Enjoyed an amazing hike up to Tralala at the top of Kalaklan Ridge with the Wednesday Walkers group. We started at the Gordon Heights barangay in Olongapo City and did the 200+ meter climb from there. It’s been four years since we last took this route, and it’s an ass-kicker. But that effort pays off in some fantastic views. I don’t know what it is about Tralala that impresses me so much. Still, there’s just something about a community without motor vehicle access that makes me respect the harsh life the locals live.

Our jaunt also included a visit to the “Golden Girls,” a mountaintop residence inhabited by an elderly couple. The years of harsh living have taken a toll. The old man told us they could no longer endure the hike down the mountain, and their offspring brought them a monthly food supply. That left me shaking my head in sadness. A lonely life in isolation inevitably drawing to its conclusion. I don’t expect they’ll be around if we should ever find our way up here again.

I hope I live to make that journey again one day.

Not much to say about the Wednesday evening events. Our “seldom-visited bar” for the night was Sloppy Joe’s. The big news there is that they’ve put up a wall in the back of the bar and are building a stage to add dancing girls to the mix. Good luck with that, but I’ll still sit up front and watch the passersby on the street when I’m here. We visited Green Room next, then finished the night at Wet Spot. We are done with Barretto now until next week.

A couple of Facebook memories from this day in the past:

Six years ago, I was visiting Manila and found this disconcerting signage in the men’s room:

Speaking of which, Musk has overreached with this one:

In today’s YouTube video, Reekay tells the story of a dumbass causing drama.

Shall we share a laugh or two?

Okay then, I’m all packed up and ready to go on my journey to Bauang, La Union. It’s going to be a long weekend at the Nash Hash (a gathering of Hash Kennels from throughout the Philippines), with trails on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. They are all morning runs with Circle events taking place afterward. I’ll do my best to blog as I go, but given the starting time and lack of San Mig Zero, I’m making no promises. Anyway, you’ll get the full lowdown when I return.

We were never meant to worry
The way that people do
And I don't need to hurry
As long as I'm with you
We'll take it nice and easy
And use my simple plan
You'll be my lovin' woman
I'll be your lovin' man
We'll take the most from living
Have pleasure while we can

Other than shopping, all I did yesterday was entertain some guests at The Rite Spot.

A good night filled with too many beers and too little discretion on food intake.

Some photos from long ago in my Facebook memories today:

And now I’ve become this guy:

Today’s YouTube talks about a scammer in the Philippines. I learned about most of these the hard way. It all seems so obvious now.

Humor time:

That’s all I’ve got for today. I’ll be spending the next four days in La Union for the Nash Hash event. I’m looking forward to the change of scenery.

Or should I say “was”? I can’t, because I’ve already used that as a post title, and I don’t want to repeat myself. Regardless, this post is just a quick recap of what went down around here yesterday. I’ll make it as quick and painless as possible, I promise.

Regular readers know my Sundays begin with Swan’s weekly Candy Walk.

So, I’ve been doing a video of different streets we visit during the Candy Walk. Here’s this week’s episode:

So, there’s a ship in port this weekend. A big one. The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.

I asked Joy at Hideaway if any Frenchies had shown up there this weekend, but apparently, the bar is too hidden away. Also, it closes at 7:00, which isn’t much of a nightlife. During my feeding visit yesterday, two Korean gents were at the bar. I taught one of the girls how to say “handsome man” to them (pajee boseyo). The guys took the compliment well and bought her a lady drink. Oh, the literal translation is, “Take off your pants.”

And then, it was time for me to hit the beach.

What was really strange was seeing several white women among them. You almost never see a Western woman in Barretto. I assume they were also part of the carrier crew.

UPDATE: I just spoke with my Hasher friend who works at Wet Spot, and she told me the French sailors don’t buy lady drinks, at least not like the American seamen who occasionally come to town. Cheap Charlies or smarter, you decide.

Next on our agenda was dinner at John’s place. Those newly hired waitresses from our previous visit are all gone now. Swan says it is because the pay is only 250 pesos for a twelve-hour shift. That’s insanely low. They’d do better to hire one good one at 500 pesos. Anyway, rather than go upstairs to the third floor we prefer, we stayed on the second floorto ensure prompt service.

We did a brief nightcap at Green Room, then called it a night. Swan revealed that she had a stash of ice cream in the freezer and made me a dish with fresh strawberries on top. It was so good I snuck a second scoop.

