San Diego

One of the fantastic perks of our jobs is R&R. During our four years in the Philippines we are eligible for two paid trips basically anywhere, as long as it is not more expensive than a ticket to Sydney. In 2012 we went to San Diego and had such an amazing trip that we decided to go back. This time for 26 days in a rental house in Encinitas. It was a perfect home base, with Moonlight Beach and a playground just two blocks away.

After living in Manila for three years, the best part of San Diego was just being outside in the fresh cool air. In the words of this little one, "There's so much space!"

The entire family was able to spend a week together, and although it was crazy, it was really fun.

Towards the end of the trip we spent three days in Joshua Tree.

Other Highlights

Holiday Wonderland at Petco Park
Nutcracker at the Civic Theater
Garden of Lights at the San Diego Botanic Gardens
San Diego Zoo
Best fish tacos at Haggo's Organic Tacos
Siblings Brewery Tour
Sunsets at Moonlight Beach
The baby really learning how to walk
Playgrounds at Balboa Park

R&R in numbers

Mountains hiked: 5; 26 miles total
Breweries visited: 8
Miles ran: 27
Yoga classes: 3

Until next time San Diego!

Wet Lunch

On the recommendation of a friend, we braved Monday traffic and headed down to Hacienda Escudero, just past San Pablo City.  It took almost 2 hours to get there, but only about 90 minutes on the way home.  A day visit includes a tour of the museum, a carabao ride, lunch at the waterfalls and a bamboo raft tour (I think).  

The museum was not air conditioned and lots of the artifacts - religious, stuffed animals, old clothes and weapons - were looking a little rough.  One chimp was degrading so badly that his foot was all bones (they did not allow pictures or this part would have been well photo documented).  The carabao ride was fun.  A guitar player and singer serenaded us for the 3 minute ride to the resort.  We checked out the swimming pools, but they were not clean, so we headed to lunch. 

At the awesome waterfall restaurant.

It had been described to me as a "floating restaurant," but turned out to be tables in a river.  We started out sitting at the table, then Toto wanted to dip her toes in, then we peeled her down to her undies and she was full out swimming in a couple feet of water.   

The food wasn't amazing, but Toto loved it - chicken, fish, pork, and her favorite, WHITE RICE. She's a Filipina.  The total price for 2 adults and a 2-year old was P2,500 ($58).  While the rafting looked fun, Toto was ready for a car nap. 

No reservations in advance, just showed up around 9:30am.

Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort

San Pablo City, Philippines
(632) 521-0830
(632) 523-0392
(632) 523-2944

E-mail: info@villaescudero.com

Take the South superhighway and exit at 50A (Lucena, Legaspi, Batangas exit).  Turn left at the Sto. Tomas junction. Head straight down, by-passing the town of Alaminos and San Pablo City proper. Slow down upon seeing Quezon arch and turn left immediately after.

Cebu City

Although I was in Cebu for a work trip, I managed to squeeze in a little sight seeing. Side note: we stayed at the Parklane instead of the Marriott to save money. If money is not a concern for you, avoid the Parklane. There was nothing special.  And on to the sights.

Magellan's Cross is worth a stop. Wikipedia says it is cased in a protective layer because people were chopping off pieces of the wood. But my local guide said rumor had it the cross is not inside. Who knows? For a fee you can buy a candle and someone does a special dance with it to make your wish come true. I passed.  Just next store is a huge church--Basilica del Santo Niño (Church of the Holy Child)--which I did not photograph, but you can see pics and read more here. Apparently the feast every January draws more than a million and the pilgrims sleep in a park. I also heard things get a bit wild with some non-Christian type activities.

The San Diego-Yap House is an interesting place to visit, despite the lack if parking or sidewalk. For $1 a guide lets you touch all the fading antiques, but gives a good tour. Apparently the current owner still sleeps there on the weekend. And put an a/c unit in. Also the street is old. Is that why there are no sidewalks?

And non-history related, Tablea, a chocolate cage with 7 branches in Cebu is amazing. Apparently it is traditional breakfast drink and the owners are bringing back as a gourmet snack and also preserving tradition. Please come to Manila.

Last Japan Post: Osaka

We had a day and a night in Osaka before we flew back to Manila so we decided to stay in an airport hotel. It was fine, but it was a 30 minute train ride from Osaka. Our flight wasn't until the evening so we got up bright and early to head into the city. I beelined for an adorable "slow food" cafe for breakfast, but realized it didn't open for another hour. The rest of our traveling party was not thrilled. We managed to entertain Toto for an hour then stood pathetically near the doorway until the let us in. Toto promptly whacked her head on a table and screamed for a while. The donuts were worth the wait.

One of the main goals was to see the moss buddha. After walking for about 20 minutes, there it was in all its mossy glory. We poured some water on it.

