Random Thoughts On A Sunday Morning

As much as I'm looking forward to meeting Spo in Palm Springs, this trip is a writing retreat at heart. I'll set aside time here and there to work on my novel throughout the day on Wednesday and Thursday. The latest issue of Wine Enthusiast will be my only opportunity to lose another Hatsune Miku & Friends page clip, but I'll make sure Meiko doesn't go anywhere.

Most of my writing time will be spent at the desk inside my room or in the hotel lobby. I'll make at least one mid afternoon trip to Barnes & Noble. I'm quite fond of sipping their dragon fruit drinks and noshing on a wafer cookie while writing on my Surface Pro 11, as I did yesterday when I knocked out the first half of Chapter 2 in roughly 40 minutes.

Oh, I also bought these classics to add to my future reading list.

I need to explore Thousand Palms, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert and Cathedral City while I'm there. I'll take pictures and notes along the way so I'll have the inspiration necessary to create a fictional city based on them for the second half of my novel. I need to create a middle class neighborhood, an upscale shopping area, and possibly a few other settings in my mind.

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I have a loose epicurean itinerary for the trip. Rather than plan the meal and day I'll visit a certain restaurant, I've grouped them into two categories: Casual and Not Casual. The two casual ones plus a "must visit" not casual one are near my hotel. The other two Not Casual ones are in Palm Springs itself, and one of them is where Spo and I will have dinner Tuesday night!

There are so many restaurants worth trying, I almost felt ashamed to whittle the list down to places that are unique to the area plus a chain restaurant I like that serves healthier options. Let's pray I still fit into my clothes upon my return home.

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The weather will be quite hot, so like a restaurant that doesn't serve lunch Miku's top will be closed between 10 and 3 while I'm on the road this week. Sunscreen can only do so much to protect me from the Inland Empire's harsh UV rays.