March 4th, 2006
Road Trip
Today, we went to Los Banos, Laguna. It was very generous of RV to fetch their royal bratty-ness, Princess Amy and Princess Aggie 
from our place when we were so out of the way. And then we had to go back the same route to LB. The weather was a definite improvement over last week's rains, and it was the start of our travelogues... Along the way, we cracked jokes (to those I texted, this was where the "kita" jokes stemmed from. And miane, mali ang spelling ko ng maOui taylor, as jptan--and only him--pointed out. 
).
We chanced upon the Grand Villa resort and butterfly farm, still a work in progress (will open this summer), but we decided to check it out. A guest relations lady gave us a tour of the place. It's so pretty! A differential for a wedding venue... it’s got a function hall, with stairs leading to the bride’s “mansion” just above it... perfect for the bride’s grand entrance (wag lang matapilok habang bumababa sa hagdan!) . The price is grand too! But I'm still suggesting it to GTBE and/or Flummoxed for our summer getaway.
RV was our tour guide and he pointed out the sights, and shared some interesting trivia or personal anecdotes about his good old college campus. UPLB's sooo nice. I luv UP Diliman and all, having spent there a significant part of my life with the most important people, but UPLB’s just so... close so nature... the air’s fresh and there are many trees (we don’t have that in UP Manila where I’m currently based). Texted db and Marose that I was in LB. Marose was busy with thesis and couldn't meet up, but at least she replied and suggested we go see the raptor sanctuary. Unlike db...
Mt. Makiling is part of the UPLB campus. I'm not really into mountain climbing (unlike my good friend Leo Baleo); my first two climbs (Banahaw and Taal) had both been course requirements. But I've been meaning to climb Makiling this time, and my motivation is an offshoot of surfing the *hallyu* (“tungsan”--mountain climbing--is a popular activity in Korea). We were all ill-equipped for a climb--Gio had a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and Amy and I were in slippers and I recently had my nails done! So we just trekked to the nearest destination--the flat rocks area. The trail was wet, muddy and very slippery. I had to hike up my jeans to keep the hems from being soaked in mud (although my feet were now more exposed). We made footholds out of rocks and protruded roots, and held onto tree trunks and branches for support. In the background, we could hear the tweet of the birds and the splash of the stream, each time getting louder as we neared our destination (Doppler effect). The place wasn't pristine, as some irresponsible trekkers have left behind food wrappers, papers and cigarette butts; and the water was murky owing to the recent rains. But the air was fresh. And the trees provided shade from the sun. We stayed there for several minutes.
Late lunch at Sizzlers, a student-friendly eatery outside the campus (I guess it's like Philcoa is to UPDil).
From UPLB, we took a different route up Makiling to go to the Philippine High School for the Arts and the National Arts Center; we passed the Boy Scouts campsite along the way. The place is charming (I’d have to give Imelda credit for her project.) Even the students’ residence halls look more like little log cabins instead of the usual concrete boxes. And the view from the top is breathtaking; RV says it’s a perfect place of kite-flying.
We passed by the “Magnetic Hill” on our way home. The vehicle was set at neutral, and RV wasn’t driving, but we were still going “uphill”. In actuality, the road was really going downward, but the landscape around it makes it look uphill. 
.
Check out the PIX! 
; Dr. B joined us. All eager to go home, we left the place at 1, just a little past our sign-out time.
My teeth felt like they were going to succumb to the tension of the wires which were tightly wound around the brackets. But my first dentist was "lost to followup", frequently away whenever I dropped by her clinic. So I transferred to another dentist, who was more visible than the first.
(Of course it didn't help that I chewed on ice cubes!)
Of course they weren't carried to term (there was a case report though of an abdominal pregnancy that was carried to term). But still, it's incredible how the fertilized ovum managed to reach those far-off places!