I am no longer in my ridiculous airbnb in Los Feliz; I am instead in a ridiculous vacation rental in Oceanside, which is exactly the same house that we stayed in exactly one year ago this week. The rental overall is certainly nicer than the place I stayed in the last two nights, but I drew one of the worst numbers in our room-selection draw and so have a room with bunk beds. You win some, you lose some; I've had pretty good luck the last couple of retreats, so it's time for some suffering. And the suffering is mitigated by the fact that a) I am not near the kitchen and b) can hear the ocean murmuring its secrets all night, so I'll take it.
Today was really lovely, and it was a great kickoff to the retreat. I woke up, showered, packed, vacated the airbnb, and grabbed some coffee before heading to Santa Monica to rendezvous with Barbara (Colorado Barbara, not California Barbara). Barbara's son lives in Santa Monica, and she took us out for a really delicious brunch so we could meet each other before she hitched a ride with me to Oceanside. My first view of the ocean in Santa Monica was a delight, the weather was perfect, it was great to meet Ian and put a face to Barbara's stories, and overall it was a nice way to start the writing week.
Then Barbara and I drove to Oceanside, which was pretty easy and relatively non-trafficky. We were early, so we sat at Starbucks for a bit before meeting the rest of the group for a late lunch / early dinner. There are twelve of us on this retreat, and eleven of us got in at approximately the same time, so we ate at a delish Italian-type restaurant in Carlsbad. My seafood risotto was incredible, and the overall mood was v. fun and relaxed. And it was great to be reunited with my favorite writing friends (Anne, California Barbara, Christie, Deb, Grace, Jules, Steph, and Veronica, in alphabetical order rather than order of preferences), as well as meet the two new-to-me authors on the trip (Brenda, whom I've met casually a couple of times and always liked but haven't spent time with, and Jamie, whom I've heard great things about).
So we hung out there, then came to the house, unloaded, went through the brutal room selection process (the house is spread over four floors, so it's confusing and a lot of work to run around checking things out), and made a grocery list. But I refused to go grocery shopping; instead, I hung out at the house and then drove V and Anne a ridiculous block and a half to go to the nearby liquor store and pick up some wine.
We spent the evening just hanging out, snacking, gossipping, etc., and I availed myself of half of Veronica's rose, so so far I'm #winning. But now I need to sleep so I can hit the writing hard tomorrow - goodnight!
Today was really lovely, and it was a great kickoff to the retreat. I woke up, showered, packed, vacated the airbnb, and grabbed some coffee before heading to Santa Monica to rendezvous with Barbara (Colorado Barbara, not California Barbara). Barbara's son lives in Santa Monica, and she took us out for a really delicious brunch so we could meet each other before she hitched a ride with me to Oceanside. My first view of the ocean in Santa Monica was a delight, the weather was perfect, it was great to meet Ian and put a face to Barbara's stories, and overall it was a nice way to start the writing week.
Then Barbara and I drove to Oceanside, which was pretty easy and relatively non-trafficky. We were early, so we sat at Starbucks for a bit before meeting the rest of the group for a late lunch / early dinner. There are twelve of us on this retreat, and eleven of us got in at approximately the same time, so we ate at a delish Italian-type restaurant in Carlsbad. My seafood risotto was incredible, and the overall mood was v. fun and relaxed. And it was great to be reunited with my favorite writing friends (Anne, California Barbara, Christie, Deb, Grace, Jules, Steph, and Veronica, in alphabetical order rather than order of preferences), as well as meet the two new-to-me authors on the trip (Brenda, whom I've met casually a couple of times and always liked but haven't spent time with, and Jamie, whom I've heard great things about).
So we hung out there, then came to the house, unloaded, went through the brutal room selection process (the house is spread over four floors, so it's confusing and a lot of work to run around checking things out), and made a grocery list. But I refused to go grocery shopping; instead, I hung out at the house and then drove V and Anne a ridiculous block and a half to go to the nearby liquor store and pick up some wine.
We spent the evening just hanging out, snacking, gossipping, etc., and I availed myself of half of Veronica's rose, so so far I'm #winning. But now I need to sleep so I can hit the writing hard tomorrow - goodnight!
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