10-Feb: Dinner with friends from the old Taekwondo gym

Waf and I met up with friends from the old gym for dinner and coffee. It was fun sharing stories and reminiscing. Before the evening ended the women (married) were warning the men (single) not, I repeat, NOT to get married. Hmmm, that's the nth time I've heard that this year.



18-Feb: Muscle Car night

I would've called this mustang night, but Carl will surely object. Jux, Carl and I brought out the Mustangs and Camaro for a drive aroundd town. First stop was a coffee shop then we headed to "Woodstock Revisited", a concert organized by the city as part of the FlowerFest. Man, that was a bore, half of the crowd were performers, the other half were police/military. After 3 songs we left and drove to Legarda. Carl and I promised to have just one beer since we were surfing the next day. So by 1am I was home packing for the trip.

19-Feb: La Union

The forecast showed that Sunday was the best day to surf so we met up at the usual place, had a quick meal and headed off. On the way to The Pier, we saw the waves at The Point and San Juan Beachbreak were working so we expected The Pier to be empty. Wrong! We arrived at the pier and found longboarders, longboarders, and longboarders. The waves were definitely for longboarding. By 11am we were lined up waiting for the occassional 4 footers (it was around 10-15 mins between sets). By 2pm we'd gotten a few rides, and about 10 shades darker (or redder for Carl who didn't think he needed the sunblock, wrong!).

After a breather, we headed back to the line up happy to find that most of the other surfers were already leaving, only one other group remained. By this time the sets improved to regular 4 footers. Yahoo! Before 5pm we were all surfed out so we grabbed our stuff and walked back to the van. Aly and Chucky realized somebody had taken their flipflops. While search we found out that the other group also lost flipflops. What is the world coming to when you can't leave your flipflops on the beach without fearing somebody might take it? After giving up the search, the Young brothers headed home barefooted.









We then drove back to Aldrix's to rinse the boards, shower and have dinner. By 6pm everybody was dozing off in the van on our way back to the mountains, surely dreaming of the good waves they caught today.

Brokeback Deepwell Part1

Brokeback Deepwell Part II

Test Drive

(alarm buzzes)need to wake up, i'm going surfing....zzzzzzz....
(alarm buzzes again)what time is it?
(eyes open, blinded by the sunlight from the window) cold, brrrrrr
(tucked myself in again) it's ok, im awake....zzzzz.....
beep!(reaches for phone, message from Jux)now i'm awake, 30mins to meeting time
(gets up, walks to bathroom, washes face then brushes)do i shower today? hmm, nope, i'll shower after the session
(walks back to room, grabs the pile of clothes, camera, etc and dumps it into the backpack)do i bring the tripod? i think i should
(final check of stuff then heads down, dogs greet)i think i can spare a few minutes for breakfast
(grabs a banana, crackers and coffee)ma, we're going down
ma: are you bringing the beetle?
(am i? ok)yup!
ma: tapang mo ah
(checks watch, finishes breakfast)i have to go, bye!
(runs to beetle, warms it up)i wonder where Jux is already
(sends sms)Loakan, great, I'll meet him in the intersection..

So, Jux and I met at Kennon road and drove the mustang and beetle to Naguillan to meet up with everybody else. After Aldrix arrived and numerous calls to Carl, we headed down.

Naguillan pit stop

Our first stop was in Naguillan, to check on the cars and grab snacks. After refilling radiators, checking oil levels and having ice cream, we drove off to Bacnotan.

Line up

We were at the pier by 10:30. Jux and Ann stayed while Aldrix and I headed to their place to pick up the boards. By 11am we were all in the line up, happy to be under the sun and in the water again. Its been at least a month since our last session.

Calling it a day

After a few rides, wipeouts and lots of floating around, we decided to head up to Baguio early just in case any of the cars had problems. Fresh from the shower, we met up with Sonny and family for snacks at the Midway Grill.

Sonny decided to stay in San Fernando a while, so Jux and I headed off. We stopped for gas, actually Jux stopped for gas while I parked and soundtripped while waiting. 4pm and we were Baguio bound, everything running fine.

Sunset from Burgos

Somewhere near Burgos, Jux suddenly stops and rushes out to the truck. His spare gas container spilled. I stopped as well and rushed out, it was sunset and wanted to take a few pics.

Gas spill

After a few minutes, we were off again. Jux went ahead, I started the beetle and raced after him. Several meters later the beetle's engine dies. Hmm, wierd, I try again. It cranks but doesn't start. I call Jux, then get out to check on the engine. Jux arrives in a few minutes then Sonny passes by as well.

Sonny being the ultimate gearhead, starts going through the different engine parts (Sonny was in La Union for the motocross competition). About an hour later the Baguio moto people pass by and check if they can help also.

It was already dark and there were 6 vehicles parked along Naguillan road because of the beetle. It looked like a park-and-drink party. The vehicles passing by would slow down to check out what was happening.

We later thanked the bikers for their help and they headed home. We got to isolate the problem and thought we could inch our way to Baguio. Every few hundred meters we'd stop for the ignition coil to cool until in one stop Sonny's car failed to start. Freaky, my beetle didn't either. After checking Sonny's rice racer, we found out his fuel gauge wasn't calibrated. So with Jux's spare gas, Sonny and Jux drove off to Baguio to bring the women home. I waited with Carl, Aldrix and Kuya Gary (good thing Carl passed by).

By 2230, Sonny was back with gas. Carl and friends drove ahead while Sonny and I inched our way up. After 2 more stops we were in Baguio and by midnight I was home. Phew, long night, but that was ok. It was a welcome change from the monotony of these past weeks.

The next day I changed my fuel filter and ignition coil and brought the beetle to the shop for tightening of a few bolts then some checks. The trip to La Union was good since it pointed out some almost faulty parts. I'll definitely drive the beetle down again when I can. I left the beetle at the shop overnight and went to another shop to pick the mustang up. It had been at the shop for the last 5 months and was finally ready to come home.

Driving the mustang home was great. The Mustang Grande was the "Luxury" mustang with power steering, power brakes, deluxe interior, extra sound insulation, high back bucket seats, a vinyl top, etc... And after driving the beetle for that last couple of months the extra creature comforts were definitely welcome.

By Tuesday evening, I picked the beetle up and drove it home. This was the first time the beetle and mustang met. So I left them together to share stories and experiences and get to know each other. Ah, my babies are both home...

Flora and Fauna

You know its bee a boring week when you download everything in your camera and all your shots are from around the house, with the highlight of your week being a round of beers with a few friends.

Flower

Dogs

Flower, again!

A round with Roy and friends

Butterflies?

Well the swell forecast for the weekend seems promising, I hope it continues....