Another trip to those high school daze via Facebook memories:

And then, from ten years ago, was a treat I only ever had in Korea:

For today’s YouTube video, the Filipina Pea interviews a lawyer and talks about laws that foreigners might violate through ignorance, which of course, is no excuse. Especially now that I’ve posted her video.

Things I found funny enough to post:

And now it is time for Hash Monday prep. I’ve been advised that a climb up Kalaklan Ridge is in my immediate future. I’ll share a survivor’s tale tomorrow. Hopefully.

Changed things up some yesterday, or at least tweaked the normal routines a tad. Here’s how that went down:

We did the usual Friday group hike but made an unusual journey to San Marcelino to do it. Once there, we proceeded with a dike walk in the shadow of Mount Pinatubo along a lahar-filled Santo Tomas River. We made this hike several years ago, which is long enough to make it almost feel brand new to me. It was a mostly flat journey, but a longish (for us) ten kilometers. This is some of what we saw along the way:

So, a longer-than-usual hike plus the long drive back got me home a couple of hours later than usual. By the time I’d finished my shower and blogging chore, it was already five p.m. And just like on Thursday, I wasn’t feeling like doing the same old, same old, so we changed it up by having dinner at the rarely visited Harley’s Pub and Hotel.

Here’s a quick video look around Harley’s.

We enjoy the view from Harley’s, and the food ain’t bad either. Saw several folks we knew there during our dinner time.

Dinner is served:

Two of the most expensive menu offerings, but still less than we’d have spent at the SOB. That event was held at Queen Victoria last night, a venue I’ve been boycotting because they didn’t honor the “free drinks” deal at the previous SOB I attended there. (They said Swan’s wine wasn’t a local drink, so it wasn’t included. I countered, fine, I’ll pay the price difference. They said no, and I said we won’t be back.)

Now what do we do? Well, I haven’t been to Whiskey Girl in a while, so let’s start there. Wow! What a difference a few months make. The music was BLASTING (good songs, but damn, it was almost painful). Since there were dancers on stage, I didn’t ask them to reduce the volume, but I wasn’t pleased. We shouted out our order, and when the waitress returned and reported that wine wasn’t available, I was relieved to have a good excuse to pick up and leave. And that’s just what we did.

Since we rarely visit this side of town, all the remaining options were unfamiliar. Let’s see what’s up in Lux. My, everything here has changed since my previous visit as well. The stage has been moved from the center of the room to the front, and while dancers were performing standing around on it, there was also a drum set in the back. Turns out they are doing live music at Lux, but it doesn’t begin until my bedtime (9 p.m.). Another surprise was the drink pricing. A good surprise, wine at 120 pesos a glass and my beer was only 80 pesos. That’s the cheapest I’ve seen for a dancing bar anywhere in town. Then there was the music. It was being played at a pleasant volume, and two large-screen TVs were showing music videos. I like that! What I didn’t like was that all they played during my entire visit was rap crap. Yeah, that doesn’t appeal to this old fucker. I had two beers while Swan finished her glass of wine, and we were out of there.

And now for a nightcap destination. I hadn’t been in Nipsey’s since they first opened (in Alaska Club’s former location) over a year ago. It was just across the highway (which ain’t easy to cross on a Friday evening) but we made it alive.

Nipsey’s is another dancing girl bar, but it is well-lighted and comfortable. They played classic rock at the right volume, and the staff was attentive and friendly. We enjoyed our brief visit, then caught a trike right out front for the ride home and the end of a differently pleasant day.

Found this proof of what I always believed to be the case on Facebook today:

It was almost twenty years ago that I hiked up Namsan to the Seoul Tower for the first time. That event is worthy of mention in The Story of My Life. And the photos are nice, too!

Some Facebook memories from this day in the past to share as well:

Here’s the explosive I used on Facebook yesterday:

Today’s YouTube video comes from a friend of mine named Jambo. He covered last weekend’s Beach Bash beauty pageant. This is the talent portion of the contest:

To the humor then:

I don’t know how long I can keep this up, but I’m glad to still be in the game. Thanks for joining me here.

Swan’s developing love of hiking is getting a little scary. Will I be able to keep up with her? It seems like the more challenging the trail, the better she likes it. Yesterday, we took a climb up to the Kalaklan Ridge, then down into the Bantay Bayan village, and a long beach walk back to Barretto. There is no easy up to Kalaklan, but the path we took was one I’d taken a couple of years ago, and I remembered it being not so bad. I remembered wrong. It didn’t help that I missed the correct trail to the top, which made things even steeper and more challenging than they should have been. Swan’s response? “I love this hike!”

