Vancouver 2002

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Dear everyone,

Ngayon lang yata ako naka-recover from all the excitement of the Vancouver trip. Full time good time na naman ang mga bakasyonista. Lima lang naman kaming dumapo sa Vancouver pero tatlong sambahayan ang nabulabog namin. Continuous action din ang nangyari at sineryoso naman ang mga must see requests namin. In fact ang mga bakasyonista na ang sumuko noong last lakwatsa day, ayaw nang tumuloy sa suspension bridge. Ang litany ni kuya Ruds eh "If Ana did it, we can do it too" response "We do not have to do it" (adulterated version na ito, I must've skipped a whole phrase).

Nagpangita ang mga bakasyonista sa Seattle, JojoRudy rented a van and drove all five of us to Vancouver

Day 1 was dinner at Tony's - Cookie's baked salmon ang natandaan kong feature dish and the feature dessert was a melt in your mouth cake na dala ni Maripaz & Dennis. Ang sleeping arrangements - Terry (Miss T or Misty for short), Noel & Daddie stayed with the Aytonas in Surrey, JojoRudy were assigned to the Chua's Richmond address. Napakaswerte naman po nitong si Tony sa asawa at mga anak (Loren and Aron). Magaganda na matatalino pa at puro talented sa arts and home arts (hanga kami). Angel was also a treat (she decided to grace us with her presence on our last day).

Day 2 was light breakfast with Tony and Cookie, JojoRudy came with Maripaz and Dennis, then came Ed. We took the van and Ed's car, met Kinda ("keen-duh" a cute French Mlle who is Ed's Japanese balae's niece - go figure) at the ferry - nireto kay Dennis who I would say was the perfect gentleman who entertained his guest, learned a few French phrases (La Lune..., something about the moon being as pretty as her eyes!). Butchart garden is truly worthy of Ana's praise, gusto pang hanapin ni Ed yung punong pinag-ukitan mo Ana. Downtown Victoria Island was also a treat, the girls wanted to do Empress Hotel's high tea but the boys prevailed with their grumbling stomachs - we found ourselves at the Spaghetti Factory with pasta and an assorment of Italian fare at doon nagalit si kuya Ruds, iwinagayway niya ang kanyang plastic, na outdraw kaming lahat! Rory, if your ears were burning, it was our fault, the whole deal was reminiscent of your deed at Toronto only smaller scale ang mga iginalit namin sa Vancouver. That night we drove to Richmond (Lichmond daw sabi ni Ed dahil karamihan nang residents eh mayayamang Chinese who want out of HK after reverting to PRC from UK) at doon naman nagalit itong sina Maripaz sa isang Thai restaurant. Tinawag pa ang isa pang gwapong anak na si Stephen para pagbayarin! Ako po naman ang pina order. Sinurvey ko naman kung ang gusto eh 2 chilis or 4 chilis strong - ang sagot eh 4 chilis daw! Nag-apoy lahat ang mga dila namin, pinagpawisan habang inenjoy ang iba't ibang putahe. Right across the street from the restau was the night market which runs through midnite - an X-gen hangout with an assortment of hawkers in their little stalls where they sell cutesy stuff to electronics parang HK alley in a mall parking lot. Nagusyoso namin kami, picked up a few pasalubongs for our young-uns and called it a nite.

Day 3 started with another light breakfast with the Aytonas, Ed picked up Tony and his guests (kami) and brought us to a nearby church to start our Sunday. We heard a semon on forgiving (seventy times seven times) and a beautiful musical repertoire from their choir (dati raw kasali ang Tony - na expel ka ba? lumipat nga pala nang parish). We all met at Richmond where we had another light breakfast before we took off for Grandeville island - an avant garde social experience of wet market, craftsy shops, gourmet bakeshops, a street show on some otherwise obscure piece of real estate at the foot of two bridges that lead to the city of Vancouver. We grabbed a photo op at Stanley park by the totem poles, drove through HK like concrete jungle amidst views of mountains, the pacific and lots of open space. Then it was dimsum time at the Pink Pearl. Nagalit ang taga UP High! Nagkanya kanya naman kami sa Casa Gelato - home of 198 ice cream flavors. It was at this time that Ed was directing the group to the suspension bridge. Nagtrabaho naman ang ESP nang mga girls - without using our cells, in Ed's car, I was telling the boys (Ed, Tony, Noel) that if the shops were closing early because it was a Sunday, I thought I'd make my priorities known. In the van, Misty and Jojo were looking at the bridge brochure that Maripaz and Dennis supplied and decided the shops were calling their names. Then we called Dennis' cell to announce we were heading straight to the mall (I forgot the name - were the superstore was) it was in the town where Ed works. Then it was time for Bebeth's dinner at the de la Rea home in Delta. Ang swerte rin po naman ni Ed. Magaganda lahat - asawa, anak at apo. Nagluto ang lahat nang Vancouver hosts. From day 1 nangarap na kami nang Lansones, tinupad ni Bebeth ang aming pangarap ("I could kiss you" ani Kuya Ruds - ewan kung itinuloy ang banta). May halabos na hipon on a bed of bulanglang na gawa ni Cookie, baked salmon ala Bebeth and ala Stephen ni Maripaz - may hipong niluto sa 7 up atbp. Tumugtog ang taga UP High sa piano tapos gitara naman, umawit ang lahat (ang mga singers na tunay eh sina Tony, Bebeth at Ed) and the heavens poured that night. Perhaps because most of us sang off key ...palagay ko ba umulan dahil mangiyakngiyak rin kami dahil eto na ang aming mga huling sandali sa episode na ito. Kinda was at the party, Dennis was also saying goodbye cuz he was flying out to some training camp in the morning - but not until the aunt (Ed's Balae made sure she had his email address)

Final day started with a not so light breakfast (handa ni Cookie), as I was wiping off the toast crumbs JojoRudy were at the door, last photo ops, then we were off! A mile or two out in the rain, Misty says "Ang isda ko! Naiwan sa ref!" May pakimkim na salmon si Ed. Kuya Ruds back tracks, Tony opens the door "Nag-enjoy kami nang husto we decided to stay another week!" ang bungad ni Misty. That was one golden photo op - na capture ni mahal on video ang "smile of disbelief" and "laughter of relief" ni Tony! Misty was asking "eh, puede ba ako naman ang magalit?" We gave her a turn at the 13 coins restau close to the Sea-Tac airport as we said our goodbyes and see you soons (We're off to Chicago in a few). We would've loved to have you there.

See you soon... Daddie