eric135

General Update... Trip to Kalibo Aklan Philippines...

Rice field near Kalibo, Aklan, Philippines. 
From a photograph taken January 2017

Yes, another lengthy lapse. It seems the only time I am overwhelmed by a need to update my blog happens when I sit in front of the computer, gazing at my checking account balance, and wondering if I should shut down the blog. And then I spend a couple of hours or so, reading through almost all of my posts, way back to the very beginning of this particular blog, and I just don't have the heart to give up on something I've had since 2004. I'm amazed I still get hits, only now instead of people coming here for information about the Jean Watson Caring Theory of Nursing, they want to know how to rip a DVD so you can view it on a Kindle. Ok, well that seems fair. So just some random details.

We took a trip to visit my parents, who now live in the Philippines. I have always been apprehensive about flying, but over the years, I have been flying more and more, getting over the fear of flying that sort of happened as a result of 9/11. But even after taking many flights from one US coast to another, I never quite got enough nerve to make the lengthy flight from LA to Manila. Until relatively recently, that flight usually entailed a stopover in Japan or Korea or China, and there were times family members would be stranded at one of these layovers. But some time over the past few years, Philippine Airlines started a direct flight from LAX to NAIA (Manila) which was about 13 hours. Since the starting point was LA, if we ran into trouble at that end, we'd still be in the states and we would be ok. If we were delayed in Manila, I had family in Manila who could come to our rescue. So I thought the time had come for me to make the trip and see how things were done. We both got passports, and the next thing we knew, we had flight reservations. 

It was an excellent flight. We both brought way too much stuff, and lugging it around in LAX and Manila got to be a pain, and I realized I never wanted to lug my stuff in a backpack strapped to my back ever again. My next trip, my carry on will be one of those little rolling luggage. I have found that the spinner version (with 4 wheels) was much easier to maneuver than the two-wheeled version and not as tiring if you had to, say, kill a an hour or eight in an airport. 

The trip went really well. We stayed at a hotel within walking distance of my parents' home, and the hotel was very nice -- modern, air conditioned, a flat screen TV with cable. Spending time with my parents couldn't have been more enjoyable, and I was able to reconnect with a cousin I had not seen since she was a baby. My main task was to become familiar enough with the process so that if I ever had to go to my parents for an emergency, I would be able to do so self-sufficiently, and I have recorded all sorts of hotels and shops, where certain stores and malls are located, and where the main hospitals are. My plan was to get enough data so that I could head to my parents within a few hours, and not be a burden to my parents or to other members of my family, and I feel I've managed that. 

I'm hoping to return for another visit in January of 2019, maybe a bit earlier. 

San Diego: Sea World and the San Diego Zoo

 SeaWorld: We spent a couple of days in San Diego, celebrating my room mate's birthday. He'd never been to a dolphin show, and the last time I went was about 35 years ago. We never travel anywhere, and we just plain needed a break. It was warm, even by Phoenix standards. Our first day, it was 76 degrees, which was pretty lucky for us since Shamu soaked us to the skin shortly after this picture. 

 Our second day we went to the San Diego Zoo. I think I went there when I was a kid but I'm not exactly sure I'm remembering that correctly. It could have been something I remember vicariously via the magic of public television. I say this because I seemed to remember some of the zoo, like the bear enclosures, but I don't remember ever going to San Diego when I was a kid.

• We stayed at the Hyatt - Mission Bay. A beautiful hotel room, with a free upgrade so we got a nice fifth-floor view of the bay. Internet access was a tad pricey, $27 for 48 hours (they charge per day per device, which I thought was excessive). It was too cold to swim, and we're not into the spa thing. The only detail I have to complain about is that there aren't many close-by options for food. They do have a restaurant, the Red Marlin, but it was way too expensive for our taste (it would have been about $100 a meal and the reviews were so-so). They also have room service, and the rate was ok, about average, but the food was terrible. My medium-rare hamburger tasted like charcoal, and my room mate's chicken breast sandwich was just as inedible. 
• The beds were very soft. We haven't had much luck with beds our last several trips. The Luxor in Las Vegas had beds that felt like x-ray tables, and our bed the last beach trip was actually two mattress spring boxes stacked on top of one another. 
• Our first night, we ordered pizza delivery from Pizza Hut and watched the last Harry Potter movie on my room mate's new iPad. We could also have used the UrbanSpoon app on our iPhones, which showed many more delivery options. I was pretty impressed by the app even though we decided not to use it our second night, and ordered the previosly mentioned and ill-conceived room service.
• Our best meal was lunch the second day, when we ate at Albert's Restaurant in the San Diego Zoo. We ate out on the deck, surrounded by lush green plants and trees (we don't get much of that in Phoenix). What exotic foods did we sample? Meat loaf, garlic mashed potatoes, salad and apple pie a la mode for desert. But it was excellent.
• We decided not to lug our laptops, and instead used the iPad and my new Kindle Fire. They worked beautifully and I was able to do everything I usually do on my Fire that I usually need a laptop for: banking, surfing, Evernote, email, Netflix etc. The only thing we couldn't do was print our boarding passes but we couldn't have done that with our laptops either. 
• Without the laptops, we were remarkably and enjoyably light-weight with our flight carry-on's. I only carried my usual man-purse (large enough to carry both of my Kindles and all of my man-stuff), and my room mate only had his iPad. What a luxury!
• For air travel, I would highly recommend the FlightView app for the iPhone. I usually use text messaging but the app is better.
• The next time, we'll rent a car. We spent way too much for taxi service to/from airports and to/from the zoo. We walked to SeaWorld (a pleasant 30-minute walk around the marina) but were too tired (and wet) to walk back and just the 2-mile trip cost us $10.00. Plus having a car would have made the whole meal thing much easier.
• Getting hosed by Shamu was not as traumatic as I had thought it would be, given how nelly I can be at times. Those Orca tail fins can displace an awful lot of water. A group of Asian girls sat up front, wearing jackets with fur trim, and they looked like they fell into the pool. Luckily, our phones didn't get wet.

We had great fun, but of course, after just a couple of days, we were anxious to get back home.