ang 1st field trip ni JB sa Zoobic Safari ng Subic

ang aga naming gumising!

wala pang alas-3 ng madaling araw (19 December 2006, Tuesday) tumayo na ko at ipinagpatuloy ang paghahanda ng mga baon namin ni JB para sa field trip ng school nila sa Subic. pagdating ko galing work the other night kunting pahinga at dinner then sinimulan ko nang inihanda ang mga kakailanganin ng 1stborn ko. mga chichirya like pringles and cheese puffs, iced tea, purified water, caps for the 2 of us, extra clothes (just in case he'll get too excited and get all sweaty and dirty, at i also heard they may have some swimming kaya...). haay naku! if you've seen how much we took with us matatawa ka! para kaming magbabakasyon ng 3 days! well a mom's just gotta take some precautions (or mga "just in case") di ba? mga what if's > ka-linya lahat yan! hehehe

so groggy me, fried some chicken legs and breasts, some hotdogs, and packed some steamed rice, them mixed some dipping sauce. i was alarmed afterwards kasi magpo-4AM na! at rendezvous time is at 4AM! Lagot! so, ginising ko agad si Jb and let him shake off his "inaaantok pa" phase in about 5 minutes then i dragged him to his bath.

we almost didn't make it! the rendezvous place was changed! my son of course did not let it sink in my tired brain when i got home the night before. well, fortunately the seats were assigned if not we would have been given aisle seats!

i let JB have the window seat 'coz i thought he'll enjoy the trip more while looking at the passing scenery.

well of course the bus was full of gradeschoolers and their moms, dads, yayas, and some teachers. there were about 7 airconditioned tourist buses in the convoy to Subic. at 1st the kids were all excited they were trying to see who can stand longer while the bus is running, lots of endless chatter, like where is this and that, yaddi, yaddi, yadda!

the convoy stopped at a watering hole a compound with mini-grocery, fastfood huts, and comfort rooms for travellers. small huts are there for free where the travellers can eat their meal or baon. after almost an hour, we went on to Subic, this time everybody in the bus were wide awake, everybody was excited to reach Subic!

upon arriving in Subic, the tour guides were fetched then we went straight to the Zoobic Safari.

haaay! empanada!

isa sa mga na-miss ko talaga ay ang empanada!

sorry sa kung sino mang makakabasa pero talagang nangangasim ako at naglalaway pag naaalala ko kung gaano kasarap ang empanada!

kaya sa unang hapon namin sa Solsona noong 24 December 2006, namasyal kami ni hubby, our kids, JB and Joy, sa town plaza. so stroll kami doon, dito, kaso nag-jam ang film. hassle nga! GUSTONG-gusto ko pa namang makakuha ng maraming pictures sa bakasyon namin doon. me slide at swing kaya syempre, nag-slide at nag-swing din ang aming panganay, gusto rin sana ni Joy noon kaso nilagnat nga sya bago kami dumating doon kaya di sya tumodo ng laro.

then lakad kami papunta sa town center. me empanada stand! at me mga luto na! ano pa?! syempre di na ko nagpatumpik-tumpik, bumili kami ng 3 piraso at puro special pa (me longanisa na me itlog pa) syempre kasama da sa take-out ang suka ti Ilocos (naimas kabsat!).

i got this empanada photo online i have yet to search from what website this was from

nagustuhan ng hubby ko at panganay yong empanada, pero siguro di pa masyadong magaling kaya ayaw noon ni Joy.

at bumili pa kami ng softdrink doon sa bakery nina Lola Lita (Guillermo, better half ni Lolo Manning Guillermo).

kumakain kami ng empanada at sumisipsip ng softdrink (chuckie kay JB at Joy) habang naglalakad pauwi. doon kami kay aunty Pilar tumuloy, nire-rent nya ang bahay nina Mrs. Cayetano doon sa abagatan ilang hakbang lang mula sa Central School.

medyo madilim na nong makauwi kami. ok lang at least nakakain kami ng empanada!

unang trip ng mga kids namin sa Ilocos

hindi masyadong planado, pero excited pa rin kami (me, my husband, our kids -JB (7 yrs. old son) and Joy (2 yrs. old daughter), plus the yaya).

we started our trip from our small house in Dasmariñas, Cavite. we started early 'coz we're supposed to board the bus (maria de leon) at its main station which is just behind the UST.

I saw to it na we got out of the house at 3pm just in case na ma-traffic. sus! super traffic that evening! pano 23 December 2006 kasi! lahat gusto makalabas ng Metro tapos me function pa sa PICC that time kaya super congested ang daan pa-Sampaloc thru Roxas-Lawton-Quiapo!
sayang lang ang reservations namin and my cousin (lanie) went ahead 'coz its hard to get a seat during the peak season.

fortunately we know somebody who works at de leon and that was Rene (aka negro) but out of respect i just can't call him that, the man is ok naman. he was able to secure 3 seats for us on an aircon bus to Laoag, which is ok we can board a jeep naman to Solsona. fortunately the jeepney terminal to Solsona was a stone's throw from the de leon bus station.

during the trip our kids are a bit cranky and excited. our bunso, was really with fever and she threw up on us(specially me!) throughout the trip until we reach La Union (past midnight). JB kept on asking if Ilocos is near na. hay! nakakapagod sumagot 'coz he kept on asking the same question throughout the trip!

while the bus we were in was rolling into the La Union station, we saw Lanie inside the bus to Solsona and she was waving. Her bus was about to roll out of the station, then. so i called her and asked if maybe we can transfer to her bus in Laoag, that is if our bus can catch up to her bus!

maliwanag na when we arrived in Laoag, and Lanie's bus was nowhere to be seen, so we decided to take the jeepney to Solsona instead. all groggy, we walked the few meters to the jeepney station and had to travel for at least an hour before we reached Solsona.

this is the road to Solsona's town proper (the highway) ganda no?

i really missed the "scent" of the air/wind in Ilocos more so in Solsona. the air is so crisp and fresh, i relish even the thought. i love looking at the fields, rivers, rice canals, pasagad, kariton, hay naku! i miss the place na naman!