Wild Wild Southwest

2009 was probably one of the best years of my life. I’ve accomplished a lot for work and I’ve learned so much about life, relationships and getting along with just about anything. The second half of the year was hectic, I had trips almost every month, both for work and for spending time with my friends. I thought I needed to reward myself for such hardworks so I invited myself to go with Georgie to the US for the holidays and Cindy's wedding (Georgie's sister). 

One word to describe the trip- HITIK! LOL. I can’t think right now of the precise English word for ‘Hitik’ but yeah, it was ‘Hitik na hitik’!

OMG, the day of my flight to San Francisco was like the most tiring, exhausting day I ever had. Imagine I started from Jakarta at 4 am then flew to Singapore, then to Manila to catch my flight to the US. That was like 4 countries in 16 hours! Dead tired was an understatement. Add to it another 14 hours across the Pacific.

San Jose, our home base

We were picked up by Tita and Raul in San Francisco around 10 pm. Wow, I could hear most of the airport personnel speaking Tagalog. San Francisco is a Filipino town! We had dinner first in the Fisherman’s wharf and an hour drive after, we were in San Jose. This city is a valley with a very cold climate and homey ambience. Tita’s house is just a few tens of meters from the mall so when Tita and Raul leave for work, we could readily go to the mall or check out the places nearby. It was almost Christmas (got there December 12) and my birthday (December 16) when we arrived, we could smell freshly cut pine trees being sold on backyards. For some reasons, I was a bit sad because there was no snow in San Jose, but quite happy that it was not that freezing. We went to the San Jose Christmas at the Park and the churros with hot chocolate were the best ever!

Freshly cut pine trees were so refreshingly aromatic!

San Jose Museum of Art in the downtown.

Heavenly churros with hot choco!

I heart San Francisco

We went for a couple of days to SanFo. It was a 40-minutes ride via CalTrain. I love San Francisco, it is quaint, very cozy and somehow has that relaxed vibe. We went around the usual spots in SanFo mostly riding the tram, bus or cab, but I particularly loved meeting with my cousin Ate Queenie and her husband Richard. It has been 4 years I think, since I last saw her. We had a very sumptuous dinner in a sushi bar and that dessert, the frozen Mochi Balls were heaven-sent! I just realized I go ecstatic when it comes to food! LOL.

Fisherman's Wharf.

Going around SanFo.

Ate Queenie in the sushi bar. Super delish!

Tarantino's clam chowder on bread bowl is the best I've had so far. And it's not that expensive at all. Eating on the streets of the wharf is one-helluva-experience.



I just thought this is pretty.LOL


The Chocolate Store, met up with Glen's brother...


...and got free Pistachio and Triple Chocolate ice cream.. heaven!


The seal territory, minus the view of the Alcatraz (which is on the other side).


The bridge, of course!


And Lombard!


Hell yeah! Castro Street.

LA unexpected

Before going to Arizona for the holidays and Cindy’s wedding, we spent a couple of days in LA. I spent my birthday in LA with a dinner in Hooters. The margarita was divine! The next day, Cindy drove 6 hours from Mesa to meet us there. It’s funny when we were strolling down Hollywood Bouleverd, James Cameron’s star in the Walk of Fame was about to be inaugurated. Hahaha. Well, we didn’t have the patience to wait for him. Strolling along Rodeo Drive was exciting, unfortunately we didn’t see any celebrities that day. Poor us! Well at least, we got tons of photos with the wax ones in Madame Tussauds. LOL.

We also met with Carlo's mom and aunt, Tita Fleur and Tita Girlie in Glenndale and had some drinks in Hermosa Beach. The grapefruit vodka in one of the bars, was like the best cocktail I've had ever!

The best part I like about LA, hmmmm, I really didn’t like it as it is, but it was just so unexpected and remote and random and odd. For some 'twisted' twist of fate, I saw Howie, ‘Mr. Big’. LOL. What are the chances of seeing my ‘Mr. Big’ in LA? In this gigantic city? It was a bit sad though because he was with his ‘someone’ so I didn't bother talk to him. :(

LAX. I was kinda expecting to see Lilo or Kstew or Mimi, but none that day. Poor us!

LA by Day

The iconic palm trees of Beverly Hills.

Beverly Hills. Where is that Hottie Trevor Donovan? LOL

Rodeo drive.

Staples Center, where we saw 'Mr. Big'



Need I say more?

LA by Night

Hollywood Boulevard

Happy 25th!

Tita Girlie and Tita Fleur in Glenndale.


Pink's. I had a crush on one of the Latino hotdog-makers. Hotdog-maker?

Guess who we mingled with? LOL

Arizona, home for the holidays

After taking out Jollibee chicken joy (3-piece that is), we headed to Arizona. Cindy was driving while I was sleeping or eating. LOL. Arizona on December has the perfect climate. The days are not too hot, but the nights are chilling. The best part- that golf course surrounded by an orchard where we would steal the sweetest oranges ever!

