The Travel Gauntlet Begins

WEDNESDAY: What better way to kick off a twenty-four hour road trip than ragu di agnello at Meritage at Callaway? This lamb ragu was a light, bright surprise when paired with a glass of Sangiovese. When this plate arrived, my initial reaction was "Oh, shit. There's no way I'm putting all of that down." But I did.

Once I finished lunch and then loitered in the tasting room with a glass of Ambrosia, I visited Danza del Sol and bought a ticket for their Membersgiving event the Saturday before Thanksgiving. That promises to be a fun and exciting afternoon of food and wine pairings.

THURSDAY: The morning began with not just this breakfast, but perhaps the best breakfast picture I've taken yet. But not all was well at the business traveler's hotel. The WiFi was down my entire trip, so I didn't get to see Esmae at the end of the evening as is my custom.

After I checked out of the hotel I visited Meritage again for what I'm calling refined pub food. This pesto chicken flatbread had grilled chicken, sun dried tomato and mozzarella cheese drizzled with a balsamic reduction. Bay Company's Ron Murkundy hazy IPA was a delightful pairing.

I also brought home these snacks for the Halloween weekend and beyond.

I don't have any big plans for tomorrow night that involve tricks, but one treat I'll enjoy over the weekend is opening the 2015 Callaway OPR (Owner's Private Reserve) Red, aka Cabernet Sauvignon. It's the one that sells for $225 a bottle.

I've already tasted a sample of the wine previously and I know it'll pair well with ribeye steak and a combination of truffle Gouda, milk chocolate and perhaps those rosemary and olive oil brushetta toasts above. Count on that bottle to be gone by Sunday night.

***

I suppose I should spill the deets on a few other things before I sign off this blog for the weekend.

The novel I'm working on is coming along so well that I should be done with the third draft by Sunday night. I believe one more round of edits and the manuscript will be ready for submission to agents and independent publishers alike. I would like to take at least a week off before I start anew.

I had my teeth cleaning done on Monday and in about a month I'll replace an old crown with a new one. I have no idea how much my near toothless dental insurance will pay, but my portion will be four figures no matter what. I'm grateful I'm in a financial position to afford it. 

I sold all of my CHWY and BBW stocks for a loss, but don't cry for me. They were great for loss harvesting.

I'm glad to be home, but I can't afford to get too comfortable. Callaway's Friendsgiving event is now six days away, and I'll make that another jam packed twenty-four hour road trip as well.

Cleanin' Up

My mother passed a long, long time ago, but this SCM pewter figurine is one of the things I cherish. I don't remember my exact age, but I do remember my middle school friends and I played Dungeons & Dragons religiously almost every afternoon at about the same time she bought this for me.

I've always liked how this dragon holding a crystal ball looked both cute and sinister, especially when he was heavily oxidized by four plus decades of handling, but out of curiosity I wanted to remember what he looked like when he was brand new. It took mild dish soap, warm water, and a toothbrush to bring back his luster.

I'm two thirds of the way through Last Rites. Perhaps I should name him Ozzy?

What A Weekend, Y'all

FRIDAY: I zipped up the 15 to visit Meritage at Callaway for lunch. This pan seared Mexican sea bass paired with a glass of Pinot Gris was a marvelous pairing. I especially loved how the romesco sauce transformed the wine to bring out the spice when I ate the fish, yet was more agreeable when I ate the asparagus, butter potatoes, and the tomatoes. I'd gladly order this again, but only after I sample a number of tapas and entrees from the new Fall menu.

I not only continued the Pinot Gris party with Sweet Maui Onion chips in the tasting room, I read another chapter of Upton Sinclair's Oil. In the bag there's a new trucker style cap, a ceramic tile coaster, and a jar of raspberry jalapeno preserves that's guaranteed to give my morning toast a nice kick of heat.

The tasting room was quite lively during my visit, and this party trailer was one of two reasons why. 

