Star-Spangled Journey: Overnight in Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach wasn't originally in our itinerary.  But then, we learned that my mom's former boss, who is now based in Virginia Beach, just had a major surgical operation so we decided to visit her before embarking on the east coast journey.

We took Delta's red-eye flight, had a stopover and breakfast at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and reached Norfolk International airport before noon. As we were descending, I took a peek from my seat and I liked the sight of trees and the body of water that snaked its way across the green expanse (a contrast to the drab airport environment in LA).  I also loved the presence of plants and light inside the airport. We were welcomed by Dr. Milagros Bacus and her family into their home, had a sumptuous seafood lunch and took a quick nap (being in three time zones in one day can be tiring) before we went around Virginia Beach. 

Since we were pressed for time, we drove around Virginia Beach while catching up on six years of not seeing each other. It impressed upon me as a serene community with picturesque houses, manicured lanes and rows of trees. Virginia Beach is home to a number of US Bases and is close to the Atlantic Ocean.

Star-Spangled Journey: Mission of San Juan Capistrano

Does anyone know, or has anyone ever heard of this song?

I'm totally clueless about this song until the day we visited the place mentioned in it. But my mom knows the song and has been singing a few lines while we were at Mission San Juan Capistrano which is the subject of this post. 

Cliff Swallows 

Of all places to fly to during migration, the cliff swallows almost always find themselves in Mission San Juan Capistrano every March 19. They sometimes come as early as February or as late as June but at least there are cliff swallows in sight during the feast of St. Joseph. And because of the large number of avians in flight, fierce competition for survival among the birds is common.

Star-Spangled Journey: CA's Disneyland, For Kids and Young Once

This is my second Disney experience, my first time was at Hongkong Disneyland. But the magic isn't lost on me. 

Our day in Disneyland in Anaheim, California started on Main Street by visiting The Disney Gallery and the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (Disneyland Story). Sketches and illustrations of Disney characters are on display at the gallery. Meanwhile, the audio-animatronics technology was utilized to relive the moments in history with honest Abe. 

All Set for the Star-Spangled Journey

It took me about a month to prepare for the month-long vacation. Hours and hours of surfing the web, communicating with people in different time zones (which meant staying up late for so many nights which spilled over to ungodly hours, reading blogs and suggested itineraries in travel search engines and making huge dents in my pockets. Google, Trip Advisor, Expedia, Booking.Com and official tourism sites of the various states we'll be visiting became my virtual neighbors.

Finally, August came and we were set.

In Transit in the Land of the Morning Calm: Incheon, South Korea

I'm still on my one-month vacation with too much backlog. So let me get started with this post. 

My mom and I boarded a Korean Air flight from Cebu to Los Angeles with a stopover in Incheon. It was my first time to take Korean Air and I was impressed. Our assigned aircraft was an Airbus (as always, very roomy). The lithe flight attendants were cheerful and attentive to the needs of the passengers. (Prior to boarding, the cabin crew were huddled in front of the boarding gate, patiently jotting down notes on the prior requests and needs of the passengers.)  As they  as they strutted down the aisle, they reminded me of fragile porcelain dolls in white and light blue. But they were also stickler for rules. Whenever the fasten seatbelt sign was on, they were quick as lightning in making sure that every single passenger was strapped to his/her own seat. Not even a bladder break can weaken their stance.

The Journey to the Land of the Star-Spangled Banner

It has been a while since I made my last post. For two weeks now, I've been criss-crossing the land of the star-spangled banner. Seven states and counting. And that means I have too much blogging backlog.

A trip to Uncle Sam's land was not on the top of my list. I wasn't keen on spending a vacation here anytime soon, like now. But then Mom's birthday is around the corner and she'd like to spend it here (my sibling and I have treated her to trips in Southeast Asia, Europe and North Africa but never in North America). Why not this year?  And  for the very first time, we applied for our visas. Fortunately, Lady Luck smiled upon us. So here we are, traipsing this northern continent and will be celebrating Mom's birthday soon. This trip has somehow changed some of my impressions (you see, I've always been partial to Europe and Asia). We had to squeeze in so many sights but as early as now, there are some cities which I have come to like and which I hope to explore more at a leisurely pace in the future.

I hope to trim down my backlog. In the meantime, I'll have to bear the heat in the sin city.

Before Ever After: The Slight Detour

You might be wondering how a novel found its way in a travel blog.  While it reeks of romance, the more than hundreds of pages of Before Ever After are screaming TRAVEL.

Image from http://samanthasotto.com

Before Ever After introduces us to the motley happy campers of The Slight Detour led by its scruffy guide with amber eyes Maximilian B. Gallus. The vintage electric-blue Volkswagen van with a disco ball inside was a prelude to a "not your usual tourist trap" that they are about to embark. 

The novel takes us to certain points in our history's timeline set against picturesque towns and cities across Europe. It allows us to get lost and soak in the vivid descriptions of places and accounts of past events, and come out of it enriched and wanting to chart the next vacation following the same route.

This Is What Travelling Is All About

Last Friday, these three videos made the rounds on the internet an in social networking sites. It was indeed a triple treat heralding a beautiful weekend for me. I love the concept, the shots and the music.   Travelling is not about covering numerous cities or countries. It's about immersing in different cultures, breaking free from comfort zones, learning from the locals, enjoying home-cooked meals, and loving the thrill in visiting old familiar places and getting lost in new territories.

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Canigao Island: A Gem in Leyte

I never heard of Canigao Island until my mom brought me to this place.  It was February of 2010 when we attended the Sto Niño fiesta in Brgy. Tab-ang in Matalom, Leyte. Per tradition, the locals would hie off to a nearby island with white sandy beach a day after the fiesta and on Easter Monday.  

That nearby island is Canigao. On the scheduled trip to the island, we woke up before the break of dawn. But the guy who was supposed to ferry us to there had to catch some sleep after a night's dancing. Finally, at seven in the morning, we embarked on our excursion. It took us twenty minutes to get to the island.

On our way to the motorboat

Dining the Taitong Way

I first heard about Taitong through an article in a local daily. My friend and I have been wanting to try it out but it always got shelved. Last week, we finally freed up our schedule on a weekday and devoted one night to Taitong. 

This low-key restaurant is located along A.S. Fortuna Street in Banilad, Mandaue City. It's in an obscure spot, in between AA's Barbecue and Nuat Thai massage place. The place is small with a capacity of twenty people maximum. It has these large wooden dining tables that make the space all the more cramped. The simple and clean interiors and the soft light gave off that cozy and homey feel.