Zoobic Safari and Ocean Adventure

Two (2) places you should visit at Subic when you have little kids: Zoobic Safari and Ocean Adventure.

Zoobic Safari

Entrance Fees: PhP395 for adult and PhP295 for kids above 3 feet, plus [not really] optional charges as you go along the tour. Sweet! :D The Bird Thrill. This is where the tour starts. The Rodent World (eeew! :D)

First time I ever saw camels! Wee! :D Simba!
Then off to Tiger Safari, the Zoo's main attraction! You get to choose to bring your own car to get to other parts of the park or pay PhP50 per head to experience this tiger-inspired train..hehe. The weather was so hot, so thank you, but no thanks! :D This is the jeep that will take you to the tigers! For PhP200 each, you can buy chicken to get at least one tiger to come near the jeep. Don't worry, someone will do the feeding for you. :D

This one probably just had lunch... Aetas' Trail. Here you'll be treated with tribal dance performance by Aetas living in the area.
The Dragonfly DanceThe Monkey Dance (According to our guide, si Usher daw ng Zambales..hehe)Croco Loco. If I heard it right, the zoo's collection of crocodiles all came from Palawan.

Ocean Adventure

Entrance Fees: PhP500 (adult), PhP420 (kids, regardless of height..hehe), FREE (babies..hehe uli). The place is so hot and humid so I suggest you wear comfortable clothes and bring a fan..hehe. [Thanks, Mark for taking this family photo!]Ocean Discovery Aquarium (super dooper mini version of the aquarium at Manila Ocean Park) Dolphin Friends Show
Rap, Jump and Roll. We all enjoyed this show. Sea Lion Marine Patrol

You can visit Zoobic Safari and Ocean Adventure in one whole day, but if you plan to stay overnight at Subic, you can try By The Sea Resort, which is about 10 minutes drive from SBMA. The place is located, well, by the sea (hehe), has a swimming pool, a restaurant that serves good food, and is wifi-ready.

Ondoy, Part I: Caught Unprepared

26 September 2009. Saturday morning. It was raining, fine. We were planning to bring the kids to the dentist. My niece, Xandra, went to a school in Makati to teach little kids to swim. My other niece, Trisha, went to school - she has classes. Trisha's sister, Denise, went to some institution in Marikina for their school's outreach activity. Typhoon Ondoy was just Signal No. 1, anyway. Who knew it would later wreak so much havoc in Metro Manila and nearby areas?

The rain didn't seem to want to stop, so we cancelled our appointment with the dentist. Lunchtime, it was flooding inside the house. - just ankle-deep, but it was irritating. Xandra came home late afternoon - she said she walked through thigh-deep floodwater in Makati and got stuck for hours in traffic. Tricia came home soaking wet at past 6pm. Denise and her schoolmates were stranded in Marikina - they were in a rented bus. We all thought we had a bad day until we turned on the TV and realized that we were lucky to be in the comfort of our home, thank God!

People braving neck-deep water to go home to their families. Several families (with kids!) are trapped on rooftops - wet and had little or no food to eat. Others have no more houses, can you imagine? Let's all pray for those who had to endure Ondoy's wrath and hope that everything's going to be alright soon.

The Red Wall Experience

Here's my collection of portraits of people who are close to my heart with the 'famous' (at least, to those who've experienced it :D) red wall in the background:

My eldest daughter Sofia, and her helium-filled pet Cutie-cutie :D

My youngest daughter, Tallulah My youngest brother, Mar

My eldest brother Marlon and my youngest sister Eunice :DMy second youngest brother, Martin

My second eldest brother, Mark (in his mala-Dingdong Dantes pose..haha!)

My one and only sister, Eunice My nieces, Nicole, Tricia, Sabel and Izy My nieces Mae and Lyan with Sofiamore nieces and nephews and in-laws Don't you just love those writings on the wall? :D more to follow!

"The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together." - ~Erma Bombeck