16th Philippines Hot Air Balloon Fiesta - Part 2 (Feb 12)

February 12, 2011


The next day dawned bright and early for us.  We all headed straight to the buffet breakfast that was being served, excited to start the day.  Dana had toast and coffee.  Patrick and I had Spam, hotdogs and omelet with rice. I went back for some Korean veggies and Kimchi which Dylan and I shared.  For some reason, Dylan loves Kimchi! hahaha








After breakfast, We took some pictures around and along the corridor of the hotel.  That hallway was supposed to be empty since I asked Dana to go ahead.  I just liked the way the lights lit up the hallway, unfortunately, Patrick came out at the last moment looking for me haha He sorta looks like a ghost hahaha

After resting a while, we donned our swimming suits and went for an early morning dip.  Dana was progressing with her swimming skills and was able to swim farther than before.  She was already working on her arm movements this time.  Dylan was content floating in the water although he can maneuver himself quite well on his floatie :)

Around lunchtime, we headed back to SM Clark and had lunch at the Reyes Barbecue restaurant.  Patrick and I were laughing because even when we were out of town, we still ate Manila food hahaha We actually wanted to try other types of native dishes but we didn't really know where to go.   So, we went with the safe bets.

We bought our tickets to the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta from SM although it took some time to connect with the servers of TicketNet.  It was no bother since there were a lot of things to see around the mall.  Once we got the tickets, we headed straight to the site.







Apparently, there were a number of people headed the same way and we encountered quite a bit of traffic on the way.  We had to park a long way from the entrance due to the crowd.  But once inside, there was so much to see!




There were kites of all shapes and sizes everywhere!

 I don't know what this plane is called (Sorry!)

These gliders were fun to watch too!





Balloons getting inflated, and the green one was in flight!

At first, the balloons were having a hard time being inflated because of the strong cold winds.  Their owners were trying so hard to inflate them and it was actually Darth Vader who, through the Force, actually became the first balloon to get inflated!

 As you can see, it was already dark by the time the other balloons were fully inflated but they didn't get to fly anymore.  It was still fun to see them, especially in this light!

It was such an exciting thing to see this big pirate barrel balloon getting inflated right in front of us.  It was really huge and it made such a huge hissing sound, it was awesome!!

Because it was already late and it was rather dark, the balloons weren't allowed to take flight that night, which was a kind of disappointment.  So we were thinking of coming back again the next day.

16th Philippines Hot Air Balloon Fiesta - Part 1 (Feb 11)

February 10-13, 2011


When we heard that a Darth Vader Hot Air Balloon will be participating in the 16th Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Clark, Pampanga this February, Patrick and I decided that we won't be missing it no matter what.  It was just a stroke of luck that the event coincided with Patrick's birthday and Valentine's day so it was a kind of multi-celebration trip that we were planning.

At first, we couldn't get a booking at our favorite hotel and we were becoming discouraged.  We even considered looking for a different hotel but in the end, we got lucky and there was a cancellation and we ended up getting a booking at our favorite New Well Being Spa Resort.  It turned out that they had a new hotel built up and we became even more excited to try out this new building.  You may ask why we like it there.  It's simply value for money.  They have large rooms, big comfortable beds (which is very important if you have kids with you), buffet breakfast, a great restaurant, a Korean sauna and spa, a huge swimming pool and great hospitable service.  Here are some pictures of the new building and what the room looks like.  We were in the Superior room that has 1 Queen bed, 1 Twin bed, a huge LCD TV, a veranda, a hair dryer (it's extremely useful for me haha), coffee-making facilities, a ref, a in-room safety deposit box.  Here are pictures if you're interested:

We didn't really make plans for our trip this time.  All we knew was that we were going to the Hot Air Balloon.  But we did arrive early, having lunch that Friday (Feb 11) at the Original Savory restaurant in SM Clark.  We had Hot and Sour soup, Kikiam, Fried Chicken and Lechon with Tofu.  Needless to say, we were so full by the time we checked-in at the hotel.







We took our time and rested for a while, Patrick immediately commandeering one of the beds and cocooning himself in the cozy blankets hehehe  Naturally, the kids were clamoring for the pool and we indulged them after a while :)  After about an hour or two, we got ready for dinner at Zapata's which was one of Dana's favorite places to eat :)  After dinner, we went back to the hotel and settled in for the night.

