Eye Yi Yi | Long Time Gone

Here I am in the infamous Angeles City “entertainment” district, and I’m not doing much that passes for entertainment. Hey, what else is new? As mentioned in yesterday’s post, I did not join in the Corona Hash hike. Instead, I went to visit an ophthalmologist clinic that Dr. Jo recommended. Well, actually, she recommended a particular eye doctor, but that person doesn’t work on Saturdays. The guy I saw was fine and confirmed what I suspected- I have a Stage 3 cataract in my left eye, and surgery to remove it is the only cure. I’ll need to make a decision about when and where to do that; until then, I’ll be essentially blind in one eye.

We walked for 45 minutes to get there from the hotel. I was a little concerned because the waiting room had a good crowd, but I was seen a few minutes before my scheduled appointment. The only frustration was the dilation process, which took three doses of eye drops, ten minutes apart. But that allowed the doctor to confirm that my retinas were fine. It was hard to see for a couple of hours afterward, which made the walk back a little dicey.

Some of the blurry things I saw on the way back to the hotel:

***Back to the infamous Barangay Balibago.***

***That’s an interesting name for a Korean restaurant. Then again, if I were pig, I’d be pissed, too.***

We stopped into Kokomo’s for some lunch, but didn’t eat. And yes, this is the original Kokomo’s opened by Dave Fisher before he moved his operations to Subic. He opened the Kokomo’s on Baloy Beach (and Treasure Island) but sold those years ago.

***Swan couldn’t read the menu (she had the same eye treatments as me). I ordered but changed my mind and had my food for takeout. Then I gave it away instead of eating it.***

***The notorious Walking Street bar district is quiet by day***

***This is a place I frequented back in my tourist days (circa 2007-2008)***

***Walking Street has been redesignated “Red Street.” I guess that’s short for red-light district.***

***Or maybe red alert. My situational awareness is definitely at a higher level than when I’m in Barretto.***

Then, it was back to the hotel for a nap and some blogging. When dinner time arrived, we headed out to Margarita Station, just a few blocks up the road.

***An old Oldsmobile in almost mint condition we saw along the road.***

I’d skipped both breakfast and lunch to make up for my sins the night before, but I’m a big fan of a roast beef dip sandwich, so I thought I deserved to treat myself. I was surprised at how big it was and only ate half of it.

***Margarita Station is a restaurant with a bar and two pool tables. It also has a large outdoor swimming pool.***

After our meal, we went in search of somewhere to enjoy a drink and the Angeles nightlife ambiance. We passed numerous go-go bars, but neither of us was in the mood, instead preferring an outdoor venue.

***Some nice lights outside a shopping center.***

We eventually settled on a venue I had enjoyed patronizing during those long ago Angeles visits.

***A small open-air place suits our fancy***

After a couple of beers (and one wine), we continued making our way towards ~~Walking~~ Red Street. Phillies is another outdoor bar I’ve enjoyed in the past, but alas, it was packed full when we arrived last night. After a brief discussion, we decided we’d just go back to the hotel bar for our nightcap, so we grabbed a trike and headed home.

***Back at the hotel, I noticed we were being stalked by a moon shadow.***

The hotel bar was empty, and none of the other Hashers had come back from the Corona Hash yet. We had a drink and watched some dramas on the TV in the bar. Yep, that’s how we rolled on a Saturday night in Angeles City. Jesus, what’s gotten into me?

***Well, one thing that DIDN’T get into me was the apple pie a la mode on the menu. And that calorie deficit almost makes up for the overage the night before. Win some, lose some.***

***I didn’t skip breakfast at the hotel restaurant this morning.***

***But at least I didn’t eat all of it.***

Today’s entry from the archives of LTG is a July 2005 post about the party I hosted in celebration of Independence Day. Man, oh, man, those pictures brought back some memories. Mi Soon, one of the gals from Sweet Caroline’s, my first Itaewon bar home, was destined to become my first Korean girlfriend. Needless to say, that did not end well. Still, I wonder how her life turned out.

One of my cousins in Memphis, Tennessee, posted this old photo of my grandfather (my dad’s dad) on Facebook. Gramps died before I was born, so we never got to meet. He was a captain on a Mississippi (yay, got the spelling right on the first try!) riverboat.

William Edgar McCrarey died in the late 1940s of a heart attack. I was a little disappointed that his middle name wasn’t Lee, like my father and son. Now that I think about it, my younger brother is Gregory Lee. My son didn’t have a boy child, so no more Lee’s to come.

Facebook memories took me back to my days as a river walker in Seoul.

***What I saw on this day nine years ago. Such pleasant walks on the Han River. I miss those times.***

Today’s YouTube video is from a vlogger I’ve never watched before, but I enjoyed her talk about whether visiting the PI these days is safe. As far as I can tell, it is as safe as it ever was. There are places you should never go, like Muslim Mindanao and places like Angeles City, where you need to be mindful of pickpockets and the like. Still, I’ve not seen any demonstrations or other civil unrest over the Duterte arrest.

And now I’ve got these to share:

And with that, I’ll prepare for today’s adventure with the Angeles City Hash House Harriers. Back with a report tomorrow.

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