SATURDAY: My upcoming overnight stay in Temecula Valley reminded me I'm overdue for a Barnes & Noble trip. Not only did I buy the latest issues of Writer's Digest, Atomic Ranch and Wine Enthusiast, I picked up Elmore Leonard's Picket Line so I have two novella length books to read in December.

I also have Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, and Meditations by Marcus Aurelius to read during January and February.

SUNDAY: Before sunrise The Porch Gods delivered this blue topography print Ridge wallet to Le Crash Pad. It was only $69.99, and now I have a second Ridge wallet for every day use.

Before I wrap this up, I'm pleased to announce I'm two thirds of the way through my novel's third round of edits. The writing is just about good enough for publication, which means I'll need to do one last round before I pronounce the manuscript ready for review.

This thrills me since I can start researching prospective agents and/or publishers that may be willing to give a sci-fi romance novel a puncher's chance. I haven't done it in roughly a decade and a half, but I look forward to writing (and editing!) a synopsis, a query letter, and a brief biography.

I already have a non de plume ready to go. Two, actually. 

Well, That Wasn't As Bad As I Thought

Wednesday was Double Jab Day, and it got off to a surprisingly great start with Wordle. I always pick STARE and UNION for my first two words so I cover the three most common consonants and all five vowels before I start guessing.

I got the double jab just after one o'clock and not surprisingly my shoulder has been aching since. Four hours later I suffered a bout of lethargy that forced me to lie down and nap for a bit. As I write this I'm almost 100% but it's nearly bedtime.

Before the lethargy kicked in, I read Rent-A-Girlfriend, Volume 34 in one sitting. Oil! by Upton Sinclair clocks in at 580 pages, by far the biggest classic book I've read in 2025. 

When I started reading Oil! this afternoon, I applied what I'll call going forward The Jane Austen Rule. If a book longer than 300 pages takes more than 20% of the story to either hook me or show me what it's about, I'm done. I'm thrilled to announce that Sinclair showed me more in 28 pages than Austin ever did in 130 pages of Mansfield Park.

Oh, Meritage changed their menu yesterday. I may cruise up there for lunch followed by an editing session in the tasting room just because.

Random Thoughts On A Sunday Afternoon

 
I finally did it yesterday! I caught a sunset at Callaway Vineyard & Winery at the perfect moment when the sun has dipped about halfway beneath the Santa Ana Mountains. I've also got a few thoughts to unload while I'm here.

I still consider Bert my best friend, but lately there's some distance between us. It could be a natural reaction to something that's going on behind the scenes that I'm not at liberty to discuss. I have Esmae in my life, and anytime one of us has a girlfriend it naturally changes our friendship dynamic. 

I'm sure things are fine between us, but they're definitely weird right now.

I received my 2026 health insurance renewal notice upon my return home from Callaway. I don't care if I can afford the $141 monthly premium increase. I'm a consumer just like anyone else at the end of the day, and I still feel like I should've received a bottle of lube along with the notice as a courtesy.

Thankfully my auto insurance remains unchanged for another six months.

The sci-fi romance novel I wrote is taking shape. I'm about 40% finished with the third draft and for the first time I feel my writing is good enough to be published. I'm not sure when I'll finish this round of edits, but I seem to work at a two chapters a day clip. There's thirty-six chapters total, so my best guess is two more weeks.

The heirloom tomatoes with baratta cheese and crostini that I enjoyed for dinner yesterday is likely to disappear off the Meritage menu as soon as Wednesday. I'm glad I enjoyed them one last time.

My theme music for the time being should be "Travelin' Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. I'll stay local this coming week, but then I'll be in Temecula Valley for two overnight stays during the two following weeks. The first one is to sample the aforementioned menu changes at Meritage. The second is for a Friendsgiving dinner I'll attend at Callaway. I look forward to both.

Then after that, I've got the Palm Desert trip to plan for. So many restaurants, so little time. More on that later...

