Eat, Pray, Love: The Catholic Version Day 1: Smells Like Teen Spirit

So if you can’t guess from the title, I am travelling! I am spending a week in sunny California as sort of an Easter vacation. So why the title? Because I was reading Eat, Pray, Love on the flight to Los Angeles.

I arrived in LA at around 10PM local time. It took a while for things to sink in because highways all look the same at night. It wasn’t until we found an In-N-Out that made me realize that I wasn’t in Texas anymore. (In-N-Outs just got started in Texas.)

The first thing I ate was a burger from In-N-Out, wrapped in lettuce, with a side of fries.

It tasted awesome!

Today, I got my first manicure.

It feels weird typing this out with acrylic nails glued to my hands. It was a nice treat, but I’ll be honest, it is not something I’d do often. But I do like how my nails look. I just wish I could name the color. So far, I call it “coral colored,” but you fashion-savvy readers should have a better name for this. (I picked an O.P.I. nail polish.)

After getting a manicure, my cousin Di asked me if I wanted to go to the mall with her and her friends. I was like “Why not?”

Being at a mall was actually a lot of fun. I got to know Di’s friends, Annie and Rocky, along with half a dozen others. I found a Disney Store there, which was seriously awesome since the one at my local mall closed down.

Even though Di and her friends were younger than me, I got along with them well. I was able to make small talk easily, which is a big deal considering that I have autism.

After exploring the local mall, I went with Di and her friends to the local boba (SoCal speak for bubble tea) place. Di explained that back where I come from, the boba was pretty average. The place I went to was small, but they had a lot of good choices. I went with my tried-and-true favorite, a mango slushee with tapioca.

I feel like I’m 17 again.