Down the Rabbit Hole

I expected bright lights, loud music, and a long queue of cars making that last turn into the parking lot. I was mistaken because my family encountered a wall of black emptiness as we navigated the driveway.  That darkness slowly gave way to soft flickers of   light along the pedestrian paths, gradually turning into an otherworldly experience. Once we reached the exhibit area, we realised the scale of the place (thousands upon thousands of lights... and I am not exaggerating), yet the overall effect was more subtle, like the bioluminescent forest in  Avatar .  This was our first visit to Sensorio, and we were quickly drawn in by its magical atmosphere. Mommy, Daddy, Donan, and I were all drawn in by the magical atmosphere of Sensorio. We didn't just see the lights; we felt like we had stepped into another dimension. What I wish I knew: The temperature drop. I was expecting warmer weather because Paso Robles is around 180 miles south of the East Bay. But ...

Another slow Sunday. Another crisis of activity. After the successful IKEA trip , I had to think up another location that would engage both parties. Anna had suggested a visit to Placerville, and I jumped at the chance because it promised to be a perfect detour on our way home from Lincoln. But could the charm offensive of this gateway to the Gold Rush live up to a grandma's thirst for window shopping and a child's sense of adventure? What is Placerville? Placerville is a city in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Before the Gold Rush , the area was home to the Miwok and Southern Maidu indigenous peoples. When gold was discovered in the area in the late 1840s, multitudes of people from the eastern U.S. settled there, displacing the indigenous people  from the land or decimating them through exposure to pathogens like smallpox . The miners used to carry dry soil to the river to wash out the gold, which gave the city its old name, Dry Diggins. This, along with other mining activities,...

45:09. I checked the timer as I crossed the Solano Turkey Trot finish line, huffing and puffing the last of the chilly, crisp autumn air. It's that anticipation of the sense of accomplishment that got me to the finish line, especially after running too fast during the first mile. Victory was made even sweeter because I just came back from a setback: I didn't finish my first half-marathon attempt in Orangetheory's DriTri Sprint . This year's turkey trot was not just a regular 5K for me; it also held some of my firsts: First turkey trot, ever. Apparently, turkey trots are popular events in the USA. This local event has attracted over 2,000 runners. In fact, I was runner #1911 despite signing up earlier in the year. There were different distance categories (5K, 10K, 21K, and kids' fun run), catering to the various skill levels of the runners (or joggers... or walkers). All along the course, I noticed cheerers carrying banners that said something about "earning y...

The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB)'s  Loyalty Day  is a celebration of volunteerism, honour, and commitment to country. Every October 10th, UPLB commemorates the mobilisation of Filipinos for a war that they ultimately did not fight. On this date in 1918, staff and students of the UP College of Agriculture (now known as UPLB) enlisted in the Philippine National Guard to help fight in  World War I .  The Philippines was a U.S. territory  at the time, and the enlisted personnel were supposed to sail to Europe and be under the command of General John Pershing. However, on the day they were mustered into federal service, the fighting ended (Armistice Day). They never left the Philippines, but their action spoke of their willingness to serve, forever etched into UPLB history. Years after moving to California, I found my link to the UPLB community through the active alumni network  in  Davis, CA . I received an invitation to the Loyalty Day c...

Polynesian Cultural Centre , I have returned! Echoing General Douglas MacArthur's famous speech in Leyte, I  returned  nine years  after  my last visit to Hawaii. During my first trip, I wished I had more time for exploration, as I only had a brief stop at the Hukilau Marketplace and ate lunch at the barbecue before boarding my tour bus for the next stop.  For this trip (my third time in Hawaii, actually), I went with Mommy, Daddy, and Donan. I got tickets that allowed us to visit on three consecutive business days. No wonder I couldn't explore the Centre in two hours: it takes three days to experience all that the centre has to offer! We only had time for two afternoon trips to Lā'ie, so we had to make the most of these visits. I had to consider that I was with seniors and a preschooler, so our fastest pace at the centre would be a slow walk. Day 1 We had just arrived from the  Dole Pineapple Plantation , which was an hour's drive from Wahiawa. That visit ...

