Car Emergency on the NLEX

September 12 - Today, we went to visit Uncle Dennis and his family in Pampanga. This time, we were joined by Stevie and his family as well. It was a good time spent catching up, mostly it was Stevie and Uncle Dennis because we were there recently. Around 5 PM, Stevie announced we were going home and so we packed up and left.

Immediately after exiting the tollway station, Stanley (for those who don't remember, Stanley is the name of our car) just started to shake and the steering wheel was really going crazy. We immediately stopped at the shoulder of the road. We tried driving slow to see if it was caused by the speed. It wasn't. Even if we were traveling at 20km/hour there was a minor "wiggle" to the car that can't be ignored. So we decided to stop at the nearest gas station to have a mechanic check the problem and if it's possible, to fix it. Surprisingly enough there wasn't a mechanic available at the Caltex Station. They gave us a number to a mechanic in San Simon whom we had to wait for. When he arrived 30 minutes later, he looked at the tires pronounced them unfit, released some of the pressure and sent us on our way. Oh and he told us that there was an accident on the Southbound lane of the NLEX. What a joy! right!

So on we went, it was now 6 PM. Oh and we let Stevie and his family go on ahead because the kids were getting fussy. And when you're traveling you don't want fussy kids in the car LOL

We were moving again but the wheels were still a problem. I asked Patrick to stop and call the emergency service of NLEX using their phone on the side of the road. That's what they're there for, right? So that in itself was an adventure for Patrick LOL Because he said, it wasn't technically a phone but a box - a talking box LOL He wanted to take a picture but it was getting dark and it was drizzling. Perfect timing and weather for your car to breakdown.

He talked to someone, they said they'll send the nearest Patrol Car (which happened to be a few minutes away at the scene of the accident we just passed LOL) They examined the car, said it was something else that was the trouble. Finally, we decided we can't go on like this forever and so we asked them the rates for towing. P1,200 up to the nearest exit which was Pulilan. P4,200 up to the end of the NLEX, further than that, they charge more of course. hmm.. so that kept us thinking LOL

And so we thought. And the solution at that time was to call Sharon (my sister) and have Jowell (her husband) tow us back to Manila by any means necessary LOL But that didn't pan out because as the Patrol guys said, only the accredited towing service of NLEX is allowed to tow vehicles there. The option was, we get towed to Pulilan have them pick us up there and then use the McArthur Highway to get back to Manila. So that was our option. Better, P1,200 than P4,200 LOL

When the towing service came, it was from AAP or the Automobile Association of the Philippines.. Woohoo!! We were members which meant we didn't have to pay the P1,200!! hahahah one less problem solved LOL

They towed us to Pulilan and they recommended a car shop who can probably fix Stanley. By that time, Sharon and her family arrived in Pulilan too and Jowell was there at the shop with a watchful eye.

They replaced the left wheel with the spare tire. They fiddled with something. Jowell test drove it. It seemed to work fine. So we were off, no towing necessary but we were running at 40km/hr on the shoulder of the road because it was still wiggling. The steering kept fighting with Patrick.

We arrived at the house around 12. The kids were tired. We were tired but we arrived safe though not so sound LOL In our stress, we even landed on the truck lane at the exit tollgate because we were concentrating on every sound and move that Stanley was making, we didn't notice that the lanes were widening LOL

Monday morning, we took Stanley to my aunt's vulcanizing shop and one look at Stanley's underside and we saw the problem. The CV joints were busted. Not the tie rod, not the wheels. The CV joints were blown out, bearings gone, it was a surprise they didn't break off too, the mechanic said. Got those parts replaced from Banawe (original parts for P3,000) each.. expensive but at least they're not surplus.

And Stanley was as good as new.. well sort of :) Here are the pictures, forgive them if they're dark LOL
The Towing Truck

Preparing to get Stanley on the truck

Stanley on the truck. As Dana said, Stanley has his own driver now :)

Dana's Card Grades

Well, the time is now to see Dana's card grades. To be honest, I wasn't really worried or anything because I've already seen the results of her exams. I was actually more worried about her Filipino (learning to speak and read Filipino class) because as you know, English is her first language.

But lo and behold, her Filipino is higher than her Math grade!! LOL It's not that she's not brilliant in Math. I saw her exams and I asked her why she didn't answer the test questions correctly because I know she knew the right answers. She told me, she was getting bored from having to answer all of the questions and she didn't read any of the instructions anymore LOL That is quite understandable seeing as this is her first time doing tests like this in school. I did tell her that the first time is the only "excusable" time.. the next time, I won't be so forgiving (hmm.. that sounded ominous) LOL

Anyway, the red numbers are the actual grades that she got.

