Antelope Canyon trip

Itchy feet or happy feet, call it what you may, but Noah had to do something to catch up with his hyperactive hooves. This time they took him to a barren place by the lake Powell in Arizona, a place called the Antelope Canyon. This trip started in the wee hours of the morning at the Westgate Resort Flamingo in Las Vegas where three families were billeted for a five-day vacation.

There were two cars for this expedition and 

the Tahoe held this bunch: Jo ann, Ariel, Ethel

Benny and Noah. The Lexus had Bryan, Aya, Iya

and Elaine.

The cold morning dawns as they drive through

St. George, Utah. That's Signal Peak laden with

snow and covered by a blanket of clouds. You can

forgive this couple for posing beside state-line

signs (below) since it's not every day that they 

get to drive through these highways.

With the word "canyon" what immediately comes to mind is the greatest and grandest canyon ever - the Grand Canyon. The smallest and yet spectacular canyon is often left out by tourists due to several reasons: 

1. Distance: The Antelope canyon is located at Page, Arizona - a power-generating town by the banks of lake Powell. It is about 272 miles from Las Vegas, 386 miles from Salt Lake city and 273 miles from Phoenix. By car, it would take about 4 hours drive from Las Vegas, which is the most common route taken by tourists.

2. It is very small: the upper antelope canyon is 200 meters long while the lower antelope canyon is 407 and the depth is only about 37 meters. This will show that one of the two canyons itself is just slightly bigger than a football field.

3. It was only opened to organized public tours in the year 2,000. Prior to that tours where not supervised by the state and were too risky.

4. The canyon is closed at about 2 hours before sunset and when the weather is too hot or it is raining or there is a weather forecast of imminent rain. This means that even if you have booked and paid for a tour and you may have traveled the whole day, your tour can be cancelled due to the conditions mentioned above.

5. The Antelope canyon is hid from view: You don't see it when standing on the desert plain/hills. All you see is a large crack/fissure on the desert floor.

 This is the location of the Antelope canyon, but 

where's the canyon? The arrows at the left point

to the exact spot of the canyon, which is actually

sub-terranean or underground.

 entrance to the canyon is via some

metal steps that were constructed to

make it easier for tourists. Noah had

a gopro ready for the tour, but the guide

said that videos were forbidden. He didnt

suspect that Benny had a snap chat video

lens in his sunglasses and that's why the 

two photos are spherical in shape.

the steps take you down to the bottom

of the canyon from where you work your

way through it so a spot where another

set of stairs take you...

...up, back to the surface. this is 

the exit from the lower Antelope canyon.

The huge fissure is the only ventilation

and lighting for the tourist in the canyon.

Here are the photos that were taken while the group was snaking their way through the canyon.

 a group photo at a spot that was 

wide enough to accommodate the shot. The

next 4 photos were taken looking upwards

to the fissure on the top.

that's "sitting buffalo" - the 

Mojave indian tour guide. He had

all the answers to our questions and

a lot of tales to boot. 

 While the group was intently listening

to sitting-buffalo this dame had to have

some photos taken.

 this is proof that aliens once roamed

the desert plains. They left some images.

 that's her again... i mean the

gorgeous dame, not the alien.

from this point it is up a flight

of steps...

...back to the desert floor.

From this point the group motored to the "horse-shoe bend" - a spectacular spot on the Colorado river. Coming up next.

The Grandkids and Noah

One nice part of growing old is the entry into the "grand" stage of life. It's a time when the title "papa, daddy, father" gets an added prefix - "grand." Another good aspect of aging is when you enjoy the company of the kids without the responsibility of bringing them up as parents... a role that is the cream of grandparenthood.

Noah's recent travels brought him to the hills of Santa Clarita north of Los Angeles where he had the blessed chance of staying for a few nights with a niece and her husband and kids. It was a rare opportunity after not seeing Daphne for decades and to bond with her adorable and well-mannered kids was an added feature that Noah felt right at the core of his heart.

Nathan, Camille, Kimmie and Jordan...that's

the order from youngest to the eldest (Noah not

included of course).

mommy Daphne and granny Jo ann

at the kitchen.

with the kids in school and the parents off

from work, breakfast is slow and relaxed. Dad

Frank had the breakfast served just as we came

out of the bedroom.

the eldest daughter - Kim, and she plays her

role really well by looking after the welfare

of her younger siblings.

These two urchins are all over the house just like

normal active kids. What grandpa Noah liked best was

Camille's activity on the piano. She's a budding

musician and Noah would love to see her play the

piano and clarinet a few more years from now.

This is Sunday evening activity. The kids prepare

their lunch boxes for the following day.

monday - the first day of school for the 

year 2017. It is 6:55 and they're already 

dressed up for school and having breakfast 

they prepared themselves. Nathan is waiting 

for mom coz he wants fried eggs.

That's inside the van for the short ride to school 

on a winter morning. Jordan left earlier.

Dad Frank at the wheel. the roads were

slippery and we passed by two car accidents.

we get to their school and there is a steady

drizzle, but they obliged to one more pose

for grandpa Noah.

Noah doesn't hold favorites among his grandchildren, but

Camille just has a special tug at his heart.

the kids disappeared into this entrance,

but not from Noah's heart. Thank you Jesus

for such adorable grandkids and thanks too,

dad Frank and mom Daphne for bringing up such

respectful, happy and well-mannered kids.

Of Flowers and Women

Women are often portrayed in song and poetry as flowers. Like the blossoms they go through the stages of budding, blooming, and wilting. With flowers it just takes a few days to a couple of weeks for this metamorphosis to take place, while in women it takes decades or simply stated - a lifetime. 

