Sendusout

As Ian would say, “Grandpa and Grandpa came to visit this week.” Over the past 10 days we have had the pleasure of having Daniel’s parents visit us from Colorado. Being buried under several inches of snow, they were happy to come visit us in the Philippines and experience temperatures above freezing for a week and a half.

We have had a fun week of shopping, going to the playground, riding in a horse carriage and of course, going to the beach. What visit to the Philippines would be complete without a few days relaxing under palm trees, listening to the pounding surf as you go to sleep at night and sipping mango shakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

We decided to try a different place on Mindoro island and chose Oceana Beach Resort for our 4 day/3 night stay. After a 3 hour drive to Batangas, a one and half hour boat ride to the island, and a short drive to our resort (all tracked on Grandpa’s GPS) we found ourselves greeted with a staff wearing matching Hawaiian type shirts and glasses of fresh Buko (coconut) juice awaiting us.

The weather was unusually cloudy and cool for this time of year, but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless. The weather the first few days reminded me of our trips to the Oregon coast. During our stay we played in the sand, hunted for seashells, lazed in a hammock and explored some large rocks with a solitary statue looking out to sea perched on top. I think it was supposed to be the Virgin Mary, but it reminded me more of a young woman awaiting the return of her true love and seemed sad to me.

Oceana was also equipped with a game room, swimming pool, cabanas, and a massage hut. The boys had a lot of fun discovering how to play fooz ball and found Grandma and Grandpa were good partners in scoring points for their team. Isaiah was determined to go swimming in the pool, but both attempts ended wrapped up in towels after a few jumps into the pool. Daniel and Irene also took advantage of getting a massage the second night we were there. This was a first for Irene and she said it was worth trying again.

During our trip we discovered that Ian has an amazing ability to fall asleep just about anywhere. He even managed to fall asleep as we bumped along over a dirt road in a jeepney as we headed to Tamaraw falls. He woke up just long enough to see the falls and protest being placed upon a kalabaw sculpture before we climbed back in and bumped our way back to Oceana.

The third morning we took a boat ride to a snorkeling area. The waves were pretty rough on our side of the island and we had an exciting ride until we got to the other side. Once we arrived at the beach we were immediately surrounded by people trying to sell us pearls, beach mats, water shoes and massages. Irene may have ended up taking home a few more necklaces than she expected to, but will be at peace knowing that somewhere a family on Mindoro is well taken care of for the week.

After we were situated, Earl volunteered to take the first shift with the kids while Daniel, Irene and I hired a small boat to guide to us to the premiere snorkeling spots. He provided handfuls of rice to feed the fish and pulled me out of the water once I was shivering so bad I could hardly hold on to the boat any longer. As we were snorkeling we found a lost strand of pearls at the bottom of the ocean that Daniel retrieved for us, but once we reached the beach our guide claimed they were his and asked us if we wanted to buy them. After we returned to the beach, Earl had a turn in the water. He opted out of the guide and, aside from a brief struggle with a flipper caught in the coral, had a good snorkeling experience as well.

Of course the sun decided to shine brightly the last day we were there. We took another trip down the beach with our buckets in hand and found a few more seashells before it was time to head home. Isaiah peeked through a crack in the rocks and said he saw something black, with pointy ears, really big alien eyes, and 4 legs crawling around down there, but when I checked it out the mysterious creature had disappeared?? Before we knew it, it was time to pack up and head home once again.

The last day of our visit we relaxed around the house, made a trip to the playground, got a babysitter to watch the kids while we ate at a great Swiss restaurant for dinner and Earl got me hooked on Sudoku. All the kids plastered them with kisses and said goodbye before they went to bed and Earl and Irene will be on their way back to the States before the sun is up tomorrow.

We love you Grandpa and Grandma and look forward to seeing you again in May!