“Always and never are two words you should always remember never to use.”
I’m always careful to never do that.
All is well (as far as I know) in my little piece of the world. And I’ve got pictures to prove it! Where to start? Let’s go backward in time, shall we?
Another beautiful morning here in Alta Vista.This is the flip side of the shot above–taken while standing in front of Easter mountain looking back towards Alta Vista.Blooming vines.What should I cook for Thanksgiving dinner this year?This is a neighborhood dog I call Brownie. He used to have a thick coat of brown hair. Now he’s got the mange and looks like a skeleton. I noticed this morning that he appears to be blind in one eye now as well. I don’t think he is long for this world but at least that will end his suffering.Budai came to visit again so I gave her some dry dog food. I believe she has the same owner as Brownie above. She doesn’t appear to have the mange (yet) which is a good thing since she loves to roughhouse with Buddy and Lucky. There’s not much more I can do for her either. You can’t save them all.My pot roast dinner from last night. Had it for breakfast this morning too. It came out really tender and tasty. Definitely the best beef roast I have found in the Philippines. Next time I might see about trimming off some of the fat, but then again, that might have contributed to the flavor. It wasn’t hard to eat around the fatty parts and the dogs loved the leftovers.My beer drinking routine was stymied because the outside patio seats at Mango’s were all occupied. So much for reserving my stool! Ah well, I never expected them to turn away a customer in my absence anyway. Besides, it gave me an excuse to go next door to Palm Tree. It has the same view and it’s enhanced by the second-floor vantage point.One of my neighbors was having a beer there too so we had a nice chat. He’s from the UK but wanted to talk about American politics. At least he’s a Trump supporter. A bit later, Nikole (my masseuse) came in with some friends. It was a little strange because I had been ignoring her messages asking me to help because her house was being torn down and she needed a place to live. I asked her what happened and she said she’s staying with a cousin. Glad it worked out for her. There’s a fine line between being generous with someone truly in need and being a sucker. It’s like I used to tell the gals I met on the internet who would besiege me with tales of some emergency or another: “Oh my! What would you do if you didn’t know me? Do that!” Then I’d block them. I consider Nikole an employee and if she doesn’t knock off the money requests she will soon be an ex-employee.So, I guess that takes us back to yesterday’s beach walk. We did a 9K round trip to the lighthouse just outside the old Navy base and back.Five of us all told, Jim, Troy, Dan, Scott, and yours truly.You might say the tables were turned as we agreed on the beach route so as to avoid a mountain. It was a nice change of pace.Which is not say there weren’t any challenges along the way. Climbing over these big ass boulders was harder than it looks. At low tide, you can pretty much walk around them. Not so yesterday.But we all made it across safely and even kept our feet dry.Oh yeah, there was a seawall to climb too.High tide can be destructive.Talk about living on the edge! No way I’m using that toilet, it would scare the shit out of me!I hope that cargo is to resupply the Royal supermarket. Please!We passed through a little village named Bantalayan that I sometimes fantasize about moving to. I can see the lights at night from my perch at Mango’s. It even has a bar, although I’m not sure it is still open. Hmm, maybe an opportunity for me to do something productive with my life. Nah, probably not.Lady Madonna.Some more of the Bantalayan locals. Hey, where did you get those cookies? Oh, never mind. Even saw a place for rent! I’d probably be the only white guy in town, That may not be a good thing though.Troy leading the way…Scott and Jim bringing up the rear.Our destination is in sight!The faux lighthouse on the old Navy base. Some fishermen in the foreground.A quick walk out to the end of the jetty before heading back.The natives are resting.Beachside living at its not so finest. Hey, wait up guys. I’ve been taking pictures!One of the “rooms” at the Samba beach resort. Actually, I could spend a night in one of these. With the right girl of course!Scott and I decided not to climb the rock formations again, so took the highway back into Barretto. That’s always a thrill!This turned out to be a long post, didn’t it?