A Day Of Rewards

 
The meeting with the financial advisor went as expected. Congrats on having more money than I did six months ago. Nice job on making money on your own.

I also reallocated two of my investments with the FA. In plain English, more stocks and less bonds. After 3.5 years together, I've gotten more comfortable with market risk. It's time to grow the money I have with the FA even more.

I then celebrated with this chicken pesto sandwich with fries. It's a chicken breast layered with provolone cheese, pistachio spinach pesto, and sun dried tomato aioli on an artisan ciabatta roll. When paired with the recommended Chardonnay it was delightful. The spices within the wine came out to play when I sipped it after a sandwich bite.

I also have a financial story to tell while awaiting this meal. Read on...

After my meal I ventured into the tasting room, where I discovered an absolutely delightful pairing. While reading Pablo Neruda's Residence On Earth plus a somewhat recent issue of Palm Springs Life, I discovered how life altering Sweet Maui Onion potato chips are when sipped with Pinot Gris.

I suppose I could use this photo to announce yours truly has booked at two night stay in Palm Desert for mid-November.

I had an empty space for a red wine in my "drink now" wine fridge, and I filled it with this 2022 Callaway Winemaker's Reserve Profonde. This Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah blend pairs well with many hearty dishes and red meats, and I look forward to opening it later in the year.

So about that financial story....

Do you remember when Costco stock tanked a few years back when someone spread a false rumor on Twitter (now X) that the company was going to raise the price on their food court hot dogs? I took full advantage of that incident and doubled my investment in the company, and yesterday I found a similar buying opportunity.

Over the past few weeks I've bought a token amount of stocks for cat food (Chewy), boxed wine and Mexican beer (Constellation Brands) and bears (Build A Bear). The latter tanked 6% yesterday. I searched online while waiting for my meal and there was no financial related news as to why. Then I discovered the stock had a sell off because BAB wouldn't build someone a Charlie Kirk bear.

Really?

So, yeah. I more than doubled my investment in the company this morning. I don't expect the stock to rebound right away, but in time my patience will pay off for buying the dip. Just like it did when I bought Costco, Best Buy, Ford, and others.

Random Thoughts On A Thursday

You know things are going well in your life when yesterday's Wordle puzzle is your biggest regret. Once again I got four of the five letters right early on, and then I crashed out when I couldn't guess the word was spoof. With Halloween around the corner, of course my Hail Mary of a guess was spook.

It rained like hell for a few hours two days ago, and it was no fun driving in that mess. Not when Teslas and Priuses with idiots behind the wheel tailgate, swerve, and in two instances crash into solid objects. Artoria kept me safe, but we hydroplaned a couple of times despite her Pirellis having plenty of tread. I may proactively visit the MINI dealership to see if they have a set of Bridgestones in her size. Those worked wonderfully for Akeno and Miku.

My biannual meeting with my financial advisor is today. I suspect it will go well, and then I'll visit my favorite home away from home for a celebratory meal before the Summer menu is replaced with Fall offerings in the very near future.

I have more money now than I did six months ago, yet I cannot rest on these laurels. A CD is maturing soon, and I already have a short term solution to keep that money generating similar dividends. Another CD has 1.5 years to go and it's a disappointment. I'm likely to pay the penalty to invest it elsewhere for a better return.

Like everyone else, I have bills to pay and things to do.

A Day At The Winery

After I lifted weights in my living room this morning I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than at Callaway Vineyard & Winery. I scored a table in the lower level for lunch, and this is the Rose of Sangiovese I paired with...

... a strawberry chicken salad that will soon go "Hasta la vista, baby!" once Meritage updates their menu for the Fall season.

This is not how I arrived at the winery. I drove Miku. Honest.

After lunch I decided to pair the rosemary and olive oil potato chips with a glass of Sangiovese while enjoying scenic views from the Vu Deck. I'm having issues with Windows updating on the Surface Pro 11 once again, so I brought the MSI laptop to edit the Prologue chapter of my novel. It doesn't have the SP11's long battery life but it proved I can take it on the road going forward. Don't be shocked if I trade in the SP11 at Best Buy for cash and a Breville mini toaster oven soon.

