Family Bonding in Subic Bay

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 :)



A fun day at the FUN RANCH

Fun Ranch, Tiendesitas - February 06, 2010

We had a mission today and it was to find clothes fit for Oneal and Rej's wedding on the 20th.  It's an important wedding for us because, first, it was a privilege to be invited so there was no question of not going, nor were there any second thoughts at all when we received their invitation.

Since this was going to be the kids' first formal gathering, we knew we had to invest in good clothes.  We even considered having Star Wars costumes made for them, but it was going to be cutting it too close.  We did look at websites (as recommended by Oneal) so maybe one of these days the kids will have their own Star Wars costumes :)

Anyway, we first went to Greenhills but we couldn't find anything suitable.  We then decided to try going to Tiendesitas because we haven't gone there at all and we thought that the kids would like to have fun at the Fun Ranch which was just across it.  We first ate lunch at their Food Court where there was a lot of food choices to suit many discerning palates.  After that, we went around for a while - there were a lot of home furnishings, many pet stores ( a whole section dedicated to pets), native delicacies and even kalesa rides.  It was a good place to walk around if you don't mind the heat but there are a lot of bargains if you have the energy to explore the many nooks and crannies ;)

The Fun Ranch was a really big place.  We got all-you-can-ride tickets for the kids which they proceeded to use on the carousel, the bumper cars and the other different rides.  Unfortunately, we only had a mobile phone to take pictures with so you'll have to bear with us.  I think our rechargeable batteries need to be replaced LOL






The kids had fun riding these bumper boats!  If I were younger I probably would too hahaha  At least there weren't too many people that day so there was really no waiting time and the helpers were more lenient about the time the customers stayed in the boats :) or maybe it was just us because my kids were cute ! LOL












This was actually the first ride they lined up for but they all got dizzy including Ate Mel! LOL we needed to take a break, get in some air and just chill for a while before trying out any other rides.

At the end of the day, it was nice that we were all together having fun and making memories to last a lifetime....

Tripping at the Manila Zoo

When we asked the kids where they wanted to go during the weekend, they immediately answered, "Manila Zoooo!! Now, how can you say no to such an enthusiastic answer like that? Hahaha

So, while getting ready to go out, we were surprised when visitors arrived.  Dimples and Rhys came for a visit and what perfect timing!!  We all ended up going to Manila Zoo together and it was a great way to start the year  - with close family bonding.  It was really a spur of the moment thing otherwise we would have also invited Stevie, Toni and the kids with us.  It's been a long time since we saw these two and I am glad they dropped by :)




I just love this picture.  The elephant was moved to a new and improved area and I think he loves it!  He's more active, moving around his pen and the kids were so excited to see him eating his grass :)  They found the perfect position to watch him - near the fence! hahaha







For the first time in all the years that I've been going to the Manila Zoo, I saw some monkeys escaping from their cages.  First, there was one.  Then there were two.  Then there were three!  I don't really know where they went but I expect they've been jumping from tree to tree all over the zoo LOL







Here are Dimples and Rhys when we were taking a break, having a snack near the playground.  There were too many kids to really enjoy the slides so we just savored each other's company :)









To end this post, here's Dylan saying "Happy Holidays" :)