happening again are vanishingly small.

Anyway, we had originally planned to go late April/early May, which would mean taking in the Chicago show. Although technically we are free to choose our dates, due to various work commitments and study (for me) it looks as though we will now be travelling in late August, so it would seem that the San Francisco show would be a better fit. 'Sides which SF is probably going to be more to my wife's liking (by the sea, famous China town area, generally more tourist oriented than Chicago I guess).


So, given that I will most likely only be able to attend the show on one day, which day is best? Bearing in mind that I have no idea what to expect and that I am not coming to look for anything specific. I understand that there is almost no chance to attend any calligraphy classes, so this will be more of a look-see and an opportunity to pick up pens and take notes on sizes and finishes and so on.


Also, as we won't know anybody, is there a kind of 'floor plan' of how the stalls are set out?


Any advice appreciated.