Then we stopped by the must-see Dotonbori street, full of huge mechanized and brightly-lit signs.

 And then sampled the local fare - Okonomiyaki - a pancake. Maybe shouldn't have gotten the cheese.

Japan was an adventure. A clean, organized, rule-oriented adventure. Hopefully we make it back before we leave Manila in 2015.

Japan: Kyoto

We spent 10 days in Japan. Lovely, crazy, cold, and oh so foreign Japan. It was tough to decide where to go, but we narrowed it down to Kyoto, Yudanaka, and Osaka. First stop, Kyoto.

After a quick 3 hour flight from Manila, we landed in Osaka. Getting our JR (train) passes was a major pain. It took over an hour. And this was after we pre-paid for them online. We missed our train, so grabbed some soba and beer. Which Toto loved--the soba, not the beer. And Yaya got to try chop sticks for the first time. I have to say that surprised me as she lives in the ASIA. And has travelled all over the world. But she got the hang of it pretty quick. Once we started riding trains, we fell in love. They were clean, on time, and spacious. And had vending machines. The best part was that Toto didn't have to sit if she didn't want to, which she never does.

Where we slept

Kyoto Royal Park Hotel, nice ambience in the lobby, expensive breakfast, friendly staff, cramped quarters, convenient location. But the best discovery? Heated toilet seat. 

What we did

The Shark booked us two private tours and a group tour through Tours by Locals, and we were impressed. My favorite activity was the private cooking class. We started out by shopping in the Nishiki Market, which was about a ten minute walk from our hotel. Thank god for our guide, or we seriously wouldn't have known what 90% of the food was. Most stalls had samples and I was in heaven when we hit a huge shop of dried fruit. We ended up with some cranberries, strawberries and kiwi. And an awkward encounter when I tried to buy the display items. 

Persimmons 

Then we walked over to our guide's apartment. We tried to act like we weren't staring at everything, but we were. And the toilet seat was heated there too! We had a blast learning how to make sushi rolls, spinach salad, and miso soup. And by the time we finished cooking, we were STARVING and wolfed it down.

Pretty and delicious.

Just like all the Asian tour groups we saw in Washington, DC, we had to reciprocate and joined a huge bus tour to see some palaces and temples.

Stay with your buddy and be back to your bus in 1 hour!

We spent a whole day on a private guided tour of Fushimo-Inari, a Shinto Shrine built up a mountain to honor a huge rock at the top. We walked several flights of stairs and saw smaller shrines along the way. When we came a map, our guide showed us that it is possible to go all the way to the top, and laughed as though we would even consider doing that. Then her eyes bugged out of her head when I said of course I wanted to go to the top and see that rock. So we did. And it was beautiful.

Just a few more steps...

Top o' the mountain

What we ate

As soon as we arrived we found the closest organic store and headed out to stock up on milk for Toto. It was called "Help" for reasons unknown to me and I couldn't read anything, but just felt better knowing it was a natural grocer. We got some fruit, milk, and tons of snacks. Toto ended up loving these rice crackers with seaweed. If I would have known, I would have bought 20 bags.

We had dinner twice on Pontocho, a narrow road near our hotel. Once for the best sushi ever (Kappa Zushi), and the other for an awesome Italian meal to celebrate The Shark's birthday. Yes, Italian. You can only eat so much soba and fish. On the other hand you can never get enough sake.

You'll love the food here. If you can find your restaurant.

What we saw

Kyoto did not disappoint in the blossom department. We were fortunate enough to be there for the end of the plum blossoms and the beginning of the cherry blossoms. 

The we hopped on a train to head for the mountains and meet up with Sister and her Hubby.

Running March

It's officially summer folks. And it is HOT. Fortunately, we spent 10 days in chilly Japan eating soba and drinking sake. Unfortunately, it led to lots of not running. There were a few difficult hikes, and lots of walking. But more eating than working out. We still managed to squeak out a decent month. And I have my mom's running group to look forward to - every weekend we are out there running and talking about our kids.

Week 1 (March 1-3)
The Shark: SCUBA, Basketball
Moi: 9.6 miles, Yoga

Week 2 (March 4-10)
The Shark: 16.2 miles, Basketball
Moi: 24.2 miles, Yoga

Week 3 (March 11-17)
The Shark: 16.4 miles, Basketball
Moi: 26.3 miles

Week 4 (March 18-24)
The Shark: 12.42 miles
Moi: 19.2 miles

Week 5 (March 25-31...JAPAN!)
The Shark: 0
Moi: 0

Want to go for a run? Sure, let me just finish this soba and beer.

 And then a little more soba. And beer.

 Can we just grab some quick sake with this guy?

 And a little sashimi?

