Wednesday, February 1, 2012 | By: Jenggai

Little Andoy's weekend getaways

I’m glad that despite my busy schedule at work, we were able to squeeze in a little family getaway this month. Hubby’s sister, who works as a nurse in the Middle East, is in the Philippines for a short vacation. She wanted to have some family bonding and so the story of our two consecutive weekends getaway.

Last January 14, we went to Pangasinan to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag. If I remember it right, I last visited the Shrine sometime in 1999 or 2000 while I was still in college. I’m glad to be back after more than a decade. It was hubby’s first time to go there and of course Little Andoy, too. It was a six-hour trip from Marikina so we left just before sunrise. With my mother-in-law and four kids in tow, we had to make a couple of stop overs at some gasoline stations along the way – to stretch out, take little snacks and to use the toilets. We arrived at the Shrine just in time for the next mass. After attending mass, we explored the place for a while, took pictures and had lunch at the picnic grounds. Little Andoy enjoyed watching the fishes in the fish pond.

Sorry for the not so good shot. There were too many people in front of me.

At the garden.

Little Andoy watching the fishes.

The next weekend was a long weekend. Thanks to the Chinese New Year holiday. We went to Pansol, Laguna for a nice warm overnight swimming. Little Andoy was so excited the moment he saw the swimming pool, much more when we took a dip that he was screaming and laughing so loud. He didn’t want to join his cousins in the kiddie pool. He wanted to swim in the big swimming pool instead.

A nice warm night swim

We left around 8am the next morning to head on to our next destination. From Laguna, we went to Tanay, Rizal to visit the Regina Rica. It is a pilgrimage site being managed by Domincan sisters. The place is very serene and on top of a hill is a huge statue of Regina Rosarii. You have to climb the hill to get to the statue. Inside the statue is the prayer room where you can ask Our Lady for your prayer requests and interventions.



Enjoying the cool breeze and green surroundings

We went to my brother-in-law’s house after visiting Regina Rica to eat lunch because it was also their town fiesta that day. We arrived home at around 6pm already.

It was indeed a fully packed weekend for us. Tiring but all worth it.

7 comments:

Michi said...

busy weekend nga sis. =) gusto ko din mag hot spring.

Jenggai said...

Go sis! I'm sure Ethan will enjoy it as well. When I saw how Little Andoy was enjoying the fishes in Manaoag, I remembered how Ethan also enjoys feeding the fishes in Nuvali. I thought of visiting that place one of these days :)

-Sapphire Mommy (Mommy Jo)- said...

sarap naman ng family getaway nyo sis! tama si sis michi,parang gusto ko din mag-hot spring sa Pansol.obviously Andoy had a lot of fun :)

Jenggai said...

Go na din sa Pansol, Mommy Jo! Tamang-tama nandyan si hubby mo. Enjoy every moment with your Allan and Xian para sulit ang bakasyon :)

Kristeta  (kalokang Pinay) said...

Wow sis, it sounds like a full on weekend! But judging the huge smiles, it's evident that you had a fab time.
I grew up in Pangasinan & my folks are still there, and whenever I am home, we never fail to visit Manaoag. =)
Naku ang sarap naman magswimming. I wonder when we could do that again. Asa hibernate mode kami ngayon kasi ang lamig pa dito, hehe =)
Andoy is so cute, sis =)

Wendy said...

fun weekend! miss Pinas!

Jenggai said...

@Kristeta: Sarap sana mag-stay sa Manaoag kaso ang layo ng pinanggalingan namin kaya mga 2 hours lang kmi nag-stay dun. Kailangan bumyahe agad pabalik para di masyado gabihin sa daan :)

@Wendy: Congrats on your FB page! Sana manalo ako sa giveaway :)

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