The Abbreviated Road Trip

As you've probably guessed by the timing of this post, I'm home a day early but I still had a fun time. Let me show you in pictures what I did in roughly 23.5 hours. I departed at noon from Le Crash Pad and it only took me 2 hours and 23 minutes to arrive at The Shops at Palm Desert. Unfortunately for me, by the time I drove through the windmills at San Gorgonio Pass I realized I was fighting a nasty head cold.

I visited a handful of comics/anime shops and the only statue I found of Artoria Pendragon that was exactly what I wanted was too big (17" tall) and too pricey ($550!) for display. But I did see something in one of the shops that piqued my interest. More on that later...

After I checked into my room and touched base with Esmae, I rested up for a bit and then visited Si Bon and its outdoor dining area in Rancho Mirage. It's a Belgian restaurant that has a lot of interesting things on the menu. One item that caught my attention was...

... this sole stuffed with Maine lobster entree. It has pesto sauce, potatoes and fresh vegetables to round out things nicely. I paired it with a glass of Reverde Ducroux Sancerre and it was absolutely delightful. 

I rarely order dessert, but since I had already decided this was an overnight trip I decided to linger a bit longer with a Belgian chocolate mousse paired with a glass of Graham's Ten Year Tawny port wine. This was also another amazing pairing.

I'm proud to say Si Bon exceeded my expectations. If you're ever in the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area, you'll be doing yourself a disservice if you don't try this place out.

Before I returned to the hotel, I circled back to the mall and picked up...

... this Artoria Pendragon figure. The box was written in Japanese, so my best guess is this figure is tied to the Fate spinoff anime series Today's Menu for the Emiya Family. Please no jokes about Artoria being barefoot and in the kitchen, okay?

I'll be home for the next few days drinking orange juice, sipping chicken noodle soup and trying to get as much rest as I can so I can get back to editing my manuscript.