Summer Sweetwater Fun in Morong Bataan

Summer time started last March for all of us.  And what fun way to have it than go to the beach. 3 years ago we went to Morong at Phi Phi Beach, I already suggested that we go to Sweetwater but my sibs opted to go to PhiPhi so I just kept the idea for next time. Next time came years later when hubby wanted to go to the beach for his birthday with the Regalado peeps. It was Alvin's 35th birthday and he has promised to bring his family to the beach, since uhmmm ewan matagal na hahaha, and there's no greater opportune than this year because his kuya went home to visit.

Sweetwater

I got the number from their FB site, I inquired about their rates and how to get there. Following is the direction I got from Paolo, the one who answered my queries, he gave me a number - 09182981078 to call or text but when I needed some answers she - Rose- cant be contacted so i decided to bug him instead. Apparently the one I am communicating is the owner of the resort, I hope she didnt get a reprimand.

Here's his text verbatim:

Directions 

1. Either you take the more scenic route, via San Fernando and along the National Highway (you'll pass through San Fernando, Bacolor, Guaga, Lubao and Dinalupihan), or via the SCTEX which pretty much gets you to Subic quicker. 
2. From Subic, follow the signs pointing to Ocean Adventure. This road will take you past the airport, FedEx, and lead you towards the Morong Gate. The drive towards the Morong Gate will see you passing a fire station to your right. 
3. Exit Morong gate and drive straight through, following signs for Anvaya Cove. You will encounter a fork in the road, with the main road going up the mountain, and the road to Subic Sweet Water (and other small resorts) will be going down to your right. The Tarp they have at this juncture is torn so keep your eyes peeled. You'll pass a small church to your right, and come upon a gate with the Subic Sweet Water resort tarp. Enter the gate, drive straight through. There you are!


Now that I've seen some of the blogs about the place, it is pretty much the same as the direction from JCBulatao's blog. Errr it's not pretty much the same, it is uhmmm the same!!!

For Subic first timers, you might be needing some more help for directions, here you go:
- You have toll fees at NLEX which will depend what gate you will enter. We went into Pulilan toll gate and our fee was 140 more or less.
- Go Exit at the last Gate, you need to get past Dau, then go straight to SCTex gate. DO NOT turn right to the flyover as that will take you inside Clark Airbase.
- SCTex toll from clark north to Tipo is 161. Once you reach Tipo exit, you are 30 minutes away from your destination. Note: You'll find civilization (haha) and a crossing where one goes straight and one goes right leading to Duty Free shops area, just go straight as that road is easier, but if you need to buy food or chips then turn right and  drop by Puregold :)
- Now you will just need to follow road signs that will lead you to Morong Gate or yes Ocean Adventure until you find a path that leads to both Ocean and Morong, choose Morong path

Today is May and I prolly forgot all those tips I had in mind when we were going there. So just relax and enjoy the ride dont stress too much. Oh btw DO NOT overspeed, at crossroads you need to STOP the car they follow first stop first go rule and follow the speed limit!

Also, you will have to look out for this church. I was looking for a typical spanish inspired (baroque?) older church so I missed this, thinking it's just a simple building and not a church. My bad for not reading, lumampas kami tuloy haha.

Some 5 - 10 meters (I am no engineer so dont shoot me if my estimate is not accurate) away from the church is this gate to your right that's the path to the haven. No tarp on it, we just asked the passing manong, ehem management! And btw, the picture below was taken while we are going out of the gate.

Oh, I haven't told you any about the place. We went there March 30 then went back again April 9, so that meant we had a great time. The place is private and the shore is wide, the kids had sooo much fun. Us, the adults, had a fun fun time too. If you come during peak seasons the rates are non-negotiable, so if it's non peak... go figure :)

extra:

no signal for globe subscribers, they only have signal for Smart and on certain areas only.

bring mosquito repellant for babies, the biggest house got so many but the next big house doesnt.

aircon on the big house is good, the ac at the next house arent working well.
the water ain't sweet haha :)

sand is fine and kid friendly

there were sheep pen in the area, fun for the kids to see

if you plan to ride a boat that's P100 per head for the big boat, it can carry 15 people but you can also opt to rent a small boat for 300, make tawad and you can have it at 200, per hour, that's what we did and we had fun rowing the boat.

do not park under a coconut tree ;P

6th!

