Easter Roadtrip

To celebrate my very first Easter day away from the tropics, we decided to take a mini roadtrip.

So I rolled out of bed at 6 a.m. on a Sunday morning, threw on yesterday's clothes and dragged myself to my car. This is your driver for the day, goodluck with the next 60 miles.

Destination: the Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano in Orange County.


Visiting this national shrine seems fitting for the occasion. It is a holy day after all. Plus, I missed the whole Bisita Iglesia tradition this year, so this somewhat makes up for it.

Now, no roadtrip is complete without the essentials: coffee for the driver, a chill playlist, GPS! (i'm hopeless without this), the digicam and loooads of car food.

Pit stop: Balboa Island. My dad's friend works here so we decided to stop by for coffee. I love this place. I've been here once before but that didn't make the area any less charming. It's this really small whimsical island off Newport Beach. Despite it being an upscale neighborhood, the atmosphere here isn't intimidating at all. You'll find the cutest, tiny, old school shops selling candy, beachwear, flowers, furniture, toys.. everything! And all of them are compact size. The island is so small you can walk the entire perimeter in less than an hour. Most of the residents just use golf carts to go around.


Each of the houses have their own private dock in their 'backyard' where they 'park' their kayaks, speedboats and yachts. It's really cool how one place can be both fancy and relaxed.

After getting the caffeine fix, we're ready to head further down south (about 20 more miles) to San Juan Capistrano.


When we arrived at the Basilica, it was really crowded. The mass was just about to end so while we were waiting, I decided to wander around and take pictures.


After hearing mass we went back to Balboa Island for lunch. I was really looking forward to this part of the day 'cause it will be my first non-veggie meal after 40 days. We opted for Mexican food. Enchiladas, nachos, chimiflautas, quesadillas.. yummm. Food is bliss.


We figured we need to do a bit of walking after stuffing ourselves with beans and guacamole. So we loaded my car onto the auto ferry (RORO!) and headed for the beach on the Peninsula.


It was a super tiring day I was so scared of falling asleep during the drive home. My dad was handing me gum after gum to keep me awake. Haha! Anyway, I should start planning my next roadtrip. I wanna do one every month now.. but I need a driver. Hehe.

* If you're my Multiply contact, you can view the rest of the pictures here.

Meatless

Lenten season will be ending in approximately 48 hours. Finally, I can eat meat again. I made a commitment to be a pseudo-vegetarian for 40-something days.. and surprisingly, it wasn't too bad. I did succumb to temptation three times. Tsk. Pork sisig, orange chicken and Chickenjoy are my downfalls. Hayayay.. how can i say no? It has been nine months since I had these Pinoy yumminess in my system. No regrets. Hehe.

I still think I did a pretty good job. Two months of mostly subsisting on soy protein, tofu and beans.. I must say, I didn't think it was possible. I might just convince myself to do this every year. It'll be my Lenten thing.

Being picky with food actually felt pretty cool. It kind of builds character.. it made me a little bit more interesting as a person, I think. But c'mon, how many people do you know walk into a restaurant and request for veggie meat?? Not a lot, right? According to my google search, only 4% of the American population are vegetarians. So to be counted as part of that little group, that minority, makes me feel a wee bit special. Even if it's just for forty days. Haha.

And maybe when I turn 40, I'll turn vegan for real. Maybe.