Bears

When we went to Lake Johnson in Banff National Park, my brother and I decided to go on a hike. The trail was approximately three kilometers, probably an hour walk (on a leisurely pace) around the lake.

About 15 minutes in the trail, I asked:

"What if we see a bear?"

There was silence for a few seconds. Then this conversation:

"Umm... All I know is that we shouldn't run." my brother said.
"Should we play dead?" I asked.
"I don't think that's a good idea." He replied.

Good thing we didn't run into one.

An almost adventure in the Canadian Rockies

As early as February, my mom already had us booked on our Radium Hot Springs, BC trip. She had googled it and she even asked around for the possible activities and other worthy sites around that area - one of which was Lussier Hot Springs.

From the village center of Radium, we drove for about an hour to get to the Lussier Hot Springs - which, according to reports, was an undeveloped pool of hot water. It was so undeveloped that the road that leads to it was called "unknown" by the GPS.

So from the highway we drove into the unknown: a seven kilometer stretch of two way rough road. From the unknown, we turned right to what I would call "nowhere": a single lane of even rougher road that leads to somewhere I'm sure. It was safe to say that at that point, we had no idea where we are and where we are going.

A few hundred meters into "nowhere", surrounded by trees and the fear of possible wild-life encounter, we decided to turn back. This family, so used to the concrete jungle was definitely not ready for the deep woods.

Sonya’s Garden – Tagaytay City

More accurately, it’s in the “vicinity of Tagaytay City” as per its website. I guess ‘Alfonso, Cavite’ doesn’t have that same tourism appeal as ‘Tagaytay City.’

So we went there for our honeymoon. On the way there, we almost got lost.
It wasn’t actually hard to go there. From the main road, you turn right at Buck Estate and that road will lead you straight to Sonya’s Garden. Incidentally, there are also a big Sonya’s Garden sign on the main road so you’d know when to turn right. You won’t get lost.
But we almost did. You see, we had no idea where Alfonso, Cavite was. So when we went past Tagaytay, and past Nasugbu, I was worried. Maybe we missed the turn. Maybe we didn’t see the sign. Maybe it was hidden. It was Sonya’s Secret Garden…
So we made a panic right turn. Fortunately, after a few minutes, Joel figured it wasn’t the right, right turn. So we headed back to the main road and waited for the big sign to show up. And it finally did. It was definitely NOT in Tagaytay.

We finally got there and as we were waiting for the person in reception, we noticed that a wedding reception will be held that afternoon. When the receptionist arrived, I guess she noticed the white dress and the barong so she asked us “Are you the newlyweds?”
I had to think before I could answer. We were in fact newlyweds, but I don’t think we were THE newlyweds she was waiting for. And I don’t remember booking the room and telling them that it was for our honeymoon. So I said “no” and wished that it will not be construed as fraud.

So we were led inside. It was amazing.



It felt so natural, as if God merely sprinkled flower seeds and left it to grow. It didn’t feel like a professional landscape architect had a hand on it at all. There was no structure. It was a beautiful and cozy kind of mess. Makes you feel like home, actually.

When we went to our room, I kind of thought that we should have told them we were on our honeymoon because it wasn’t a room, it was a house. While technically it might have been a room, it had 3 king size beds, 2 couches and 2 bathrooms. We weren’t used to all that space. We actually thought of inviting the whole gang to join us.

It was really lovely though – not your typical commercial and impersonal hotel room. On the contrary, it had personality. As if someone actually lives there, like it was someone’s home: some rich Filipino’s ancestral home away from the city. It can even be my home. I could easily imagine my grandma coming out of one of the rooms telling us it's time for dinner. It was that cozy.



And the food was amazing - all grown in their garden. And the china... my dad will go insane as none of them matched. But each piece was exquisite.


While it was a bit expensive, it was truly worth it. One day, I’ll bring my Canadian friends there.

Heritage Park, Calgary

To Celebrate Canada Day, we decided to explore Heritage Park - Canada's Largest Living History Museum.

It was lovely. I've always enjoyed museums so I really enjoyed this one. There are lots of exhibits to see and many activities to do.

We rode the SS Moyie...
And the Canada Pacific Steam Train...
Unfortunately we were only there for 3 hours and it wasn't enough. While we went around the park during the train-ride, we weren't able to go inside all the historic buildings, weren't able to go on all the rides, weren't able to shop in the novelty stores... although I think my husband will appreciate that last part.

For sure, we will go back. And you will see more pictures.
And I will shop... for hubby's presents... and a little for me too, of course.