And we are 6!

I am blessed with a man who can put up to my crazy quirks, while last year was planned and a lil fancy, this year was spontaneous and fun. We head to Manila Saturday May 17 a day shy of our anniversary because we go to church on Sundays. On the way we settled we'll go to Luneta, yep the park hahaha. But first I asked him to stop at Philippine Christian Bookstore in West Avenue, I bought a Casting Crown CD for my guy. I got ecstatic too seeing all those beautiful books, some are on sale for only P10! Some books, I took mental note to search in the web or libraries as they can be uhmmm pricey.

Time after PCBS was 12:00, guess where we needed to go? Lunch ofcourse (a hungry stomach will spoil the fun so fill my tummy first will yah). So we headed to timog to look for a resto, good thing we had eaten at home because most of the restaurants are full, no parking until we reached Tramway! There's available space and it looks promising. But promises are made to be broken hahaha. The place is a buffet eat all you can for 200 (?) or was it 180. Alvin was leading me to the other restaurant - italian  - hmmm they dont have rice except for risotto so i refused and decided to stay at the waiting area. Besides it feels like HK Tramway, The Peak, they must be nice (so i thought). Oh well, we felt like we went to a fiesta, coz we have to line up to the buffet area, but I got my rice and I had watermelon shake and I'm happy! Verdict by both of us: Not for anniversaries hehe.

Off to Luneta after eating lunch. Waze ON to ask for direction and it didnt fail. Saw places I havent seen for quite some time, Espana, Quiapo, Manila, felt good to see them again. My request was to ride a Kalesa, horse drawn mini size carriage and a picture at Rizal Shrine. Did I get it? You bet. Major ooopsy, kalesa ride is 250 per 30 minutes. That's 500 an hour. You need to be clear on that one, as they will scheme and take you to places and tell you history so you'll spend more time riding. It was 2 in the afternoon and we probably added more melanin in our skin. It was hot but I didnt complain how could I when the husband who I know was suffering from the unpleasant smell of the horse that pulls us was even eager to give my request. Make that requests, as he also took a picture of me in front of Rizal's monument kahit mainit na mainit!!!

We thank our dear Lord for blessing us with 6 years of marriage. A partnership to parent two beautiful and awesome kids. A union of two individuals whose goal is to live a life for Christ.

To my husband,
_____________
Love,
Em

(No words can describe how I feel for you. Haha corny ba? )

extra photo for yah

PS

Next day, we went to Hapag Restaurant at Malolos to have merienda. It was featured at KrisTV and we got curious. Verdict: Nice place, good food, service wasnt fast but crew was pleasant, value for money is excellent.

Our Family's Leader!

Sometimes you will just realize that things in your life has been perfectly orchestrated by your Creator in answer to your prayers.

I prayed for a husband who will love me and accept my family as is. I prayed for a man who will be strong to whom I can depend on. Someone who will take responsibility for our family's spiritual growth - a Christian and will be a good father to my children (back then I was thinking of the number 4, preference changed btw hahaha).

Before we got married, I had my list, http://i-am-me-nyem.blogspot.com/2007/05/long-live-jumong.html that was during no bf days. (The guy must have read and and one day found the gap on his front teeth repaired, hahaha.)The nice teeth part is a criteria all right but that's not everything why I married him. We dated a lot, as in every night A LOT! Doesnt want to take chances eh? But really he's about to go abroad for work and he cant waste time. I was happy to have company but was scared to say yes to a relationship especially to an LDR. Also I came from a previous one and I dont want him to think he's just a rebound, besides I was like 27 then and the next relationship should be THE ONE.

Midweek service at Bread of Life Ministries in Greenbelt 1 helped me a lot to get myself going.  We were dating then and he asked if he could come. I said yes and was pretty much sizing him up if he's really doing it to seek Christ or if he is just doing it to please me. Sorry naman but I need to guard myself too. But  I remember Ate Mai told me years before tht if it will make someone know Christ, the initial reason for attending church wouldnt be an issue, - a bystander, sabit lang o naligaw doesnt matter, - as long as he will hear God's word and open his heart.

