Island daze | Long Time Gone

So, after my first full day in Pacifico, I can honestly say it’s a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live here. Don’t get me wrong, it’s got some beautiful beaches and a laid-back vibe. Probably a tad too laid-back for me and not enough options for dining and beverages if you lived here full-time. That said, it has been nice exploring some new scenery and spending a little time with Chris.

Speaking of Chris, he recommended a place for breakfast that he and Dr. Jo really enjoy. It’s a 3K stroll from our hotel, so that was a win-win…a morning walk and some food.

***The swimming pool right next to our room.***

***One big difference here from my home turf is the trees. I’m used to pines; here it’s almost all palms.***

***Hoofing it down the only road in town.***

***Pacifico is a barangay in the municipality of San Isidro. Back home, I live in the barangay of San Isidro.***

***A well-marked turn to a back road leading to our destination. It made me laugh because it’s the place Chris told us about.***

***We have arrived at our destination, the Meraki Cafe. It’s really more of a bakery, but they did have other menu options.***

***Swan enjoyed a tasty cinnamon roll…***

***And this is the best French toast I ever did eat.***

We both enjoyed the upstairs open-air ambiance as well. Definitely worth the walk. Speaking of which, we burned off some of those sweet calories by walking back to the hotel.

***Back home, they dry rice on the roadways. Here, it is coconut shells.***

***You can’t get there from here. Actually, I’ve managed to visit five of those places over the years: Boracay, Manila, Baguio, La Union, and Puerto Princesa.***

***There and back again was a 6K journey.***

Chris spent the morning surfing off the beach at my hotel and messaged me to join him for an afternoon beer at the hotel restobar. How could I say no? They serve draft beer that Chris brewed, so naturally that’s what I had. The Bamboo Hotel owner, George, also joined us for some chitchat at our table. Then Chris headed out to catch some more waves, and I went back to the room to fetch Swan for some grub (we’d skipped lunch). During our morning hike, we’d seen some signage for a taco joint, so we decided to give it a try.

***A cozy little place that serves wine.***

***The menu options. We opted for an order of chicken tacos and chicken quesadillas.***

***The tacos were small (that’s three of them) but tasty enough.***

***For some odd reason, I’ve lately become a bit of a connoisseur of quesadillas.*** ***I’d never seen them served quite like this before, but they were actually quite good. My only complaint would be that there was no dipping sauce offered.***

As we were finishing our meal, Chris came in to eat. I accused him of stalking, but he claimed it was just a coincidence. Hmm. Actually, he was meeting a potential client for his brewed beers in the General Luna area. We said our goodbyes (we are hooking up again later today at the brewery) and hit the beach.

***Turns out that the kids on Siargao Island like lollipops too. Imagine that.***

***A view from the beach. Damn, the sand here is soft, deep, and thick. Makes walking in it a real chore.***

We did our nightcap at the hotel next to where we are staying.

Swan inquired about room availability for Monday night, but they are also booked up. We checked another place this morning, and they also have no rooms available. Shit, are we going to be homeless? Well, a few more options to check out tomorrow. Stay tuned.

***The view as we enjoyed the last beers and wine of the day.***

Started early, finished early. Works for me.

A couple of memories for me from Facebook. Not mine, but photos of Huntington Beach, California. I lived close enough to ride my bicycle there from Westminster next door, and had many happy times on the beach. It was even easier once I had a driver’s license. I recall the time I brought my high school sweetheart to the beach to watch the submarine races. She lost her cherry that night in the back seat of my mom’s 1969 Plymouth Fury III.

***The 1970 view from the Huntington Beach pier.***

***And the Golden Bear was where we went to see live music. The one show I remember most was Taj Mahal.***

From the January 2021 LTG archives, a post in memory of my mother on the tenth anniversary of her passing.

As long as we are tripping down memory lane, here’s a YouTube video about carhops on skates at drive-in A&W restaurants. Damn, I miss that root beer with a frosty mug taste!

Yep, I’m gonna go there again:

***Maybe Clint was a cunt, but rest in peace anyway.***

Time to get back to vacation mode. See y’all tomorrow.

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