I should also mention the Vu Deck closed early due to a wedding. I was on good behavior. I did not heckle the groom nor did I suggest for him to bet half his net worth on red or black at a roulette table.

Since I wasn't going straight home from the winery and it was about 4:30 when I stopped reading the Pablo Neruda poetry book, I decided to...

... order the roasted orzo and chicken entree with a Wild Yeast Viognier for dinner.

With tips I spent about $120 today, but this view of the vineyard plus the sun setting over the Santa Ana Mountains as I drove home with Miku's top down it was well worth every penny.

I look forward to returning soon. Very soon...

Pinch Hitting For Jane Austen...

 
I had a lot of fun during my just concluded trip, but there were some trouble spots. One of them was me trying to make Mansfield Park an enjoyable read. I made it to the one third mark during my trip, and then I realized the story was like Seinfeld: Much ado about nothing.

I'm not kidding when I say this. The only thing memorable after 150 plus pages was that Fanny Price moved. The last time I was this bored to tears while reading a book was Hillary Clinton's biography that was published right after she lost the 2016 Presidential Election.

Starting this weekend I'll be reading the backup plan, aka Pablo Neruda's Residence On Earth. I got the idea to read this from Esmae. She mentioned she was reading one of his books about a month ago, and early in our relationship she said she was reading Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. After enjoying Leaves myself, I think it's a safe bet I'll go 2 for 2 with her poetry book suggestions.

The book is bilingual, meaning the original Spanish version appears first and then the English translation. This should be a quick read, and then I have Craig Davidson's The Midnight Ghost Club waiting in the wings to finish out the month of October. That was a Barnes & Noble $5 book when you make a purchase at the Starbucks Cafe, and I have yet to go wrong with any of those quick reads.

Wine Haulin'

 
No trip to Callaway Vineyard & Winery to pick up your wine club haul is complete unless you dine at Meritage. This time I went off the beaten path and sated myself with this steak sandwich packed with pickled onions, smoked cheddar, lettuce and tomato on a toasted roll. When paired with the recommended Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon it was truly a feast.

After lunch I used the tasting room as my writing room to finish a chapter I started in my hotel suite. I've never had rosemary and olive oil chips before, but after I paired it with the newly released 2023 Special Selection Sangiovese I'm now a huge fan of both.

This month's wine club selections included the following two bottles:

• 2023 Special Selection Sangiovese
• 2023 Winemaker's Reserve Chardonnay

In addition to the chips noted above, the Sangiovese should pair well with Italian and Mediterranean dishes as well as grilled white meats. I also get the sense it's one of those rare reds that's enjoyable by itself.

The Chardonnay is an old favorite that was outstanding with yuzu citrus chicken and herb seasoned crusted salmon.

I had a total of four open slots in my larger wine fridge, so I also brought home the following:

• 2019 Winemaker's Reserve Calliope Red
• Non-vintage (NV) Special Selection Ambrosia

The Calliope Red is a blend of Mourvedre, Syrah, Cinsault and Grenache that's perfect with ribeye steaks and smoked Gouda. It's also a good candidate for additional aging. 

The Ambrosia is a sweet blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Grenache. It's best served by itself or with desserts made with dark berries and/or chocolate.

BONUS WINE: I had an expiring $25 Marriott gift card, so I used it to bring home this half bottle of Josh 2022 Pinot Noir. It's serviceable, meaning it's not on par with my usual wines and a ripoff at that price point. But it's free so I'm not complaining.

That's my wine shopping for October, but the Meritage menu will change before the month is out. Do I drive up there for one last strawberry and chicken salad with a glass of Rose of Sangiovese? 

Only time will tell...