One has to be in the 6th decade of his life to be able to pen something like this, because the floral-like metamorphosis in women takes half a century to unfold and doing a write-up about it is often dampened by the wilting results, which is not worth expressing in words.

This blog was inspired by a recent reunion with the "flowers" that were lost from Noah's sight for about 3 decades. It is actually about a three-some who were playmates in their younger years. They share the same genes from a Spanish dude - their grandpa, although legally one was the aunt (Jo ann) and the two younger girls (Gizela/Kleng and sister Svetlana/Momo) were daughters of Jo ann's first degree cousin. Noah will call them by the names that they were endeared to him - makes sense, right?

The photos below show in perspective their age differences, which could be considered as Jo ann being an older sister to the two darlings.

the physical features of the kids in the photo 

show their Spanish heritage, while the hanging 

giant spoon in the background is glaring evidence 

of their Filipino ancestry.

some years later...

...and some more. Kleng is now catching

up with Jo ann in height.

Noah came into the life of these girls at an age when he was considered a "kuya" - not an uncle. The photo below will give perspective to that age difference.

this pool is at the Davao Beach club and the other

guys in the photo are Judy - holding Kleng, Victor

an Indonesian dude and Emmeline - mother of Kleng

and Momo.

Bonding moments with these girls were as often as a tight medical school schedule would allow. Noah in those years was fighting to survive the grind that is part of earning a doctor of medicine degree and the invitations by these girls and their mom to the beach, tennis court, parties and other gustatory/gastronomical events meant a lot to him. When you're cash-strapped and mental-fatigued, events like these are like a cool breeze in a hot desert and Noah just loved all these moments - not to mention that it was also an opportunity to be around the taller lass.

The last time Noah saw Kleng and Momo was before the flood, and this is how they looked back then.

At this point in the metamorphosis they were dazzling and it was apparent when guys started falling like dominoes while vying for their hearts. One love-struck and dumbfounded dude up to this moment - about 30 years later, can only manage to say - "speechless."

that's a shot from FB messenger. the 

yellow/blue circles conceal the identity 

of the bloke for obvious reasons.

Fast forward by more than 2 decades and Noah get's the chance to be with these girls turned moms by now and this is how they look.

Noah will stop short of describing the last set of photos above, and like the love-struck dude he would rather say - "speechless."

Thank you ladies for the wonderful memories and for staying in full bloom, fresh and gorgeous, always.

Florida vacation December 2016

The only place worth spending a warm vacation at this time of the year in the USA is Florida. Coming back here after so many years revealed that this state now is not only a favorite spot for retirees, but also for entire families who would rather sweat it out in the burgeoning theme parks than shiver in their snowy home states.

For this blogger and his missus, revisiting Florida was for only one urgent reason - to see long missed family. These kin migrated en masse from the southern Philippines about 2 decades ago and chose this sunshine state for very obvious reasons. Not seeing them for that length of time created a void in the heart that needed to be filled and the only way to do it was to hop in a plane across the pacific.

The first stop was in Valencia, Sta. Clarita, California for a night with Daphne - Jo Ann's niece. This was our first time to meet her husband and kids.

The temperature was 16C/60F in LA

The next stopover was Chicago and the temperature

was -13C/7F with the whole city blanketed in snow.

Finally Tampa, Florida (26C/78F) and these love-ones where

already at the airport waiting for us. Mervyn (in shorts) is

Jo Ann's first degree cousin. Beside him is Ronnie his wife, and

the 2 ladies are Jo Ann's nieces - Asset and Momo.

lunch with the welcome committee at an asian

resto in Clearwater. 

Dinner was with cousins Dr. Alfred & Momo Martin

and daughter Celine at BJ's resto and brewhouse.

Brunch the next day was hosted by cousins 
Eddie and Baby at the Olive Garden, who drove all 
the way from Zephyrhills to see us. Orlando is the 
next stop of the day...

...for a spin in the Orlando eye...

 ...a pose with the greatest...

...deep freeze at a Swiss alpine village at Gaylord resort...

...and a stroll in the Disney Springs resort...

the night at Orlando was spent at Harold D'Big

and Cecile's house.

a reunion potluck is next at Clearwater

...and the next day Noah rides to 

Fort de Sotto...

...for some fishing at the pier...

...with cousin Blas Dabucol. The next day

is a drive to Avon Park...

...for lunch at cousin Pelvina's house (we

stayed with her in this same house in our 

first visit)...

...and a back-to-the-past game of

pingpong with best friend Gershon at his

home in Sebring.

dinner that evening was hosted by cousins

Blas and Mary Ann Dabucol at the Golden Corral...

...and then a stroll at the Clearwater marina.

deep-sea fishing is next at clearwater...

...where Noah gets a chance to ride a

different kind of ark.

...that night was outdoor dining at Main street

Dunedin with gorgeous niece - kleng.

the next day Noah had to burn the fat

that was slowly building up in his belly

by riding the Clearwater - Tampa loop.

Finally, after 8 days in sunny Florida, it is goodbye to the family that was host for our vacation. The guy at the right is Howard D'Tiny who took a long break from his work to be with us throughout

our entire stay. His dad - Mervyn D'Ben and mom - Geronima D'Ronnie, and brothers Hardin D'Londong and Harold D'Big untiringly took us to

all the places mentioned above. Their home in Dunedin was our comfortable base and we felt loved and pampered throughout our stay.

Thank you guys for a wonderful time. May God keep you happy all the days of your life.