"i came ... i saw ... i conquered"
My favourite thing is to go where I've never been. -- Diane Arbus

One of my life's goals is to see the beauty this world has to offer ... and if travelling is the only way to reach that goal, then so be it. Just give me a good destination and together with my travel buddies and my trusty camera, we'll make time for it and we'll be there...if you're as interested, come join me and see the world through my eyes .... ENJOY!!!

please touch museum

please touch museum, philadelphia, pa.

(coming soon)

...appreciating God's wondrous paradise...

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | | 6 Comments  

I ♥ NY

manhattan, new york.

(coming soon)

...appreciating God's wondrous paradise...

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | | 0 Comments  

a weekend in kentucky

louisville, kentucky.

(coming soon)

...appreciating God's wondrous paradise...

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | | 0 Comments  

the sweetest place on earth

hershey, pa. originally called Derry Church, Pennsylvania but was later on renamed Hershey in 1906 after the growing popularity of Hershey's Chocolate. it is the home of hershey park and the hershey chocolate world, to name a few. it has hershey's kisses as street lights and has very delicious street names.  it is also called chocolatetown, USA and is of course known as the sweetest place on earth!

we went to hershey last winter 2009 to see the hershey's chocolate world. it is not exactly where chocolates are made but they have a ride that brings you to a simulated chocolate factory, it smells like chocolate inside!! and they show you how many are made in a day, etc .... and you get your picture taken at the end ... smile at the COW...click!! my son got to be a factory worker and got his ID. this was good because he actually participated and had fun. he's always been the shy kid (just like mommy, haha)  
      also , you get to see ALL, and i mean ALL the chocolates that was ever made, from how it looked before and it how it looks now. they also have a 3D show, just an entertaining cartoon show in 3D, a parade of all the chocolate (mascots), and of course a big store with hershey shirts, cups, mugs, pillows ... the works!!
   it's a fun and quick visit good for half a day, or more. it is close to hershey park which is again another fun stop and hershey zoo is nearby. you can ride a trolley and see the main historic area.

   hershey park is an amusement park with lots of fun and scary rides ... i had my first (and i would say, last) experience with "scary rides". we rode the STORM .... whew! it was so fast, it's done in 45 seconds ... you sit tight, wait for the countdown ... and ZOOOOOM, ZOOOM, ZOOOM, up and around you go!! i couldn't even shout coz i was so scared haha!! i felt myself slipping through the seats ... haha.
     
    my little boy had the scare of his life, we went on this boat ride, i didn't know it had a steep drop (for him, that is). we were in an open boat, he was scared to begin with so i had my one arm wrapped around him, we were moving slowly and ZOOOOOM down it went ... i was shocked and so was he, i wonder how my picture looked then! haha no wonder i couldn't get him to ride that boat in Disney ... ayayay!!

   overall we had fun, my fave was doing the surf-like ride, i don't know what it's called ... plus it was nice to spend an easy day with friends and family .... who knows i might get to ride the Fahrenheit next time :)  yea right
  
...appreciating God's wondrous paradise...

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | Labels: , , , | 4 Comments  

where miracles happen

... monastery of the holy eucharist. also called the simala shrine, located in simala, sibonga, cebu, philippines. it is the home of the miraculous image of Mary known for the amazing miracles granted to its devotees. it has evolved from a small "chapel" and became this grand church with an adoration chapel inside containing the image known to have shed real tears and have known to help many...including me :)

     expect a lot of people coming to this place so come very early, bring your packed lunch as they don't have any carinderias to provide food and beverage. you will be greeted with a very large image of Mary amidst very nice landscaping. The actual monastery is more than a few steps away, you can stop by a "dagkotanan" (atot unsa man sa english ba haha) and light different colored candles depending on what you are asking for (health, wealth, travel, etc)
 
     i went here with a group of my closest friends (year 2008), we left very early on a v-hire (o i miss riding a v-hire, it runs so fast, you'll get to where you want to be without even knowing it haha). everybody brought their lunch, they have cottages that you can eat in, you would have to bring your own water too though but the place is airy and comfortable enough to enjoy a good meal.

    they have different chapels, it is very solemn in there. you are not allowed to take pictures of the image inside the chapel nor are you allowed to make any noise. you fall in line to see the image, if possible drop a donation, and pray truthfully, deeply, with tears if necessary, and just say what you need. Mary is known to catholics as a very good intercessor of prayers since she is the mother of our Lord and is known to have asked Jesus to perform his very first miracle (the wedding in Cana) ... objections, reactions, violent reactions allowed :)

parking is not that easy so again, come early. the visit shouldn't last that long if you come at the right time where the lines are manageable, you can even attend their mass i think at 12:00nn it was. and after that, you can rest your worries and enjoy the rest of the afternoon, travelling back to wherever you're from and maybe posing for a picture to keep memories of good times documented :)


...appreciating God's wondrous paradise...