Anyway, we decided to do our after hike beers at Dive In, a bar I very rarely frequent. And wouldn’t you know it, Jessa showed up to work. Haven’t seen or heard from her since our “breakup” a few months back. She wasn’t rude but wasn’t friendly either. Go figure. We finished our hike with lunch at Sit-n-Bull. It was a good day.
We are surrounded by blessings. Take some time to count them once in a while.
7 thoughts on “Feeling beachy”
I’m imagining a lot of sand in those shoes. Great pics of a good walk.
re: “big ass boulders”
This is why you hyphenate phrasal adjectives that precede the nouns they modify. Whose “ass boulders” are that big? One can avoid ass boulders through thorough wiping.
Damn, usually Grammarly catches my failures to hyphenate. Maybe the context of my shitty post was confusing to the app. Thanks for the lesson though, I do see what you mean. Curious though, with a bidet, you wouldn’t have to wipe those big ass boulders, would you?
Note to self: Try to avoid reading LTG during lunch when John and Kevin decide to discuss “big ass boulders”, ass boulders, bidets, and wiping.
BTW, shouldn’t the term be “big-assed boulders”? Maybe it depends if one is describing size or simply the nuisance factor.
Aloha from Honolulu.
Poor dog. Yeah, it is tough, but you are correct. You have to “harden” a bit and realize that you can do what you can, but you can’t save the world.
Mark, Aloha to you as well! I think a big ass implies that the boulders emitted would also be huge. But what do I know?
Brian, yep. I’ve got a friend who loves dogs. I’ve toyed with the idea of helping her set up a shelter so dogs like this might have a chance. But even then, there would be more dogs than the capacity for sure. I was really surprised there are no dog pounds here. Animal control responds to complaints about loose dogs by killing them. Spaying and neutering are also rarely done. I see dogs stuck together all the time and shake my head knowing soon there were be more pups on the street.
A little behind on my LTG fix. Pic of Brownie really made me sad. Animal lover of all sorts but doggies hold a special place in my heart. Regarding the PI treatment of animals, I think Mahatma Gandhi said it best, “The greatness of a nation and it’s moral progress can be judged by the way it’s animals are treated”. You stated that “you can’t save them all”. Same could be said about the bar girls. ☮️
Yes, that’s true. Best we can strive for is to make things better than they were by being here.
I’m imagining a lot of sand in those shoes. Great pics of a good walk.
re: “big ass boulders”
This is why you hyphenate phrasal adjectives that precede the nouns they modify. Whose “ass boulders” are that big? One can avoid ass boulders through thorough wiping.
Damn, usually Grammarly catches my failures to hyphenate. Maybe the context of my shitty post was confusing to the app. Thanks for the lesson though, I do see what you mean. Curious though, with a bidet, you wouldn’t have to wipe those big ass boulders, would you?
Note to self: Try to avoid reading LTG during lunch when John and Kevin decide to discuss “big ass boulders”, ass boulders, bidets, and wiping.
BTW, shouldn’t the term be “big-assed boulders”? Maybe it depends if one is describing size or simply the nuisance factor.
Aloha from Honolulu.
Poor dog. Yeah, it is tough, but you are correct. You have to “harden” a bit and realize that you can do what you can, but you can’t save the world.
Mark, Aloha to you as well! I think a big ass implies that the boulders emitted would also be huge. But what do I know?
Brian, yep. I’ve got a friend who loves dogs. I’ve toyed with the idea of helping her set up a shelter so dogs like this might have a chance. But even then, there would be more dogs than the capacity for sure. I was really surprised there are no dog pounds here. Animal control responds to complaints about loose dogs by killing them. Spaying and neutering are also rarely done. I see dogs stuck together all the time and shake my head knowing soon there were be more pups on the street.
A little behind on my LTG fix. Pic of Brownie really made me sad. Animal lover of all sorts but doggies hold a special place in my heart. Regarding the PI treatment of animals, I think Mahatma Gandhi said it best, “The greatness of a nation and it’s moral progress can be judged by the way it’s animals are treated”. You stated that “you can’t save them all”. Same could be said about the bar girls. ☮️
Yes, that’s true. Best we can strive for is to make things better than they were by being here.