I spent my Christmas with the Liads. It was a lot of fun, exchanging gifts and eating tons of Filipino food. How can I forget that Igado for Christmas, which by the way, I did not bother eat. LOL.

So what? I am a loyalist!

Stealing the sweetest oranges ever with Louie, Baye and benjie! Baye almost got caught! LOL

Fresh-produce markets are heaven! And the produce are really inexpensive.

Waiting for 'Avatar'.

The Eolian Enviroment

From outside Cindy’s place you can already see the gorgeous Eolian landscape (FYI: Eolian is the geologic term for dessert environment)- the mesas, the cliffs, the buttes and of course the cacti. One day we went driving to a scenic route in Mesa and to say scenic is an understatement. It was an awesomely fantastic route!

We spent another day hiking the Apache Trail. It was like a prelude to THE Canyon! The funny thing was most of us were not prepared, well , Cindy for one was not. Wearing slippers for hiking is like a big No-No, but yeah we managed. From atop the hills, you could see the vastness of the dessert dotted with mesas and buttes. These two are the building-like remnants of resistant rock units that could not readily be eroded, like say Quartz-rich sandstone? Ok, nerd alert!

The Scenic Route and the Ghost Town

Getting fierce with the cactus!

Showing Cin the trilobite, with that majestic backdrop!

The Apache Trail with the Cheering Squad. LOL

Melissa being the cheer lead!

My knees were shaking there!

The Wedding

We got to Arizona a week before Christmas. We helped in decorating the venue for Cindy and Adney’s wedding. It was my first time to arrange a flower vase and I was a mess when I started. Hmmmm, but I did pretty well in the backdrop decoration which Baye designed. Good job!

The week’s preparation was worth it, the wedding was perfect- the ceremony, the reception, the food. I particularly like the motif, purple, LOL. The food was bit of a challenge. Adney is from Hawaii and his brothers are mostly chefs so they cooked most of the food. Georgie and Tita decided to cook some Filipino dish as well. Of all, the Lumpiang Shanghai with Sweet Chili Sauce got the crown as the best-seller! Woohoo!

The flower vase setting apprentice.

I did not do a thing with these at all. LOL

What happened to my teeth!

Stole some grapefruit from the church yard while waiting for the couple. Hahahah

With Louie.

With The Bride.

The Grandest Canyon Ever!

Ok, when I first set foot on the canyon, I couldn’t think of any word to describe it. My jaw met the ground. I would even think of just looking at a big seamless tarpaulin. But it was real. It is majestic and really is GRAND.

It was freezing with a weak snow storm but that didn’t stop me from experiencing the canyon. Tons of photos after, and I still couldn’t get enough. It was hard to see the meanders of the Colorado River because it was a bit scary to get near the fence.LOL. What a coward!

It was a bit difficult moving around with such freezing temperatures and slippery ground so I thought it would be nice to visit again during summer, when hiking is also possible! Hmmm….

Need I say a word?

There is a UFO on the upper left. LOL




Grand Canyon Bloopers! LMAO

Snow Storm in Salt Lake

We then headed to the place of Georgie’s two other siblings, Baye and Louie in Salt Lake City. Heavy snow storm welcomed us. This was the coldest place I’ve been too. I had to like triple the layers of my clothing. On this climate, never ever forget to have gallons of lotions and moisturizers and lip balms!

Salt Lake is quite a small city and I am impressed with the street names which are based on the North-South and East-West lines say, 1000N, 1000E, or something like that. I guess it would be hard to get lost in that nomenclature. LOL.

Temple Square with the Gang.

Salt Lake Bloopers!

Park City, this is really 'Masabi Lang'. LOL

Gorgeous landscapes of Utah-Nevada.

Whatever happens in Vegas

Our last stop was Las Vegas. Almost a day of driving was quite exhausting, to think that I didn’t drive at all. Tita and Raul met us there. The sight of Vegas popping out of the arid dessert horizon was exhilarating. I never thought of celebrating New Year in the US, what more in Vegas! The lights, the music, the scenes, the fun were just overwhelming. To top it all, we were accidentally included in ABC’s New Year US Billboard countdown in Mandalay Beach Resort. Hahahah what a night! Kris Allen and Sean Kingston sang their hearts out just before the countdown. The best part, however- counting down to 2010 on the strip! I was a bit tipsy already after finishing two Fat Tuesday’s orange vodka slurry something. LOL

Happy New Year!

Goodbye US, Hello Fema!

That almost month-long of going around the Southwest seemed like forever. I never thought I could go to so many places in so little time. It was a bit weird that I needed to go back to Manila and start working again. After that grand escapade who would want to go back to the office anyway? LOL. But yeah, back to work!

I guess this trip was a major hit because the company was the best I could ever be with. We love exploring and we were practical and we never fail to have fun wherever we are and just laugh at everything. After all, a journey is not about the destination, but how and with whom you got there.

May ganon!