Reunions in San Francisco and Sta. Cruz, CA (2007)

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May 16, 2007
Wednesday

It has been 4 years since my last trip with a “group”. Well, that year was really with family…… but having grown used to “twosomes” as Emy and I turned out to be in the past years, this trip held so many promises. Plus, having included so many reunions with dear friends on this trip provided so much excitement. In a way, it’s a reunion trip with Boy and Evelyn too, with whom I traveled (with my then young nieces) back in 1994. That was a month-long trip and young that we were then, we had all the patience in the world then as we laughed off all unexpected twists in our travel plan. I am personally curious how the last 23 years have tested, or honed, our tempers for adventures such as this. And then, there is Paolo, their 10-year old son. Traveling to US of A for the first time, I bet his mind is filled with hopes of visiting one theme park after another. Thoughts of Mickey Mouse and dreams of Shrek and Dora. I should know, I traveled with a 5 year old and 2 year old (my apos) back in 2003 --- on a heady trip which included Universal Studios and Disneyland, as well as Viva Las Vegas where my apos refused to leave Circus, Circus Hotel!

And then, it’s a first with good friends Beth Ong and Ofie Santos. Both are joining us on this trip , and staying with us in Weng’s Residence for the first 2 nights as we drop in on good friends Mon and May Carpio in Vallejo. I’ve stayed in the Residence on my last USA trip in 2005 with Sarah. ( Hey, that was just 2 years ago!) With Weng and Mario leaving SFO for the Shanghai assignment in July, the Guerreros and I (plus Emy who is joining us on May 18th) are eager to make the Residence our homebase for this US trip. Memories of looking out the window for a splendid view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay flood my mind. I still remember installing my favorite chair by the second floor window where I sat many mornings the last time I was there. Hmmmm……… a very promising trip indeed. And this is how the story went………

I got to the airport quite early , as usual, for the 10:30 pm PAL flight that will take us directly to San Francisco. One big suitcase filled with my clothes and a boxful of gifts and foodstuff for dear friends I’d meet . I was still in line waiting to check in my suitcase and box when the Guerreros arrived to join me in the line. One look at Paolo and I sensed the excitement running through his veins. It was so like Patricia and Martin’s case back in 2003 when they just couldn’t drop the smile off their faces. Hmmm, that smile will stick for a few more hours till Paolo settles on his seat on the airplane.

A few minutes more, and we were joined by Beth and Ofie. The line was long, and it was easy to lose each other. As we almost did lose Beth and Ofie, who found themselves queued for the Manila-Los Angeles flight . Don’t ask me why and how. But that was the first of many shared laughs on this trip………………


Still May 16, 2007
San Francisco

After many sudokus, I managed to sleep many winks on this flight (I have watched most of the inflight movies). I knew I slept through because I hardly heard Tito Boy snoring . We arrived safe, sound and awake before 8 in the evening in San Francisco where Weng’s young son Gabriel met us. A van driven by Mar waited to take us to PPQ, a Vietnamese restaurant about 3 blocks from the Residence , where Mario ordered a sumptuous dinner of Dungeness crabs and other Viet dishes for us. It was a good dinner. But better still, it was good to see old friends again! It was a pity Weng wasn’t around as she had to be in Washington DC for the weekend but we talked on the phone with plans to meet up as soon as she is back from DC. Before and after dinner, we observed how Paolo enjoyed going out to check the cool climate. Wrapped in a thin orange sweatshirt, he had his first taste of cool San Francisco breeze……… The change in climate is his first realization that he has just left his home in the tropics and is now officially on holiday!

Our rooms with a view waited for us at the Residence. Evelyn and Boy got Isabel’s room on the second floor. Paolo is right next door in the TV room. Ofie, Beth and I shared the third floor room where we had a glimpse of lighted Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay in all its splendor.

Too full after that 6 course dinner, I proceeded to unpack . The box was the first order of the day (or night). I started lining up the paper bags as I proceeded to fish out the goodies from the box and dropped each to its appropriately marked bag. After many trips, I have somehow devised an efficient system of disposing all my stuff . With all the goodies in paper bags now, life is made simpler as I only need to simply pick out and hand each to the intended recipient I’m meeting on a given day. Trust me, this system works!

That out of the way………I was ready for bed.


May 17, 2007
Thursday

Lou Yasutome managed to see us this morning as we got ready for our “city tour”. As we waited for Mar and the white van which we love to call our schoolbus, we chatted the minutes away by the driveway in front of the house. A taxi with a Filipino cabdriver saw our group and couldn’t resist asking if we live in that 9 bedroom brick house by Lake Street. He wouldn’t take yes easily, and had to ask a second and third time. By the 3rd time, we were ready to roll in laughter, as he asked if we’re with Marcos or Arroyo! Talk about cronies and hidden wealth!!! I bet this Pinoy cabdriver has read too many newspaper headlines and heard too many rumors. We’re glad he hasn’t heard that this huge mansion near seacliff is owned by the Philippine Government and now houses the Consul General’s Residence.


