And So It Begins...

No, I'm not talking about Tang Satan or his minions. This has to do with some random thoughts before I embark on my first road trip anywhere in a very long time.

I can't believe I packed so much stuff into that carry on bag and I have YouTube videos to thank to get me up to speed. It's not just two days worth of clothes in there. A pair of lace up dress shoes are tucked into in one of the compartments. I also have enough toiletries in small enough quantities to replicate everything I do at home including eye cream and a facial scrub.

But wait... there's more!

To make the external USB port operational, I bought a USB power pack that's tucked into a small zippered compartment. I stashed two magazines in another zippered pocket and two TUMI hangars to put up my shirts and a pair of slacks in the closet once I unpack. I also have rolled up Williams Sonoma tote bag inside one compartment and slipped the two wine carrier sleeves in the front compartment.

The backpack is necessary to lug around my Surface Pro 7 plus a small accessory bag filled with electronics goodies including a second USB power pack. I also had to install the latest Windows updates which required two restarts. The good news is I have almost my entire MP3 collection on the internal flash drive so I can listen to music while I write or I'm online.

In case anyone's wondering, that's roughly $2k in TUMI bags and unseen accessories in that picture. Ara ara!

***

My itinerary is packed full of fun (for me) activities. After I check in Tuesday afternoon, I'm visiting a sports bar for dinner. Yes, I will have the burger and fries on the menu because it's a vacation. Then I'll take a drive around the city to see how it is at nighttime before I duck into a Vons to buy breakfast items.

Wednesday morning is strictly for reading and writing. I have a rough outline to work with, but now I need to work on the individual scenes before I can begin the first draft. Lunch will be at a winery, and while I'm there I'll buy two bottles. One is for me, while Bert gets the other one. I owe him big time.

The afternoon will feature mall walking, and I'll try my best not to make an upscale store a rest stop. I'll then drop by a Starbucks to get a chai latte and a snack so I can hang out and work on novel prep for a bit, and then it's back to Vons for dinner and breakfast items.

Thursday morning is checkout, but I'd like to stop by a museum and then a bistro for lunch before I zip down the 15 and head home.

I'll do my best to take a copious amount of pictures, and if I can get the Surface Pro 7 working on the hotel's free WiFi perhaps I'll write an end of the day summary each night?