I used to go on a Visita Iglesia  on Maundy Thursdays . It's a great tradition that combines travel with a deeper understanding of Jesus Christ's sacrifice and a sense of community, especially when done as a family or with a tour group. When I moved to California, Visita Iglesia  didn't occur on Maundy Thursday; instead, my family would visit parishes in the cities we were vacationing in. Donan had his first Visita Iglesia  experience when we stopped by Mission Santa Ines  with Mommy, Daddy, and Anna. Val was not with us at the time; his visits usually don't coincide with Holy Week. This year, with Val in town, I introduced Donan to another Maundy Thursday tradition: the Holy Triduum. It is the three-day period (non-working holidays in the Philippines but not in the USA) which commemorates Jesus' Last Supper , crucifixion , and resurrection . We went to St. Dominic's Catholic Church in Benicia. Façade of St. Dominic's Catholic Church (that's not our SUV)...

I have encountered the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum while searching for child-friendly places to visit in San Jose, CA. Some of my co-workers have seen it and only had good things to say. I ran the idea with Val, and he was interested in seeing this museum, so we went there on a Sunday afternoon. Who are the Rosicrucians? The Rosicrucians are a group of people who believe that they hold some secret knowledge handed down from ancient times. This hidden knowledge is a combination of occultism and monotheistic religious beliefs. The Rosicrucian group is symbolised by the "Rosy Cross".  Rosy cross found near Luxor Temple, Egypt.  This cross features a rose in the centre and is estimated to date back to around 100 AD. Reading about the Rosy Cross reminded me of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code due to the connections between the Knights Templar, Freemasons, and Rosicrucians. A brief inte...

My family went to Florida just before the Christmas holidays. I always like to include a historical or nature tour whenever I visit a new place. So, I included in our itinerary an airboat tour of Lake Tohopekaliga to see alligators basking in the sun and a visit to Cape Canaveral for a taste of space flight history. A trip to St. Augustine was perfect for our Florida visit's historical aspect. We took the hop-on, hop-off tram tour (but stayed on it for the duration of the tour) to get a quick tour of the city and learn about its history. It claims to be the oldest city in the USA. The city was founded in 1565 by Pedro Ménendez de Avilés and served as the capital of Spanish Florida. The European settlement in this city was part of the  Viceroyalty of New Spain . Since then, St. Augustine has been continuously inhabited, making it the oldest European-established city in the contiguous United States. It is much older, of course, as Timucuan tribes were known to inhabit this part ...

When I was in grade school, Mommy saw a feature on TV Patrol about how beautiful the Christmas lights were in Imus, Cavite . The whole family got into the car right after the news, and we went to Imus (totally unplanned). I remembered the spontaneity of that family trip when I saw a social media feature about Deacon Dave's light display in Livermore, CA. I thought that Donan would love to see the Christmas lights. Val hadn't been to Livermore (outside of the outlets), so it would be nice for him to experience it, too.  We went to Deacon Dave's Casa del Pomba after shopping at Costco. I was surprised by how popular his house is. The 500-foot queue of visitors went around the corner and into a cul-de-sac! I was worried that it would be too cold for Mommy (she wasn't dressed warm enough for the plunging temperature), boring for Donan (he fell asleep; thank goodness we brought the stroller!), and too slow for Val (he had complained about the long waiting time at Singapore Z...

Since I was exposed to Filipino gastronomy movements , I have visited Filipino-owned restaurants featuring Filipino cuisine in each city I explore. This hobby led me to insist upon dining at Kaya in Orlando, Florida , during my family's trip there in December 2024. Although I had difficulty finding time for our Kaya dinner, there was availability for our group on our last night in the city! (Kaya's signpost by the sidewalk. ) We went to Kaya straight after our gator adventure in Lake Tohopekaliga and arcade time at WonderWorks. The restaurant's façade was a welcome sight: a parol with twinkling fairy lights, kids playing street games in the parking lot, and a party in the front yard. The scene was the closest I could get to a fiesta in the Philippines. It was good that we had snacks before travelling to Kaya because the wait was long! Chef Lo Lalicon and General Manager Jamilyn Salonga Bailey brought over salabat to ensure we were warm and cozy while waiting for our tab...

