HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARARING!!

HAPPY HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY

CARA!!!!


WE LOVE YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!

Love,
Daddy, Mama and Zachy.


Talk about
BDAY-EXCITED!!!

Hahahahahahahhaa!!

GLORIETTA 2 EXPLOSION

I could have died yesterday.

I pass through Glorietta 2 a lot.
Especially during lunch hour.

If the timing was right...... I would have been toast.....

My condolences go out to all the victims and their families.


Here are some pictures of the G2 explosion:


Check out Calai's Blog for her take on yesterday's events.

Gabby and Zachy's EXCELLENT Zambales Bodyboarding/Surf Adventure!!!

I've always dreamt of the day when I could bring Zachy to my favorite surf spot at Pundaquit, Zambales.

THAT DAY IS NOW!!


Conditions were super-ideal for our ZAMBA day trip yesterday.
Typhoon on the northern Part of the Philippines producing some real nice waves.

The waves break on a sandy beach so no need to worry about em' corals.
Furthermore, we picked the right place to set up camp as there was a unique channel that allowed you to paddle out to where the waves break without getting blasted.

The waves would either go right or left in the channel so basically you just had to zigzag your way out.

It was like a "WAVE-BUFFET" out there.
So many waves to choose from.

Check out these awesome vids that Mang Lito took of me spongin' in!
He got some real good video! And pics too!





The break I bodyboard on is a few clicks north of Magic at Pundaquit.
It's perfect for spongin'.

And best of all, you have the waves and the beach...
ALL TO YOURSELF!!!!
WOOHOOO!!!

I've been going to this spot for almost 3 years now.
I've been here with a host of good friends and family - Idroy, Mike G, Chez, Jose, Rafa, Sandro, Justin, JB....

But this is the first time that I brought Zachy.

And it felt so very special because I was able to have super-quality bonding time with him, as well as, spend some time doing my beloved bodyboarding hobby!!

He tried to catch waves in the morning but the waves were too strong so he retreated back up the shore to relax a bit and get some breakfast.




By around 1030am, and after many surfed waves (we got to the break early in the morning) -- Zachy, Yaya Dalia and I made some sandcastles and then headed out to the shorebreak to get pummeled by the waves which had gotten a "little" weaker.



WE HAD SO MUCH FUN just sitting there.
Laughing and laughing while getting pummeled and pummeled...

I had to swim out to get all the sand out of my ears though!

Here's a nice "pummelled action shot" of Yaya D and Zozy.
No Photoshop tricks for this one.. :)


We left the break at around 11:30 am to get grub at our regular spot..

DUDE's PIZZA



I always get something to eat at Dude's Pizza when I'm at Zambales.
It's owned by Dodo Ramos - one of the pioneers of Zambales surfing.

It was through his website that I learned that there were good waves at Zambales.

Jose, Sandro, Justin and I made the exploratory trip back in around 2004 to his resort at Crystal Beach (San Narciso, Zambales) to look for good waves.

We met up with him over at the resort

He's a real nice dude. Very friendly and accommodating.

Afterwards, Dodo and the Great Zaldo (another friendly lokal) showed us all the classic Zamba surf spots like Crystal, the UBER FUN Lahar Break, Magic.. and of course ...me fave spot .. called MAGSAYSAY!!!

He's made a lot of improvements to his resort over the years.

A lot of people go there now compared to before and that's real good for him coz'....

More PEEPS equals More BIZNESS!!

Unfortunately, he was in a retreat at Baguio when we passed by.

Sayang, wanted to introduce Zachy to him.




Anyways, we headed up to Crystal after lunch at Dude's Pizza to take a shower, relax and siesta a bit.

Here's Zachy just chillin' and singing PERFECT by Simple Plan under one of the huts.



Arg -- I got so Dang Red!!
Forgot to spread D'Suntan Lotion...




We then dozed for a bit and woke up at around 330pm to check out the goingz-on at Crystal Beach.

Mmmmmmmm.. the Siesta was so sarap!!
Especially since we brought some day beds and pillows from the house.

Bed + Pillow + Beach Hut + Beach Breeze = SLEEP HEAVEN!!!



The shores in Zambales are classified as Marine Turtle Sanctuaries.