Here's a man who has received Christ as Saviour when we were still in college (not through me) the seed was there and bit by bit it grew, he met Christian friends -God led him to Christian programmer friend Dennis who told him to read the book of John-, some setbacks here and there but little by little he found himself searching.

Fast forward we got married had a baby, moved to Brunei and it was there where his spiritual life blossomed. Didnt I tell you I love Brunei??? There he was baptised, there he longed to hear His word and there his relationship with Jesus grew.

I thank God for a giving us a man who leads us to Him, who strives hard to understand His Word and keep it.

Yes, he's still a work in progress but aren't we all?

Tagaytay 2013

Tagaytay

December out of town destination should be somewhere cococo coooold. We scheduled our 3day 2 nights vacation a day after Christmas. We were still high from the festivities yet the next day we were off for some more bonding time. Who wouldn't love December eh?

So 7am of December 26th the Regalado's were bound to SLEX Sta Rosa with a little help of technology aka "waze"we were able to get to our hotel at around 11am. That was hours before check in time the hotel is packed and they couldn't accommodate us immediately. So we went ahead on our "to go list" and checked Picnic Grove because that's the one near the hotel. We had lunch already so that would have made us all ready but the little girl was a little disoriented with the change of routine, it took a while before she became at ease with the area. Thanks to the bouncers for rent, do u call it bouncers haha those big air filled castles you jump on? We left after an hour because it was sooo hot and we thought we're going to a cold place! Alvin was already thinking if he will be able to use his jacket, the newly bought blue nike jacket hahaha! It is still 2 hours before we could check in, and hubby asked me what else was on the list. I haven't diligently planned for the trip. I just made bullets where I want to go and see but I dont know which one is located near each other. So I just ask him to drive.

On the street "Puzzle Mansion this way" signs were plenty. And it was on the list! Hubby said the reviews says it is not quite nice but I insisted - how could you not miss THE SIGNS, haha parang I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes lang yan. Each sign made me wonder what's with this mansion with super dami advertisement saying it was now in the Guiness Book of Records! Going there hubby had a hard time driving, we don't know the place and we're just following 'the signs' hahaha.

This way to Puzzle Mansion it says then there was this steep road I can't give you a proper picture but it was waaaay steep I had to ask Nene to hold the kids tight. There were men guarding the way so traffic wont be a problem, driving na lang! With all the driving challenge I was really hoping the Mansion would be great kahit good na lang. We got there and no Mansion in sight just an array of jigsaw puzzles on a building structure which I think was small to fit the collection. In fairness to the lady her stuff were awesome but showcasing them like that understates their value. Plus plus plus naming it Mansion is not appropriate, it just dont fit,even a Manor wont do. "Sangkaterba Puzzle" would be best haha but that won't be good for marketing eh? We stayed for like 30 min and went back to hotel. Off to the steep road again haha.

On our way to hotel we dropped by at Bag of Beans for some pastries and Banana Chips. That made the trip because the bread was good and I was feeling hungry na din! Past 1 we arrived at One Tagaytay Place and I asked if we could check in, we could! yipityyey!!!

The theme of the trip is to Recreate and Relax. So Relax it was at the hotel's suite :) The kids enjoy the spacious room, add to the fun was the receiving area where they could watch whatelse but Disney junior! My tummy asked for a little food so we ordered from the resto. We had adobo and was that beef??? Yummy both! Hunger relieved.

Around 4:30pm we got ourselves ready for our Taal Vista coffee trip :) Non hotel guests need to go (drink) to the coffee shop to go to their viewing area. Thea had FUN!!! Making Alvin more regretful that we didnt checked in there. I just have to remind him that our 2 nights stay in one tagaytay place is equivalent to one night at Taal Vista and that's not even a suite. His argument was clear naman once you look at the delightful girl's face, it was priceless.