First on the list was Palace of the Fine Arts. Its grandeur still stands proud today and it’s a good start for an intended city tour. Everyone seemed happy to start their cameras rolling with this first stop. Including Brownie. Brownie who? Patricia’s Brownie----- her brown stuffed dog toy she has been sleeping with since she was a babe. Just before flying out of Manila, she handed me Brownie to keep me company as I would be away from her for a good one month. She promised to sleep with the nightgown I wore the night before for the next 4 weeks. Don’t ask ---- but it must be her way of “staying in touch” with her Mamu since we have been sleeping together every night since I retired in 2001! Thinking it would be easy to “drop” Brownie somewhere in the house before I leave, I said yes. Then, this smart 9 year old reminds me to take pictures of Brownie around San Francisco and in Alaska! So much for dropping Brownie. Smart kid. If Brownie can wink, or laugh, it would.

And so the first shot in my camera is that of Brownie with the group at the Palace of the Fine Arts. Being a Thursday, there wasn’t a big crowd so we freely snapped away while there. Paolo lost no time climbing up the columns with Brownie in tow. Ofie and Beth had photos by the lake with a swan and the Palace in the frame. I was actually looking out for the turtle I found back in 2005 when I was last there. No luck. We had our group picture as well. The first test on the energy level of the group is the ignored suggestion to walk around the lake --- very manageable, really --- but no luck again.

Next stop was Lombard Street for the Crookedest Street. Here you’d find tourists with their cameras slung around their necks. We took our solo photos, couple photos, family photos, group photos there. Need I say more? From here, we trooped to Coit Tower for a 360 degree view of the city with TransAm , Golden Gate and the Bay in all its panoramic beauty. No one dared climb the tower. Everyone savored the view from the Plaza. Brownie had a solo shot with the tower in the background. Brownie also had photos taken with Kuya Paolo with a view of the city and the TransAm building, on Tita Beth’s shoulder, on Mama Evelyn’s lap, etc. From Coit Tower, Brownie and the traveling group went to Steiner St. for shots of the Painted Ladies ----- one of my favorite shots, really. These Victorian houses just look so pretty! Brownie had a shot spread-eagled on the grass in the park across the Victorian houses.

From this Postcard Row, we trooped to Stinking Rose Restaurant where we had a lovely, not so stinky, lunch. Whoever said garlic stinks wouldn’t know a good meal from bad. Along with Lou, I had a mug of cold beer to go with my meal. Paolo was looking forward to his first steak in United Steaks of America. Just like his dad, who simply loves steaks. Upon asking the waiter to take our group picture for posterity, the waiter snapped as he encouraged everyone to say “Garlic”. Call it airplane deaf or whatever, everyone but Lou said “Got it”. Obviously, we didn’t. Ho hum.

Lunch was mainly steaks, pasta and salads. The bread dipped in garlic swimming in olive oil was real good as we downed one bread basket after another before our real lunch was served. There were post-lunch intramurals as Beth and Lou tried to pay for the entire group’s lunch. We dared not get involved. After lunch, Tito Boy admitted to feeling lousy and decided to go home for an afternoon’s rest . We also bid goodbye to Lou who had to head back for San Jose , a good hour and a half’s drive south of San Francisco.

The rest of the group then proceeded to Vista Point to have pictures taken with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. We had two sets of shots here. One before crossing the bridge, the other set after crossing the bridge. Who cares which set of pictures of the bridge look better? No one cares, but we’re happy to have two sets of photos. Having crossed the bridge, with appropriate but quick sidetrips to Sausalito and Tiburon, we then proceeded to Muir Woods to walk off the ‘stinky lunch’. It was like Paolo had an adrenaline shot here as he ran from left to right, squeezed himself into open trunks, and even tried to coax us to join him in an uphill climb. I have always loved Muir Woods, and am glad others did too. The place is magical for me. All those century old trees, the serenity of the streams freely flowing, the cool breeze ………

By the time we got to Vallejo, we were ready for our early dinner. The Carpios were all home to welcome us. There was non stop talking, or rather , it was like everyone’s talking all at once! Mon was his usual quiet self. May was her usual talkative self. The two kids, well not kids anymore for sure, were real happy to see all of us in their lovely home. But dinner was not to be in that home, as we all moved some blocks away to go to May’s sister Gina’s house in Volcano St. I remember sending all those letters to this address when email was not yet in vogue. 132 Volcano St. Gina lives here now with Jun, her new hubby. I saw the old chimney where I had my first picture taken with inaanak Melisa. I promised Melisa that I’d send that photo taken in 1986 via email to her. She’s in for a big surprise. She was then only 3 years old.



May 18, 2007
Friday

After a leisurely breakfast, we went to Ghirardelli Square where Tita Beth and Paolo had their ice cream and shake. We had a leisurely walk from there to Fisherman’s Wharf till we reached Pier 39. Along the way, Paolo walked by the edge along the shore. It was a lovely day for strolling. We stopped a few times for shopping breaks and more French fries for Paolo. Of course, we took many shots too . Brownie is happy.