More to come in the next posts!

Trip to Tarlac - RIP Grandma Loring

January 28-29, 2011


Now that I have experienced how it feels to lose my mother, it pains me and fills me with heartbreak when I hear of someone else undergoing the same thing.  Recently, Patrick and I found out that his stepmom, Tita Flor, just lost her own mother and right then and there, we decided to visit them in Tarlac where the funeral rites are to be held.

Since we haven't gone to Pura, Tarlac on our own, we didn't want to tempt the fates and end up being late because we lost our way or something.  So, we booked ourselves at the Microtel Inn in Luisita which is roughly at the halfway point between Manila and Pura.  At least, we didn't have to battle the traffic along the NLEX and Patrick won't be so tired with the drive.  It was a simple hotel but it's got great big beds which was a major attraction for us especially since Dylan has a habit of kicking everyone he sleeps with LOL :)

 After a hefty breakfast for us adults, it wasn't buffet but the kids can eat all the cereal and bread that they want, we pushed on towards Pura.  The drive was rather scary when faced with trucks carrying "gravel" and "soil" but look mostly like huge rocks and earth.

 It was tough being behind these two because the bumpy ride meant bits and pieces of rocks tend to fly off from the truck and if you're unlucky, you just might get a hit or two from them.





We arrived at the San Antoninus Church in record time.  It was a very touching service and I found myself teary-eyed at some point.  Hearing about Grandma Loring was like hearing about my mom who was also a teacher, an educator and was loved by many.  I never got the chance to be at my mom's service but I figured it would be something akin to this if it was held here and her students were given a chance to pay their respects.



Though Grandma Loring's death was the reason why we came, it was her life, her celebration of it, that we will remember.  Her kids, Tita Flor and her siblings, are a great legacy to behold.  We were fortunate to have been part of it.

Hanging out at the Quezon Memorial Circle

January 15, 2011

Our weekend is usually reserved for errands like grocery shopping and car events that Patrick has to cover.  On those rare moments where there's nothing scheduled for the weekend, we try not to spend them at the mall.  It really gets boring and I want the kids to have a different idea of having fun.  I'm glad that my kids are not addicted to video games and are perfectly fine running around and getting sweaty :)

On this Saturday, we took the kids to the Quezon Memorial Circle.

We first had lunch at the Bacolod Chicken Inasal.  Patrick and I were so happy that Tropical Hut and Kamameshi House, the two original dining outlets at the QMC were still there.  Everywhere we look, we see pieces of our childhood getting torn asunder and it was just so heartening to see that those icons of the QMC are still around.

We thought we'd let the kids ride the bikes but there were a lot of people and the bike pathways were already crowded, it wouldn't be safe for them.  Fortunately, there's a huge playground area with these colorful slides, swings and jungle sets that the kids go crazy about.  There was also exercise machines for adults to boost their health regimen and funny though that these machines were situated right next to food kiosks! LOL After you get tired from exercising, head on over to the convenient food stalls and eat to your heart's delight! hahahaha

We also went to visit the Quezon Memorial Museum.  Hard as it is to admit, I haven't been inside it in all my years of living in the city!  So, it was a good chance for me to see it with my kids :)  We got there just in time too.  After we've strolled through the place with our last stop at the tomb of the Great President, we were greeted with a bunch of preschoolers waiting to get in :)

There was also an organic market and flea market stalls (tiangge) and plenty of food stalls all around to satisfy every food craving you have.  :)

It was a good day all around.  :D



  

Happy New Year! Welcome 2011!

January 01, 2011

Cheers for 2011!

I don't really now what to expect this year.  I've always subscribed to the belief that "Man plans, God laughs" so I don't really intend to make any plans and just take it a day at a time.  We greeted the New Year by simply watching our neighbors light their fireworks and firecrackers, safe from the comfort of our room hahaha I had to open the windows a bit and risk inhaling the gunpowder-infested air to take a few pictures :)  The kids made noise with their "horns".

The next day, we all went to Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina to visit Patrick's Dad, since it was also his 2nd Death Anniversary.  After that, we had a family dinner at North Park in Trinoma.