Trip to Tagaytay and Enchanted Kingdom

August 29-30, 2009

First of all, let me greet Den, my niece a Happy 18th Birthday!!! It is on her account that we're going out of town because we want to celebrate her 18th Birthday in style :)

So we chose Tagaytay as our destination for three reasons. First, we've never been there as a family and staying overnight. Second, it was on the way to Enchanted Kingdom where we'll be spending the next day at. Patrick got free tickets again as part of Enchanted Kingdom's media blitz. And, Third, we reserved a room at the Days Hotel Tagaytay because we wanted to test the discount card that I was a member of. For P3K annual membership, we get 30%-40% discounted rates at Days Hotel rooms nationwide and the same goes for their affiliate hotels.



Our first stop during our trip, believe it or not, was for lunch at the Rose and Grace Restaurant along the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Highway. For P1K+ we got our fill of Bulalo, Beef Steak, Lechon Kawali, a Tower of Nestea Iced Tea and 2 orders of Fresh Lumpia and bowls of rice! :D Not bad!! and Great Tasting too!!

It was just in time for checking in when we were done so we headed to the Days Hotel Tagaytay where we were booked at their Deluxe Room. There was 1 King Sized Bed, a couch that turns into an extra bed and our very own jacuzzi in the bathroom!! All for P4650 (inclusive of 10% surcharge). Oh and there was a balcony/terrace where you get to hang out and enjoy the scenic view of the mountain.


We then headed to Tagaytay Picnic Grove because we heard that there was horseback riding there and we wanted the kids to experience that. So off we went!! And sure enough, there were horses there, you can tell by the stench! LOL My allergies started acting up LOL But all for the kids so I soldiered on LOL For P200, 2 people can ride one horse for an hour. It's a boring one hour because they only get to go around in circles in a paddock type of field. For an additional P150, you supposedly get an adventure tour (but we didn't try that out). The kids enjoyed it though :)


After that, we went looking for the Zipline and Cable area. Arfie recommended this bit so thanks to her :) That was an awesome adventure!! Den and I decided to try the zipline. You are suspended from these zipline cables. You choose to lie flat or to sit (we chose to lie flat it was more exciting that way!) and you're zipping across the mountain. It was a rush, a scary, but exhilarating rush!! So we went both ways because it was tiring to go back up the trail on foot hahahaha The kids, Ate Mel and Patrick went on the cable car which will take the same route only on a much sedate pace. Dylan was pretending there was a dinosaur hiding in the trees LOL So that was a worthwhile experience :)




After all that excitement, we all trooped to the swimming pool at the hotel even though it was pretty cold so we didn't stay long. We then spent a long time in the jacuzzi LOL that was something :)


Time for bed!! We have an early day because we still have to go to Enchanted Kingdom :) But we still managed to sneak in a dip in the pool hahaha


And that was our trip to Tagaytay:


Our trip to Enchanted Kingdom is pretty much a rehash of what went on the last time.. Full of rides but since there were more people at the park, there were long lines and it wasn't really that much fun. I did have a chance to get a foot reflexology and whole body massage at Enchanted.. and it was heaven!! LOL You just don't know how long I've wanted to experience that ! LOL



For more pictures (and there are many!) just click here:

It's a good thing it was a 3-day weekend. We needed one day to rest before school and office started again LOL

Trip to Enchanted Kingdom

August 2, 2009 - So the day has finally arrived for our trip to Enchanted Kingdom. The kids surprisingly enough were easy to wake up for our early drive. At first, we weren't sure if the event was going to be postponed because the weather wasn't exactly ideal. But we still pushed on because it's Enchanted Kingdom!!! LOL

Den was going to follow from school with her friends because they had a test scheduled on the same day. We just met her and her friends at the gate when they arrived. Ate Mel unfortunately got left behind because she was feeling under the weather. Too bad.

Let's hope there's another break for us!





When we got there, we headed straight for the Karting area because the competition was about to start. It was fun and looked exciting and I wanted to try it too hahaha After the first lap was done, Patrick qualified yahoo!!!


























I'll just give you the highlights of the rides the kids went on. The Grand Carousel, The Dodge 'em (bump cars), the Roller Skater, the Giant Ferris Wheel, the Jungle Log Jam, the Rio Grande Rapids and other rides for kids :)

The kids also got their face painted, ran around in the kids' playground, watched "Journey to the Center of the Earth" in 4D.

At the end of the day, we all took a picture with Eldar the Wizard and a lovely maiden :) We all ended up changing clothes because when riding the Rapids, expect to get wet, wet, wet!! hahahaha

It was a good day! It was a fun day!! Dana can't stop talking about the Jungle Log Jam!