On the way back home, I suggested to Swan that we stay in last night. Alas, I had forgotten my chelation appointment with Dr. Jo. So we headed back into town at the appointed hour. The injection went fine, and I discussed my downward blood pressure trend with the doctor. I’m not at a worrisome level, nor am I experiencing symptoms like dizziness or light-headedness. Dr. Jo suggested I reduce my blood pressure meds dosage by half, and we will see what impact that has. Lower BP is one positive aspect of chelation therapy. After this round is completed, I’ll get updated blood work to see if I’m improving in other areas, like blood sugar.

After leaving Dr. Jo, we decided to visit one of the newer places in town. I’d gone once when they first opened, but Swan had never been. We just don’t spend much time on this side of town when we are out, so we took advantage of being there.

When we arrived, it was four o’clock, and they had literally just opened the door. We were the first and only customers. The inside hadn’t cooled off yet, so we sat on the outdoor balcony as we imbibed.

Once Swan had finished her wine, we moved down the highway to the Outback Resort pool bar, where Swan could enjoy some beach views.

And for your viewing enjoyment, here’s a three-minute video capturing the Outback vibe.

The dinner hour was fast approaching, so I asked Swan if she was up to cooking a batch of her spaghetti and meatballs at home. She agreed, and off we went. While Swan busied herself in the kitchen, I headed upstairs to The Rite Spot.

After a great plate of pasta and sauce, my sweet tooth cried out, “What about me?” So, I satiated its hunger with some ice cream. It was good—so good that I went back for seconds.

Facebook took me back in time to this day in history:

Speaking of breathing, this meme I posted on Facebook yesterday caused some heavy sighs from friends who don’t have clear enough vision to see the world as I do, including the aforementioned nephew.

Today’s YouTube video comes from a vlogger I’ve never watched previously. He makes some valid points about living life on your terms and not listening to the naysayers. Yeah, I got a lot of my buckets out of order along the way, and I’d do some things differently if God grants me a do-over, but still, here and now, I am not unhappy with my life. And it ain’t over yet!

(is that ice cream in the background there to tempt me?)

Today’s lame humor attempt:

And so it goes on and on, and that’s just fine with me. I’ll be back!

It being Wednesday, the first order of business was the group hike.

We took a Jeepney ride to the far side of Subic town and began our trek on Philseco Road.

A four-minute video of the next portion of the hike:

I mentioned in my previous post that yesterday was the eight-year anniversary of my discovery of Barretto’s top darts bar, Alley Hideout. Since I’ve retired from darts, I seldom visit this venue these days. But going places I haven’t been for a while is what Wednesdays are for.

We had a very nice time during our visit. Swan really enjoyed the vibe and said we ought to visit more often. I rang the bell, which provided all the girls a lady drink. It felt a bit like a homecoming. Maybe I ought to break out the darts the next time I come.

After leaving Alley Hideout, we crossed the highway for dinner at Mango’s.

We finished the evening with a nightcap at Green Room. The usual joking around with Chu and Sally (lady drinks included, of course), watching some of the other girls play lousy pool (like I’m one to talk), and chillin’ with our beverages.

When the waitress from Sit-n-Bull came around, I was feeling nostalgic and asked if she had any pecan pie available. She did, so I brought a slice home with me. And what’s the point of eating pecan pie without a scoop or two of ice cream on top?

I had a thirty-five-year career with the Federal government, and one of the highlights from those years was working with Mr. Kim Yong-tae. The most impressive man I ever had the honor of supervising. I blogged about the occasion when he was recognized for fifty years of service with United States Forces Korea here. Mr. Kim died shortly after I returned to work after my first retirement. Before he passed, he told me he regretted not spending his final healthy years with his family. I thought of him when my team tried to get me to stay on for “just one more year.” Nope, I didn’t want to die at my desk.

In today’s YouTube video, Reekay tells the story of the man who found the perfect Filipina and then let her get away. Turns out, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the hill.

Time for a smile:

Okay, that’s all for now. I was planning to stay home today, but was reminded that I have my weekly chelation treatment this afternoon. And since I’ll be in town anyway, I might as well have a beer or two while I’m there. My blood pressure this month has been lower than I ever remember- in the one-teens over sixties. I’m going to ask Dr. Jo if I can stop taking my blood pressure meds now.

Some people won’t admit their faults. I would if I had any.

I’m going to try to keep it simple today and not use words with letters that don’t work on my keyboard. To start things off, I took a Saturday stroll with Swan.

I did a video of that portion of our walk.