By the time we reached Pier 39, the noise from the sea lions took all of our attention. It was a good rest stop for everyone. Paolo and Tita Beth even managed to watch a magic/comedy show at the Pier. Tito Boy found a few interesting shops and promised to go back to buy some stuff. I was, as usual, attracted to the fruit store which was then selling fresh strawberries and cherries. From Pier 39, we hoped to visit a wineyard in Napa before going to May’s house, but it was too late as most closed early. So we were at May’s mid afternoon for more hours of non stop chat. Chic and Danny were there too and that was some surprise! This pair drove all of 6 hours from LA just to be here. Oh…

May prepared dinner for as many as 20 people! And Chic even brought some of her Korean beef which tasted so good. We enjoyed the crabs, Korean beef, fish , artichokes (how strange to enjoy this fresh rather than from the can), etc. Gosh, I had to stand away from the table to stop eating.

We were having so much fun and laughing too hard that we almost forgot that Emy is flying in tonight. She called. She’s been waiting at the airport a good hour, and was advised to wait an hour more as we still had to drive from Vallejo to airport. Sudokus kept her company. From here, we all squeezed in to bring Beth and Ofie to their next homebase in Daly City where Beth’s only sister lives. We got off and stayed just enough time to meet Beth’s sister , niece and nephew before driving home to Lake Street where Mario and Gabz waited for us.


May 19, 2007
Saturday

Today, we had a leisurely breakfast with Mario and chatted about the last 2 days. Boy, did we really pack it in! A pity Emy missed the tour of the city and suburbs as well as the dinners fit for gourmands.

Just before lunch, we dropped Emy off at Stockton St. to meet up with friends while Evelyn, Boy and I were dropped off at UC Berkeley for Melisa’s graduation. The 2 boys - Paolo and Gabriel - have their own agenda for the rest of the day. Boys’ bonding, I guess. Either that, or they are starting to grow tired of the adults. A trip to San Jose’s technology or something exhibit with Kuya Mar is a better option for these boys.

We met up with May a good half hour before proceeding to the hall for the Berkeley graduation ceremony. Enough time for May to snatch up some Berkeley sweatshirt for Paolo and shirts for Patricia and Martin. We sat it out throughout the ceremony while my feet ached from wearing my rhinestone-studded black satin high heeled shoes . The pain was made more unbearable as I watched graduates get on stage in comfortable-looking worn out rubber shoes which were made a wee bit acceptable as they threw on their togas or graduation robes over their denims and crew necked shirts. Wow, double wow! Those “non-conformists” from U.P. are no match to these fashion rebels of Berkeley. I even saw one with a jaded Afro look strung tight in a ponytail ……Watching them, I felt very confident to take off my rhinestone-studded shoes after the ceremony and walk around barefooted. What a relief! And such freedom to do as one wished!

Dinner was at Skates by the Bay , a lovely place by the wharf. We had our seafood dinner to go with the ambience . My scallop dinner tasted heavenly. It was truly wonderful to be here for Melisa’s graduation and be with her family to celebrate the event.

May 20, 2007
Sunday

Mario , Gabriel, Emy, Evelyn, Boy and Paolo joined me on this trip to Sta. Cruz to meet good friends Marite and Jack, and Binglo. An hour and a half south of San Francisco, I’ve always looked forward to being here, seeing how happy my good pal Marite lives here with Jack in this wonderful farm estate. The pond has more koi by this time, the turtles have new family members I guess, the chickens and ducks have also multiplied but just as nosy ( there was one particular duck who “watched” Mario the whole afternoon) , and there are goats now!!!! Paolo had a great time feeding the goats and walking around the pond with his Kuya Gabz.

The adults talked about the old days and the more recent changes in their lives and lifestyles while enjoying the clam pasta, salad, lamb chops, steaks and cake. Jack was happy to see us enjoying the great lunch he prepared. Binglo and daughter came by, and there was more talking. The kids can hardly believe we knew each other for 38 long years now! Even I am surprised that we’ve been pals for that long. Our friendship has survived through thick and thin indeed. By late afternoon, after the long chats, the kids grew restless as they have been waiting to go to the Santa Cruz boardwalk. Getting off the car, Paolo commented how “small” the roller coasters look. By the time, Gabz was eager to get on a roller coaster ride, Paolo had a big change of heart. With Gabz egging him on to get on line for the ride, Paolo hurriedly read the warning signs and quickly apologized to Gabriel that he can’t join him for the roller coaster ride because he has a “nervous disorder”. Ha ha ha! His knees must have grown weak after watching the riders shriek…… I quickly ran to the ticket booth , got me a ticket, and went for that roller coaster ride with Gabriel instead!!!!

The boardwalk with all the rides, popcorn and corn dog booths, and the beach area is an American experience. But not the gang fight that ensued right in front of us. There he was, this poor Mexican lad, with his head bleeding………… as the guards ran after this guy who hit the lad’s head with a bottle. Watching that, we decided to troop back to the car and ride back home.

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