When I first visited Orlando, FL (in 2005), Kuya Rendo  and Ate Lori drove me around the tourist spots in their home city. I noticed an upside-down building; it was as if a tornado pulled it out and then dropped it with the roof on the ground where it now stands. It has intrigued me since then; when we had some free time between the airboat ride and the dinner at Kaya , I checked in with my parents, my sister, and my aunt to see if they wanted to see it. They all said yes, and so we drove to WonderWorks. (Façade of WonderWorks. The rest of the family was not in the photo because I was taking the picture while Daddy was making sure Donan wasn't too close to the road.) WonderWorks is where we can let our imaginations run wild (the company's motto). It is divided into zones crammed with hands-on exhibits. It was sensory overload. Extreme Weather Zone Anna and I were blown away by the 74-mph wind in the hurricane simulator.  As if that wasn't chilly enough, we dunked our hand...

Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch appeared on my Instagram feed in early October. It's the perfect pumpkin patch for a child whose current favourites are dinosaur toys, pumpkins, and trains. Anna and Daddy wanted to see it, too, so we visited it on Indigenous People's Day. Just as the reviews promised, this pumpkin patch was packed! Students on a field trip, families on an excursion (like us), and friends on a day off trooped to what has become an annual tradition in the Morgan Hill region. It was an enjoyable trip: I wrote about what I liked about Spina Farms and what I didn't. The good Spina Farms has perfected the combination of interests that attracts children of all ages (and their parents or teachers) to visit annually; for example, it has animatronic dinosaurs, flying pumpkins, confusing corn mazes, colourful flowers, and sculptures of giant insects.  Godzilla was on hand to welcome guests of all ages, too! T he parking area is well-organised and can accommodate many visitor...

Anna, Donan, and I watched  Fleet Week  from Fort Baker last year . Since we enjoyed our experience, we organised a trip to see it again from the same point this year. After Mass and lunch, we drove to Sausalito, intending to take the exit that would have taken us to Fort Baker. However, the queue for that exit was close to two miles long; we missed the exit because I had thought that the queue wasn't for that exit just yet. And so, as we passed by our supposed exit, I quickly decided that we were going to watch the Blue Angels from an even better area: Crissy Field ! The Blue Angels whizzed past us as we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge . Anna and Donan had a great time watching them fly by as I tried to concentrate on watching the road. Some pedestrians on the bridge stopped to take videos of the aerial presentation. As I entered Crissy Field, I realised there was an even worse traffic jam because cars were parked on the road (the drivers and passengers just hopped out to watc...

On a fine Sunday afternoon when the weather was warm, we drove to Cupertino to visit one of the places I have always wanted to visit since I bought my first iPod: the Apple headquarters. Little did I know that the headquarters I wanted to see (the Apple Campus) has now been replaced by Apple Park (aka Apple Campus 2). Nevertheless, I wanted to see how the minimalist aesthetic of Apple products translates to the company headquarters.  What I saw did not disappoint. It actually wowed me. I was surprised that the campus was found in a suburban neighbourhood. It felt so peaceful to be there on a weekend. I'm sure the pace is more rapid on weekdays, with people rushing to work, but assuming that people living in the adjacent neighbourhood are Apple employees, the commute (or the walk) won't be too bad. I learned that visitors are not allowed on the campus but are welcome to tour the Apple Park Visitor Centre. The garden surrounding the visitor centre is lined with olive trees and n...

Solano County's Health and Social Services (H&SS) has a committee preparing for the Public Health Day sometime in May. I attended the first of its meetings, and I found the committee organisers to be very friendly. It did help that they prepared a check-in activity to make everyone at ease: "loteria". When they first mentioned it, I thought we would play the lotto. However, I learned that Loteria is similar to Bingo. We were each given one card with several drawings and Spanish words. We were also given a handful of beans. One had to put one bean to each drawing on the card to win the game. Players would place the beans on their cards as the game master mentioned the word or showed the photo he/she had drawn from a deck of photo cards.   My Spanish is limited to numbers and a few objects... I am not able to string words into a sentence just yet. And so, I heavily relied on the photos that the game master showed to the group. It was a fun activity, albeit short (about ...