Date: 08 July 2008

Here I am again, doing another round of “Wordy Wednesday.” July 08 - 12 was a great vacation for me and mom because we were invited by Uncle Pete to come with them and their family their hometown in Bolinao, Pangasinan. It would be a very, very long story with so many pictures to share, so in the coming days, expect stories from that great vacation. It was just a bummer that sister wasn’t able to come with us because she can’t take a leave in school, but anyway, mom and I really had a great time.

Uncle Pete went here in our house around lunch time to pick us up. Using their family vehicle, we went to their house first because his family wasn’t ready yet. By 3PM, it was time to hit the road. Being the one near the window of the car, I, of course took some pictures, and here’s the first set of pictures from the vacation:

This was taken in Pampanga, by the highway. I just love seeing a little deserted road. =)

As we approach the next province, Tarlac, this bridge is just something I want to take pictures of, and because we were on a moving vehicle, it was hard to focus on the bridge. This picture was a bit slanted, but I was happy I was able to capture the bridge. Oh I love bridges!

Still in Tarlac, this one caught my attention, and was fortunate to take a shot of. I have been passing this road every time I go north (and back home, too), but I think it was just this time that I was able to see it. Either I was sitting on the other side, or I was sleeping on the road. =)

When we reach the first town of Pangasinan, we did a little break at this gas station. When we saw a hut with table and chairs, we decided to eat dinner first. Good thing I cooked some fried chicken and rice for us to take. Actually, we had all sorts of snacks in the car, but nothing beats a “real” dinner with rice. After the dinner, we carried on with the trip.

Two hours after, we reached Bolinao! My maternal family lives in Santiago Islands, so we had to take a boat from the main land to the island. Uncle Arthur (Aunt Mary’s husband - the one in the back of the picture) waited for us in the port, but we had to take two different boats. The bigger one had mom (in black bonnet), Uncle Pete (the one in black jacket closest to the picture), Aunt Mely (in green), cousin Catleya (in yellow), and Uncle Arthur. With them were all our baggages. The much smaller boat had me, cousins Melissa and Gabby, and the driver. The driver and Uncle Pete had to get back to Manila early the next day, so they stayed in Aunt Mary and Uncle Arthur’s “house” (they live in the middle of the sea because they work as care taker of one of the fish cages in the area. The rest of us went to sleep in Aunt Rosa’s house.

It was a very tiring trip, but the time we spent with each other was just great. I don’t really get to spend some time with them (Uncle Pete and family), so I wanted to be close with them even for just a few days before they all go to the US in the days to come.

*** Jenn ***