Saturday, February 06, 2010 | Labels: , | 2 Comments  

a step back in time

... pennsylvania rennaisance faire. PAREF, occurs 12 weekends and runs from August to October at Mount Hope Estate and Winery in Manheim, Pennsylvania.  

     located an hour away from where we are, we headed to see knights, pirates, kings, queens and everything rennaisance. Restrooms were labeled milady and milord. people were in costumes and spoke with that "english" accent. we watched actual glass being blown into nice, various shapes. i had my fill of celtic rings. we watched a jousting tournament, we failed to play chess in their BIG chessboard (this is where you are the actual game pieces).

   we experienced our very first elephant ride, had our first Turkey leg, watched a very entertaining acrobat show (although i won't say the acrobats in our regular "perya" aren't as good); we saw stuff from the movie Pirates of the Carribean, there was a big, red pirate ship with pirates of course ... ahoy matey!!  and watched the Queen make her royal walk round the estate grounds.

the visit will take about a little over half a day. lots of food and beer, lots of shows to watch, with stores and items that are very interesting. if you are into these things, you would surely enjoy, it's like stepping back in time and being in a whole new world.


...appreciating God's wondrous paradise...

Saturday, February 06, 2010 | Labels: , , | 2 Comments  

strawberries everywhere

...strawberries. a bright red fruit enjoyed fresh or prepared (jams, pies, shakes, ice cream), very expensive back home if you buy it in groceries, very fresh if you buy it in Baguio (that is if you want to travel that far), we usually dip it in sugar. here, they actually have a strawberry festival ... see, i get curious easily and so off we go strawberry picking and going to the strawberry festival fair!!

June, I think it was, the strawberry festival ... we had to go and taste strawberry shortcake. i've only heard of this as that cartoon character strawberry shortcake (you know her! that girl with a big fluffy, chef-looking, pink, strawberry of a hat!) -- and now i have the chance to actually taste strawberry shortcake (homemade style) and not the commercial type. i like those original recipes, they always seem better tasting to me. And so we went ... and as you can see, i got my strawberry shortcake fix :)

The experience will not be complete though, until we get to strawberry farm and pick our own strawberries ... and so the day after off we went again. you go to the farm (where we got our pumpkins but not the apples) on a hayride. strawberries, strawberries everywhere, big and small ... the smaller ones are sweeter .... we got ourselves a ton of strawberries.... oh i tell ya, we've been eating strawberries for more than a week, and after that, i think i've had enough strawberries to last me until this year's festival!!

...appreciating God's wondrous paradise...

Saturday, February 06, 2010 | Labels: , , , | 2 Comments  

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About Me

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i am filipino, proud of my origin ... i have been blessed to be working in the US; i have my hubby and my little boy with me and every weekend (almost!) we try to do something interesting...whether it be in our town, a few miles away, more than a few miles, nearby states or (once or twice) even a plane ride away ....

Followers


my travel magnet collection

when the travel bug hits me...i go

my favorite travel buddies

home is where the heart is, miss u all

four parks, one world

TO DO LIST

* to watch a broadway show, phantom of the opera in new york
* to go on a cruise to the carribean
* to see the great wall of china
* to go to vegas
* to see the grand canyon in arizona
* to go to california
* to see the rock formations in utah
* to see the white dunes in colorado
* to see the alamo in texas
* to go to hawaii
* to see mt. rushmore in south dakota
* to go on a cruise to alaska
* to go to australia
* to go to new zealand
* to try sky diving (but not bungee)
* to go para sailing
* to ride a hot air balloon
* to ride a helicopter
* to go to capitancillo, bogo
* to go to boracay and have my own sand castle
* to go to palawan and do the underground cave tour
* to go to hongkong disneyland with my niece
* to go back to disneyworld with my kuyas and their families
* to go to paris, see the eiffel tower
* to go to italy, see the leaning tower of pisa
* to go to rome, see the coliseum
* to go to greece, see the parthenon
* to see the taj mahal
* to go to dubai
* to see the pyramids in egypt
* to see the stonehenge
* to go to korea
* to see the taj mahal (not the hotel!)

writing things down is taking that first step to getting things DONE!