Dodo has one at his resort.
There are three oval-shaped containers inside.
One container contains a 6 year old Marine Turtle while the other two have 4 two-year old Marine turtles.

(Hey! The turtles are about the same age as Zachy and Cara! Cool!)

The turtles are sooo cute but already kinda big!!
The 2 year-olds are almost 2 feet in length already!




Unfortunately, the shores at Crystal can be a wee bit dangerous for the kiddies at this time of year.

For example, just 3 steps from the shore. The water is up to my neck!!
And I'm like 6'4"!!


That's because of the channel that's created by the currents.

If you're not careful, and land in the channel, you can be brought out to the swirling dervish wave pit where it's real deep.


Thas why zee lifevest is so essential for the kiddies in these parts. :)



Anyways, we didn't wanna risk swimmin near the shore so we decided to head across the channel to the sandbar created by the currents.

But just as we were about to leave the water, I noticed a small single-engined propeller light plane flying extremely low coming straight towards us from the south.

It looked like it was in trouble because I've never seen a plane like that fly so low and so close to the shore.

It looked like it was trying to land or crash-land!

And it was heading straight towards us!

I hurriedly pulled Zachy up from the water and hurtled down the shore.
Expecting the plane to crash at any moment.

Everything was like in slow motion or something.....


Anyways, much to our relief, the plane whizzed by.
It was so close that I could see the pilot's face.

WHAT A @#$%^&!!!!

It continued to fly low and away towards the North.

I was so, so relieved that nothing happened to the Zozy boy.


Later on while we were playing on the sandbar.

Two more small light planes whizzed by at low altitude again from the North. Followed by another one which was probably the same one earlier.

This time I wasn't too concerned, as obviously, the pilots were doing the low altitude thing for kicks.

They were so low that I could see one of the Pilots grinning at me as he whizzed by.

I threw up my arms at him and said- "WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU??"

I'm no prude but that maneuver is too dangerous for the area with all the people and houses around.

One mistake and those pilots can kill a lot of people on the beach or those living beside it.

Lito was able to get a picture of one of the planes.

Recognize it anyone?



Haaaay Naku....

Anyways, we had a great time over at the sandbar.

There was no deep channel to worry about anymore.

Zachy took his time and tried his very best to learn to do stand-up surfing on the bodyboard.

There were some smallish waves so Zachy was able to glide forward a bit forward while standing up. :)

Some kind of a skimboarding. :)

He really likes surfing and bodyboarding.

I told him that when he gets bigger, I'll get a nice longboard for the both of us and Cara too!

Heheheheheehehe! :)

I think that would be a good justification to get the M.A.! (Mom Approval).

Hey Hon!
Whatcha think?

Puh-leeeze!!
Heheheheheehehehe!



Here are some more pics of our Excellent ZAMBA Adventure!


THANKS ZAMBA!!!!!!

ZACHY AND I HAD THE BESTEST TIME!!!!!

WE'LL BE BACK REAL SOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!

I love u....

Bwahahahahahahaha!

Yep!

Me a Weirdo...

:)




THANKS also to ROSE and CARA for preparing our abundant snacks and for letting da boyz go to Zamba!




BTW,
the THEME SONG for this trip
is Ben Harper and Jack Johnson's
awesome rendition of

"High Tide or Low Tide".
(composed by Bob Marley)


"Yes, in high seas or in low seas
I'm gonna be your friend
You know that I'm gonna be your friend
Any so in high tide or in low tide
I'll be by your side
You know that I'll be by your side........"




Thanks Giancs for the reco!!
That would be THE SONG if I were to ever make a MTV for this trip.





Ok ok ...
I was playing Big Girls Don't Cry by Fergie a lot too...
HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!

It's the Semi-Theme song...Heheheheehehehe!!






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And last but not least...

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEE BRO MAKO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Twas' on October 6)

Love ya!!


You really look FINE with a Mohawk.
Heheheheehehehehe!

:)

The Pillow

Hahahahahaahahahahaha!

Cute!!


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Thank you Tita Pixie and Tito Eric for inviting us to the party of Renzo and Raizza!

ACTIVE FUN WAS A BLAST!!!

Especially those cool slides!!
And the "ball" guns too!!

The Zachy Slide



The Cara (with Yaya) Slide



More pics here:


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The Bump Cars were fun too!
Zachy sure can drive!