 Oh, hell. We're not going running. Might as well have some curry, sweet bread and ice cream...

March Totals
The Shark: 45.02 miles
Moi: 79.3 miles

2013 Totals
The Shark: 204.92 miles
Moi: 260.5 miles

Our only run in Japan was the first morning we arrived in Kyoto, on March 23. It was cold. But the views along the river were beautiful. Funny how fast you get acclimatized, and 55 degrees feels like the Arctic. But we are back in the saddle, squeezing in runs at lunch.

Somewhere you probably won't go

Have you been to Tacloban? Probably not. I did and fortunately there is a nice hotel. Where they don't know how to pour beer. But they have beer, so I forgave them. I actually spent the day in Eastern Samar. Now that's the bush, folks. Got a little taste of the "real" Philippines. When I had to go to the bathroom, I asked the driver if there was a gas station we could stop at. He just laughed.

Not a bad view. Too bad it rained the whole time I was there. But that did give me a good reason to go to the spa.

Oh, and there is a tourist attraction. The Leyte Landing Memorial, commemorating the landing of General MacArthur and the American Liberation Forces in 1944. It was quite beautiful and conveniently located next to my hotel. 

And I actually learned last night that the "Rose of Tacloban" spent part of her youth here. More to come on that cultural experience.

I Knew That Nutritional Yeast Would Come in Handy

Back in July, to make up for "The Worst Birthday Dinner That Never Happened" (long story for another time), The Shark booked us a weekend at The Farm. Vegan food, yoga classes, fresh air. It was love at first sight.

Sight of a slight altercation between a goose and the child. No one was harmed.

One of Toto's favorite spots.

In fact, we loved the food so much we bought the cookbook. Lots of recipes call for cashew cheese, and while I was ready to pay an exorbitant price for it at Healthy Options, they didn't carry it. So, we made it ourselves. Surprisingly easy and delicious. Even The Shark, who grew up on a dairy farm, couldn't stop dipping. Granted, he said it tasted more like hummus than cheese, but the nutritional yeast and apple cider vinergar definitely gave it a cheezy tang. I used this recipe because it didn't call for probiotics (need to google that) or long hours fermenting, but maybe in the future we'll try making a more complicated recipe. For now, I was happy to soak cashews, then plop them in the food processor with apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper, and some water. (I normally use nutritional yeast as a yogurt mix-in and in smoothies - lots of folic acid and B vitamins!). And voila, a yummy vegan snack that we can use for tomorrow's vegan stuffed peppers.

Raw cashews from the Salcedo Market - P250 ($6)

Happy vegan snacking.

Hiking San Diego

My sister's copy of Afoot and Afield in San Diego County was an awesome resource for hiking. We managed to do four hikes while on vacation. Toto's performance on the first hike meant she stayed home for the last three. She refuses to be carried in a carrier (or ride in a stroller), preferring to squat on the ground and play with rocks or hunt for flowers. Adorable, yes. Practical, no. And the only way to keep her quiet was to run while carrying her. At least it was a great workout.

The East Rim Trail of Black Mountain was about a 1.5 hour round trip hike. A lot of the trail was steep, and like the other hikes we did in SD the trail was pretty rocky with no tree cover.

Toto the Explorer

Mt. Woodson was a challenging hike of about 6 miles, with huge boulders along the way and the "potato chip rock" near the summit. While pretty to look at, the thin rock should actually be called the "dangerous rock shard." Of course The Shark and my sister's husband insisted on terrifying us by dangling their legs off the edge.

Viejas Mountain was a beautiful 3-mile hike, with great views enjoyed even more so with some Rubicon sandwiches.

Pack your sunscreen.

Unfortunately we did not get any pictures on Iron Mountain because we ran/hiked it. It took my sister and I about 1 hr 24 mins to finish 6 miles, and The Shark did it in about 1 hr.

We also took Toto to Torrey Pines State Reserve and did a short walk hoping to see some whales. No whales, but still beautiful.

San Diego reminded us of New Mexico - moutains, desert, dry climate, but it was surprising that there were so few trees on the trails. On most NM hikes, parts of the mountains were covered in gorgeous pines. But San Diego wins with the ocean.

Back in the olden days. In 2005.

No Wang-Wang in the Airport

The Philippines continues to surprise me daily. This sign at the airport was a nice reminder that I probably only understand about 45% of what is going on around me. According to this article, "wang-wang" is a term for sirens used by rich people to get through traffic. At the airport, it basically means that no one is too important to wait in line. The website, "The Guide to Sleeping in Airports" rated Manila's  Terminal 1 as the worst airport in the world in 2011, and the worst airport in Asia in 2012. Honestly, I was so excited to go home that I didn't think it was that bad. Maybe in the past it was worse with all that wang-wang.