Random Thoughts From The Road

As you can tell, I had breakfast in Temecula Valley this morning. Nothing like free scrambled eggs with cheese and salsa, sausage, a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese and a large cup of coffee. The right kind of fuel for a 2.4 mile walk in a few hours, followed by a medium banana when I return to my suite.

Retired life is good, but far from perfect. I recently sold my Ford (F) stock for a 10% profit. I typically keep a certain balance in my stock trading account, and once I noticed the balance was $2k over the aforementioned balance I decided to pay myself.

That balance transfer was timely. Miku the MINI demanded I spoil her with the drop of a trim tray. For those unaware, which I assume is everyone, it's a plastic interior cover for the hinge in Miku's convertible top. It's a simple fix that requires a handful of C-notes, but the dealership can fix it while I wait upon my return.

With Esmae's help, the short story turned novel is coming along great. I'd love to have those five additional chapters written by Friday night so I can enjoy the weekend unfettered by plot holes, pallid scene descriptions and clunky external and internal dialogue. It's a lot of work that requires time and mental energy, but I'm really enjoying the process for I know I'm creating something worthy of publication.

That's all I have for now. I'll likely post what I'm having for lunch today upon my return home.

The (Novel)ty Of It All

During the Las Vegas Raiders thrashing by the Indianapolis Colts I resumed reading this month's classic read, Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. I don't know if it's Austen's writing style, but there are times when I think the story is like Seinfeld -- much ado about nothing. As I read I'm always thinking of ways to simplify things by using less words to convey the same story.

One thing that shocked and saddened me is what I found on page 97...

From a writer's standpoint, fiction has its roots in reality. So to see a book originally published in 1814 perfectly documenting the hypergamy game was alive and well two centuries ago is quite telling on a modern society that believes otherwise.

***

I thought I had finished the second draft of my romantic sci-fi novella "Her Name Is..." last night only to discover I've actually written a novel. It currently clocks in at 43k words, which in print would be a trade paperback book about 160 pages long. Apparently novellas don't sell and the manuscript in its current form is on the short side of a proper novel. 

I have no choice but to go bigger or start trimming it down to 35,000 words. I consulted Esmae about the matter this morning, and I've decided to write five new chapters that would supplement the story. Reducing the word count would likely make the overall story weaker, and we don't want that.

If I can get the manuscript up to 52k words with these revisions, I'll do another round of edits before I offer it to an editor as a noble sacrifice. Hopefully it's one that's armed with a machete and isn't afraid to use it. I don't want someone to fluff my ego. I want an editor that will tear it to shreds and then provide constructive feedback so I can do one last round of edits before I shop for an agent and then peddle the manuscript to independent publishers.

A Question For Y'all...

 
What are your favorite travel essentials?

I'm heading to Temecula Valley soon for a wine club pickup, and earlier today I put together a handful of "must haves" that I pack in my carry on rolling suitcase. I'll try my best to narrate what each object is and its purpose.

That black thing at the top of the image is a Callaway stemless wine glass within a pair of "no show" athletic socks. I inserted the glass base first into the hole of one sock and then stuffed the rest of the sock inside the glass. I then repeated the process with the second sock to ensure it's double layered. The glass itself is quite thick and is likely to survive transportation in the luggage. I'll know for sure upon my return.

The sandwich bag on the left contains vital tools to enjoy a bottle of wine over multiple days while traveling. There's a waiter's corkscrew, a Vacu Vin wine saver set, and an aerator to properly pour red wine. As a general rule when using the Vacu Vin system, a red will last three days after opening before the wine degrades, while a white can go five to seven days.

The other sandwich bag beside it contains packets of del Taco's Del Inferno hot sauce. I consider them necessary to spice up the otherwise pallid offerings from Rosa's Cafe and Tortilla Factory. The packets not only add heat to tacos and burritos, but they make the dishes a good match for a Sauvignon Blanc or a Pinot Gris. I may visit a winery prior to check in to see if there's any other favorable pairings.

So tell me in the comments... what are your favorite travel essentials?