Hot Air Balloon and Valentines 2008 Archives - Between Bites

(The great photos are courtesy of Francis Kevin Liamzon)

The idea was to leave at 230am Saturday to make it to the Hot-Air Balloon fiesta in Pampanga by 5-530am. Bubba was sick since Thursday night and he wasn’t getting any better Friday. By 10pm Friday, I sent an SMS to Madz and Francis that we might have to cancel. I feel bad when people cancel last minute without serious considerable reason. Even if Bubba’s weak state, with high fever and terrible cough, is a compelling reason, I still felt bad having to cancel last minute. Sympathetic M and F were so understanding of the situation and said not to worry about it. We’ve been looking forward to this trip so Bubba suggested moving it to Sunday instead of canceling.

Saturday around 5am, Bubba was breaking out in cold sweat. I had to supplant the cold water with new ice blocks in the ice bag and give him a sponge bath to ease his high body temperature. By 6am, I was already cooking breakfast for his first meal of the day and medicines to follow afterwards. Since sick people do not have much appetite, I had to cook Bubba his favorite breakfast (scrambled egg with cheese, toast, cream cheese, fresh orange) to entice him to eat. Glad that he was able to finish a hefty breakfast. His fever was high the whole morning so a sponge bath was scheduled once every 2 hours.

Finally, Bubba was getting better around noon. By 4pm, we sent an SMS to M and F confirming our Sunday plans. Meeting was same as planned, 230am but this time at Francis’ place, instead of McDo El Pueblo. By 530pm, we tried to revive our plans of spending Valentine’s with my good friend Kenny (Kennykins!!!) over the Audrey Hepburn moviefest at Rockwell but he was still with family spending dinner. We decided to go and watch Audrey Hepburn (Thanks Antz for getting the tickets!) anyway.

Roman Holiday is one of my ultimate classic favorites. We have to be home by 10pm to get enough rest before the Pampanga trip so we caught Breakfast at Tiffany’s showing at 7PM. Rockwell really hammed it up with a red carpet entrance covered in pink, white, and red Rose petals. It felt so surreal to see an old classic on the big screen. Even if we have a copy of the DVD, watching it in theater was an enjoyable experience. Bumped into Az and Lace after the movie.

Waking up at 2am Sunday was quite difficult being up all night Friday. It was all good though since I knew it was going to be a fantastic day ahead. I quickly threw together a picnic basket –pasta I cooked a few hours ago, Salt and Pepper biscuits, Chili Con Carne, Tostitos tortillos chips with hint of lime and Lindt dark chocolate. The crew composed of M, F, Issang, and M’s 2 cousins (Mark and Mon). All 7 of us were able to fit inside F’s Fortuner, with one lying on the floor at the back. He managed to survive the ride sleeping all the way to Pampanga. To keep us up, Madz and I picked on Francis, while Francis and Bubba talk about boy’s toys: cars.

We took the Angeles exit (which is in between Dau and San Fernando exits) and arrived in Angeles Pampanga at 430am, making the drive from Ortigas/Manila only an hour and half. Since we were an hour early, we grabbed some breakfast at Jollibee. When we got there at 530am, the place was already crawling with people.

Hot Air Balloon Festival

The event started when three skydivers dotted the sky with one carrying the Philippine flag. The Philippine national anthem set off the Sunday program. Para-gliders invaded the scene afterwards. Photographers and onlookers positioned themselves to get a good view. It took a while for the balloons to launch because they have to prep up. While waiting and to kill boredom (and Bubba said because I was full), I was a bug-a-boo to Bubba and the rest of our companions. I kept laughing my heart out the whole time.

One short funny anecdote: We see the Kellogs balloon being inflated. I told Bubba, “Oh, there’s Tony the Tiger!” Chris nods his head. Francis remarks, “He was my batchmate in La Salle.” I stared at him blankly, checking if he was trying to be funny.

Jane: He was your batchmate in La Salle?

F: “Tony Atagle? Yea, we’re the same batch.”

I looked at Bubba and pointed at the balloon. “Hey, Tony the tiger is Francis’ batchmate!” It became the inside joke of the group that morning. We walked around a bit and bumped into the Kellogs mascot. “Hey Francis, there’s your friend.” “Is it okay to get his autograph?” We just kept roaring the whole time. I’m glad F wasn’t such a sourpuss. After all, true friends are people who think that you are a good egg even though they know that you are slightly cracked.

The balloons started to fly around 630AM… it was fabulous to see all 21 balloons up in the air like teardrop-shaped spaceships. The vibrant colors filled the morning sky.

Bridge Shots

Last year we went to the balloon festival with the Travel Factor Photoholic Ilocos group. I thought of checking out the zoo nearby called Paradise Ranch (?). On the way there, we spotted this long green and white bridge that stretched to forever. Both cars stopped because Ced and I were thinking of the same thing. We had a photo shoot there. This year wasn’t any different. Since Madz wasn’t with us last year, we brought her there. We had another shoot there like we owned the bridge. We moved out of the way though every time a car passes by.

Everybody’s Café and Something New

We were looking for another restaurant only to find out that we were in the wrong town. I was asleep and Bubba thought that it was in San Fernando. Only when I woke up that it was realized that the location is in Angeles. We were already in San Fernando so we decided to eat there. Everyone with us, except Bubba and I, never tried frogs and crickets so we suggested eating brunch at Everybody’s Café.

On the Table

Stuffed Frogs (Batute) PHP 60 per piece (2)

Kare-Kare PHP 190

Fried Catfish (Hito) PHP 95

Buro and Mustasa PHP 60

Camaro (Deep-fried Crickets)

Lechon Kawali

Morcon PHP 300

Tsokolate PHP 60

All five enjoyed the taste of the crickets and frog. Issang and Madz both especially enjoyed the fried hito with buro wrapped in Mustasa. The table was totally wiped out. The lunch came to about 200 per head with drinks.

Aurely’s

We just had to stop by Aurely’s for pasalubong. Too bad they ran out of their Brazo de Mercedes squares and we finished the last batch of yema balls (PHP 3 each). Instead of pasalubong, it became dessert in the car on the way back to Manila. The yema balls are quite the gems with its soft smooth texture that almost melts in your mouth.

The drive back was relatively shorter for some reason. The group reached Greenmeadows by 1PM. They had a quick snack of pasta while we reviewed the photos F & M took. By 2PM, we were well on the way to our own homes with a smile in our hearts and a grin in our bellies.

There is nothing worth the wear of winning, but laughter and the love of friends. –Hillaire Belloc