February 12-14, 2010
We scheduled our first out of town trip to coincide with Patrick's birthday and Valentine's Day. It also happened to be our 15th year and 3rd month anniversary but who's counting (really?!) hahaha It also was kind of a treat for Dana as well because her grades went up this quarter :) This time we really planned on staying 3 days and 2 nights because the trip was long and we wanted to savor the experience and we had a lot of planned activities too :) We left Ate Mel and Ate Den at home because Ate Den had classes and can't afford to miss them, even though she wanted to come. Ate Mel was her chaperone at home hehehe
Here we are having lunch at Kenny Roger's Roasters along the North Luzon Expressway. After a dip in the pool, here are my babies resting in our room. Actually, that's one of the perks of the
Bayfront Subic Hotel. Aside from the very affordable and large rooms that they have, they also have a very good Japanese-Korean restaurant and a pool. When we looked around Subic for accommodations, other hotels didn't have the advantage of having a pool. When you're with kids you need a pool to keep them occupied even if you have cable TV in your room. :)
What's more these rooms are huge! You even have a veranda, although the beach is blocked by a building being constructed, but still you feel the breeze of the ocean. That couch can be for an extra person, you know :) The room is cold enough anyway :)
For dinner, Patrick recommended eating the Meat Plus Cafe, a very popular Subic hangout for people who love fat, juicy steaks. Although, a word of warning they can be quite costly at around P250 a pop :) Patrick couldn't stop raving about his food but unfortunately for me, I didn't like what was served. Though the service crew were helpful, especially since we arrived during peak hours, my steak was so bloody I'd have turned into a vampire just by eating it. I had no choice since I've already sliced it and I was just so hungry by that time that I just let it go. In all fairness, they were fat steaks but the veggies could've been tastier with more butter :D I love butter! :D I don't want to risk another tasting so I doubt if I'll return there. After dinner, we took a walk on the beach. Dylan hated the feel of the sand on his feet hahahaha
The next day, we scheduled a trip to
Ocean Adventure. Ticket prices were P500 per adult and P420 for kids under 12. I knew that we would be spending much when we got there but we did spend around 3 hours in the Park because of all the different attractions that were scheduled so it was just worth it. While waiting for our first sked, we spent time at the Aquarium.
It would have been less hectic if we had the place to ourselves but that's wishful thinking. There were kids on their educational field trip when we got there. It was a good thing that thanks to the advice of the people in Bayfront we came early. The dolphin pens were great to look at because you can see the dolphins up close, just look at the pictures that Patrick took.
The first stop on our itinerary was the Dolphin show at the Seaside Stadium which lasted around 30 minutes. Unfortunately, the camera ran out of battery even though we charged it so we weren't able to take pictures of the dolphins while the show was on-going.
These were taken while we were running around the place. We ended up near the Eco-Theater and the Adventure Beach. All the other people were in their respective shows so there was no one about.
Here's a picture of Brandy, the Sea Lion. He had a lot of tricks and part of the show involved volunteers from the audience. He knows how to play dead, roll around on the floor, smile and talk, salute and march - all through positive reinforcement. There were more attractions like the Walk on the Wild Side which was a showcase of snakes, bats, dogs, cats and birds. The last show was called "Rap, Jump and Roll" which was a variety show featuring mascots, dancing, rapping and a trampoline-acrobatic performance.
After the hot day at the Ocean Adventure, we headed back to the hotel and changed to our swimsuits for a dip in the cool waters of the pool. Oh, we had burgers at Wimpy's for lunch, I almost forgot! LOL
For dinner, we ate at the hotel restaurant and we had shabu-shabu!! There was also an ongoing valentine's dinner outside the hotel complete with a band and a buffet set up. We preferred to be indoors where there's aircon hehehe but look at that scrumptious food!
The next morning after our buffet breakfast, we headed to the beach to walk off all that food! :D The sun wasn't so hot, the water was calm and the kids enjoyed walking on the water :) Here are a couple of videos :
Dana frolicking on the beach
Dylan's version of running on water
After getting wet, we went back to the hotel were we prepared for going home. We had such a good time, such a relaxing time that we didn't want to go back to the hectic and crazy life of the city :)
The tour at Ocean Adventure started with the Walk on the Wild Side exhibit where the kids were taught about forest and domesticated animals. Then there was a new attraction called the "African Balancing Act" which features African men performing wild acrobatic balancing acts. The kids loved it! The highlight for Dana was after the show when the kids were given a chance to have their pictures taken with the performers. One of them picked her up for the shot! :) Was she surprised! :P It was such a memorable event for her! :D