Day 2 was Sky Ranch and Caleruega day! The plan was to go to Sky Ranch early that way we can avoid long queues but lo the girl had a different plan. I went ahead to buy the tickets while they wait inside the car- Sky Ranch doesn't have a ride all you can ticket yet so you need to buy tickets for each ride (imagine that), also understand that there were only two ticket booths for all the rides (IMAGINE THAT!) that explains the EARLY i planned ahead to save time. When I told them they could go in and play around the area while I line up the girl doesnt want to enter the gate. Thinking piggy back would save the day the daddy offered his back to his daughter but the girl just doesnt want to go inside the amusement park. I was still hopeful though and bought the tickets, 1300 worth tickets and went back to the car fingers crossed. Inside the car the air was stiff haha, the tired guy with an aching back wants to go somewhere else, and I was like "Sayang ang 1300" . Change of plans, we'll go back to the park once its dark na  and the dancing lights are on, that way (hopefully) Thea would go inside.

To Caleruega then we went as planned. Good thing I asked the mommy forum about it, they were raving about the place and reminded me to bring lunch on our way because there's nowhere to buy food. Caleruega is in Nasugbu batangas, a 45-60 minute ride from Sky Ranch. The place was far alright, we passed by Antonio's and vowed we will eat there on our way back. Waze helped us find the place - btw this is not an ad for waze hehe. So there almost an hour later we reached the place. It is a Dominican retreat center with a beautiful church on the hill and a very nice garden perfect for weddings if you were a Catholic. The church looks nice - the old not scary feel nice. We didnt go in but went straight to the park/garden with sorta maze to view those big fish haha what do u call them again - the anaconda type fish bigger than Leb? Thea had sooo sooo much fun in Caleruega. Not much people, big garden and the place is cold enough for her. And there wasnt any entrance thing for each of us just a minimal fee for our car, isnt it great tipid na enjoy pa si Thea! Did Caleb enjoy the place? Oh yes he did, he can walk a little by then and he had fun walking/running at the garden too.

Caleruega check now we are off for some fancy food, Breakfast at Antonio's, Caleb was sleeping and Thea was tired and they were inside the car so I and hubs went down to see the place. It was full packed and he was like can we order for take out instead? And I didnt like the idea because the food i bet is pretty expensive because of the place itself if we'll order for take out i think it isnt worth it. So we left and I had in my mind that next time we will be able to eat there with Thea and Caleb sitting quietly eating their food and not us following them around or taking turns which one will eat first - the parents of Toddlers and kids dillemma.

To our hotel room we were at 4pm. The kuripot in me was like " Sayang P1300" hahaha, I just couldnt get over it! But the kids and all of us are tired na. Caleb slept, one baby down! The girl was busy coloring, oh she has crayons courtesy of the hotel. Night before she wasnt feeling sleepy as she wasnt use to the place we were up till late night or early dawn I guess, me drawing the backyardigans characters who I thought I already know how to draw. On one of the papers I draw Pablo and pointed it out to her and said "Who's this" and she said matter of factly "Snowman" her dad cracked up big time, and I was like "Sige nga ikaw magdrawing" with that he tried not to laugh na but yes he just couldnt stop hahaha. Looking at my drawing, yes pablo was chubby and sure look a lot like snowman. Lesson? Do not ask a child with people around if you arent sure your drawing isnt worth an A+

Around 6pm we were thinking where we could eat. Made a deal that if Thea wants to go inside Sky Ranch we'll go but if she doesnt then we'll have to give away the tickets. On our way to the park I was praying, sana pumasok sana sumakay kahit sa Eye lang! And was my prayer answered? Oh yes it was and more! We were able to ride the plane, the carousel, the ship and the Eye of course! We had to go home because it was getting cold and dark besides the mission was already accomplished. We had 4 more tickets left the not so expensive ones and that I am willing to let go. I saw a girl and gave it to her, we made a girl and her family happy!

Next day, our last in Tagaytay was pasalubong buko pie "Colette's" specifically requested by Tatay E and fruits. We also bought a Sunflower plant (died after a month), but it was really pretty and it was calling me asking me to buy her since day 1. We are on our way home by 11am, traffic going to Tagaytay was getting heavy it was a Saturday and maybe they will spend the entire holiday till New Year there but us - we were glad to go home!

A fun family bonding it was for all of us. The last travel hurrah of our family for 2013.

(dont know what happened with the background. sorry i cant fix them na. i already used my time writing. havent even edited haha. so there )