We are making some alternative plans for today, so I did the Hideaway feeding yesterday.

After finishing with my business at Hideaway, it was time to hit the sand.

We walked on the sand to the Papagayo Resort to eat. Here’s what those five minutes looked like:

Here’s a last look at the sundown:

They were still doing Valentine’s weekend promo menu, which was disappointing as most of the regular menu items were not being offered, and what was available were couple-sized portions at double the price.

A nightcap at Wet Spot and an early finish to our Saturday night.

This morning, I made breakfast. Or should I say, baked breakfast:

A Memory Lane trip, thanks to Facebook:

Today’s YouTube video shares some thoughts on nine things that will keep a Filipina’s legs unopened. The woman seems to really mean it.

And then he tried to be funny again:

Anyway, it is what it is. Things will get better around here soon. I hope.

Here’s a brief recap of my sweet experience with VD.

It being a Friday, I started off the day by leading the group hike. Things didn’t go as intended because, at the end of a moderate hill climb, we found ourselves locked behind a fence in a gated compound with no apparent escape. So, we retreated back down to the bottom and walked on from there.

We did a walk around back to San Isidro. Here’s a two-minute take from there:

When the dinner hour rolled around, we headed to John’s place for our holiday meal.

After our meal, we stopped by It Doesn’t Matter. Apparently, there had been a big party before our arrival and most of the waitresses were drunk. I had one beer, and then we moved on to Green Room for our nightcap.

Ten years ago, I spent my Valentine’s weekend in Busan with my wife and my nephew, Justin.

Today’s YouTube video talks (in an AI voice) about ways us old farts might extend our life. Most are just common sense, but I think achieving old age is as much about good genes and luck as anything. I know my candle grows shorter with each passing day, but here’s hoping it will be a slow burn.

The joke’s on me:

Man, writing is tough without a properly functioning keyboard. Bear with me.

It occurred to me that there are two days in the week that begin with a “T,” and it just so happens that both of these are the only days with seven letters. Can I substitute Thursday for Tuesday? Well, as a matter of fact, that’s just what I did!

Having spent Tuesday in Manila instead of engaging in my normal routines for that day, some things didn’t get done. So, I filled in those gaps yesterday, starting with a trip to the supermarket in Olongapo. We had stopped at the S&R store in San Fernando on the way home from Manila, but we couldn’t find all that we needed there, so off we went to get what was missing.

(I still haven’t got my laptop repaired; I’m waiting for a part to be delivered. Just now, the “see” and “vee” keys, which had been intermittent, have stopped working altogether. The missing letters you see in this sentence were filled in by spellcheck. Worse, without the control “see,” I cannot insert links to things I want to share. I’m hoping to have the needed repairs done by Tuesday, but until then, I’m handicapped, and blogging is going to be incomplete and difficult. UPDATE: Swan just showed me how to copy and paste using the mouse. Duh!)

The video from S&R was supposed to go here. And here it is now that this old dog has learned a new trick. The video sucks, but the good news is I was able to edit its length on YouTube: baby steps, but progress.

I walked back home from Olongapo. Here is some of what I saw along the highway:

I did a brief video of this portion of the hike that I would have posted here. If the keys start working again, I’ll insert it later. And now here it is thanks to the magi of cut and paste:

Still holding the camera too low, but in my defense, I was trying to watch my footing so as not to trip and fall in front of oncoming traffic.

I made another video as I walked through Barretto:

Hold the camera up, you idiot! Sorry, I need to get off my ass and order a GoPro. I will soon, I promise! If you make it that far, I had a fun encounter with Mama along the way.

The other Tuesday activities we did yesterday were putting Swan’s toes in the sand, visiting the floating bar, and having dinner at Treasure Island.

Then it was back ashore for a meal at Treasure Island.

I woke up this morning to the view above and a message from Swan on my desk:

And inside, she had written a poem, especially for me:

Roses are red
violets are blue
Your farts burn my eyes
But I still love you

I’m a lucky man!

And Happy Valentine’s Day to all my readers, or as I tend to say, Happy VD!

And now for those Facebook memories:

Today’s YouTube is a new walkthrough of the Barretto nightlife scene. A bar that meets the needs of everyone is there if you look for it.

And to the humor we must go:

Damn, this post was really a struggle with my faulty keyboard. I’ll keep posting, but I may limit myself some until the repairs are completed. Or maybe I’ll just leae out the letters that don’t work and let y’all figure out what omes net. Or maybe not.

Damn, that song was so painful I couldn’t finish—too many memories.