This post spans two weeks, partly because one of those weeks was a very busy work trip, and the second of those weeks was a vacation. Here we are in the 30th week of the year, wow.

I had the fun, and stress, of taking my first work trip, to Los Angeles, since my spinal surgery in May.  One day in our new office in El Segundo, and two days in Santa Monica. Some pretty intensive meetings, and lots of interesting conversation. Overall, it went well, but I learned that I do have some physical limitations, and sitting in a hard chair for 6-8 hours a day in a meeting ended up causing some soreness. The flights, at least, went by without any issues.

I landed back in Atlanta, via a red-eye, to drive with my family from Atlanta to a beach house we rented for the week down in 30A in Florida.  I then had a week that was mostly off, going to the beach with my family each day. Reading on the beach while listening to music is one of my happiest places.  The beaches down there are some of the nicest in the US. We also always make time to head to Seaside for a day of walking around in the shops, and browsing the stacks at Sun Dog one of my absolute favorite book stores. We also send some postcards from the cute post office there.

I finished Moonbound by Robin Sloan. I’ve always been a sucker for Aurthurian fiction and this inventive and interesting science fiction take on that classic tale was no exception. I hadn't previously read anything by Robin Sloan. I am going to read his other two books, I added them to my Libby queue as soon as I finished this one.  Recommended.

I also finished Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami, who is one of my favorite authors. This one reads like a career autobiography, with many interesting notes on his perception of his progression as an author. I found a lot to be inspired by while reading this one on the beach and away from work.

I also finished The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal. This "Lady Astronaut" novel is an alternate history of the US where a major disaster has altered the course of history and space exploration. Lots of social commentary, as the book happens in the 50's and 60's, and I really enjoyed it.

I read using my Boox Palma the entire week I was on the road for work and at the beach. It's a great device for both travel and at the beach. My daily carry beach bag for the Palma, my iPhone 15 Pro Max, wallet etc. is the Channel Sacoche in Black from Makr. It is the perfect size for everything without being too big. They don't have any made right now, but said they would be making more soon. They aren't cheap, but are really high quality.

One very recommended gadget that we use at the beach is our Ultimate Ears - WONDERBOOM 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker (I'm linking to the 4 because they don't have a page on their site with the 2 any longer.) I bought this speaker on clearance from Best Buy in 2020, and we use it all the time, it has held up really well and sounds great. I have it attached to a HeroClip to make it easy to hang from the umbrella or chairs.