Upward and onward to higher steaks

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It was a pretty darn special Friday featuring my return to the hills and a dinner gathering with my next-door neighbors.

The Friday group accepted my suggestion that we take the little-used path at the end of La Union Street to the top of the hill, then do a loop around on the My Bitch trail before coming back down in San Isidro. They also accepted my invitation for after-hike refreshments at The Rite Spot On The Roof.

The Friday group this week
Another dead person banner. This guy didn’t make it to fifty. Helps me appreciate the blessing of being old.
Let the climbing commence!
A view of Alta Vista from part-way up
A little steeper and longer than I remembered it being
The view from here
And the climb wasn’t over yet
On up! I was breathing hard, but not breathless. No way I could have done this climb a week ago. I was also coughing a lot during the climb and hocking out wads of phlegm. So, I think that was a good thing clearing that shit out of my lungs.
A view of Baloy from near the top
Checking out the Kalaklan Ridge. We weren’t up quite that high, but we had some altitude.
Ah, that’s more like it. Giving those tired lungs a rest.
The view towards Subic
A woodsy change of pace
There’s that mountain again
Rainy season brings the tall grass fields
Waiting for the slow guy at Four Corners on the My Bitch trail
A tree I fancied
Michael is one of the newer members of our group.
Onelia’s place on the mountain
What’s everyone looking at?
Oh, this
Marching onward
Another mountain dwelling
One more short uphill
And the down we go
A village on the hill
Post-hike R&R at the Rite Spot. My helper served up some chicken nuggets and squid rings to snack on.
Only five and a half kilometers, but both challenging and pleasant for an old fart like me. It really felt good to get high again.

When my hiking guests departed, I got busy in the kitchen.

Cornbread muffins and brownies were my contribution to the dinner party
Our gracious hosts for the evening, Jeff (a retired Marine Colonel) and his lovely wife Davina
A view from Jeff’s place next door to mine
Rain on the horizon. Will we escape it’s wrath?
Other guests included Alta Vista resident Maxil and his date, Gemma. Maxil is a Filipino-American. He used to live in Guam. Not sure what he did, but he built a mansion-like house in Alta Vista for retirement
My fellow Westminster High School grad Mike (on the left) re-introduced me to my old friend Fireball last night. Under Swan’s watchful (and disapproving) eyes, I limited myself to three shots.
Meat on the grill.
The rain did arrive, so we moved inside from the patio
Some of the fixin’s
Dinner on the plate. The meat was excellent and that twice-baked potato was also fantastic.
The female party goers
And us menfolk
Hey, it’s the Philippines, so you know karaoke was gonna take place
And yes, I serenaded my fellow guests
Jeff’s son challenged Matt to a game of chess. I haven’t played for years, but I know the rules and some of the strategies. That kid had Matt bleeding pieces and trying to escape checkmate.

Had a great time next door!

Today’s YouTube video has the Filipina Pea interviewing an immigration expert regarding how easy it is to be kicked out of the country and be “blacklisted” so you can never return. Piss off the wrong government official or even an ex-girlfriend, and you can be screwed. So, the advice is always to be respectful, so no one loses “face.” I’m reminded of what Loraine taught me when she was my “tour guide” all those years ago whenever I’d lose patience and get angry as a tourist: “Take a deep breath. Relax. Accept the Filipino way.” Advice I still implement on occasion.

Today’s attempts at humor:

I’m sure it happens all the mime.
I’m sensing a pattern here
Great show. I’ll leave it at that.

That’s all I’ve got for today. Let’s see what happens next.

8 thoughts on “Upward and onward to higher steaks”

  2. Before I begin: a link to a French-dip video for you.

    Will we escape it’s wrath?

    Spot the error!

    Looks to have been a fun time—both the walk and the neighborhood party/parties. Food looked good.

  3. Wow! That’s an amazing sandwich. When will these food videos start offering a taste option?

    It’s hard to explain why I continually insert unneeded apostrophe’s apostrophes. Is it ignorance or apathy? I don’t know, and I don’t care! Actually, it is just sloppiness. I noticed the error the moment you pointed it out. I’ll try and do better.

  4. Mike, Ha! Ha! Busted! Yeah, I meant calamari. My helper called them squid rings, so I thought maybe it was a Filipino rendering. When I asked Swan what they were called, she didn’t hesitate to say calamari.

    See what I get for trying to adhere to the culture? 🙂

  5. As long as we’re picking nits, the assertion that “He used to live in Guam” is slightly jarring. He lived ON Guam, that location being an island rather than not a town or city. Similarly, someone may live in Olongapo, on Luzon. Or on Luzon, in the Philippines. Or in Honolulu, on Oahu. Islands be islands an’ shit, yo.

    Your mileage may vary.

    Cheers.

  6. DS, yep, you are right and I was wrong. I’ve never been to Guam, but if I’m ever on Guam I’ll post to let everyone know I’m in Guam.

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