Archives 2018

We decided to take a day trip to Hershey Park in late December. I went there as a kid but don’t remember too much. Mainly for Aiden to check out Chocolate World and take some kiddie rides. There was also a Christmas light show in the evening and most of the park was lit up with different colors which made it magical. The trip took 2.5 hours from our place and we got there around 11:00. The first stop was Chocolate World and we took a tour to see how chocolate is made and had lunch there. Then we entered the main park and Aiden took around 6 rides including Starship, Bees, Frogger, Train, and a couple of others. Bishal and I went on a roller coaster and we left around 5:30 since it was getting chilly. We ate at a grilled place close to Hershey and then went home getting back around 10 PM. Great trip and Aiden seemed to have fun as well! We’ll definitely go back in the Summer!

We decided to celebrate Aiden’s 4rth birthday in Aperture which is where we’re residing during our tour in Washington. Aperture has a social room which we reserved for two hours. We were quoted $100/hour but afterwards, our super leasing agent decided to waive the fee! We got a Paw Patrol birthday cake and Mom brought balloons and banners to decorate the place a little. Guests included friends from the building and Denise and her son. We ordered pizza for the kids/adults and I also picked up some Subway sandwiches as appetizers. It turned out well and Aiden had a great time! Afterwards, Mom-Dad-Arti and Sona’s friend Sujata went to our place to open up all the presents! Aiden liked all of his gifts and it turned out to be a memorable birthday experience for all of us!

Probably the most beautiful photo we took was the reflection of Mount Cook and Mount Tasman off of Lake Matheson.  We drove about an hour from Fox Glacier and first had breakfast at a fantastic café overlooking the mountains.  After bundling up, we started our hike through the woods to get to Reflection Island where the money shot was.  Aiden was cooperative for a while but then I had to carry him on my shoulders and Sona also carried him part of the time.  We walked almost an hour around the lake before finally finding the spot.  The view was spectacular and the reflection of the mountains was quite clear as well as the surrounding trees.  I should’ve waited a little bit longer to take the picture since there were ripples from a duck family going across but still absolutely worth it.

After we rented our RAV 4 (nice ride by the way) in Greymouth, we drove straight to Franz Josef area to check in to our hotel.  The drive down there was rainy and we were hoping to get there with no road closings.  Fortunately, we made it and checked into a cozy hotel with an electric fireplace and short drive to the town center.  That evening we ordered room service and unpacked our clothes.

The next day was sunny and after debating during breakfast, we decided to do a helicopter ride over the glaciers.  Aiden even enjoyed it and we landed on top of Fox Glacier where we had a snowball fight and took in some breathtaking views.  The chopper ride was for 30 minutes and it was a memorable experience.  After lunch, we did the hike to Franz Josef holding Aiden most of the time on my shoulders.  The hike took almost 2 hours round trip and the views were okay.  The glacier is receding so it doesn’t look as great as let’s say 10 years ago.

We found a café to eat afterwards and then took it easy at the hotel.  The next leg of our journey was the drive to Te Anau!

We started this journey in Christchurch.  Flew in from Wellington the night before to get some rest before the early morning train ride to Greymouth.  Enjoyed the amazing breakfast at the Rydges that morning and then took a taxi to the train station.  It wasn’t that crowded and our seats were at a table.  Windows all around so amazing views throughout of the Southern Alps and surrounding countryside.  An hour into our trip, we all got coffees and bought Aiden a fluffy.  He came with me to the café area to help carry the beverages.  I went outside a few times in the open carriage to take pictures of the Alps.  It was definitely a great experience and highly recommend to anyone wanting to see breathtaking scenery.

In March 2018, I scheduled Windows 10 training in Manila for one week.  We decided to go to Angeles and Cebu for a week vacation afterwards.  The hotel in Manila (Pan Pacific) was amazing!  Fantastic food and excellent customer service.  Aiden got sick but the onsite doctor prescribed antibiotics which resolved the issue after several days.  The training was informative and I met my TDYer (Joy) who will be covering Wellington until my successor arrives in August.  Sightseeing wise, we went to a couple of malls (Greenbelt and Greenfields) and saw city of dreams complex where he had dinner with Joy at the Hyatt.  Pan Pacific had 6 PM cocktails every evening with food which we took advantage of and saved money by not eating out.

After Manila, we went to Angeles City.  We hired a car/driver to take us there which took around 2 hours.  The hotel was Prime City Resort which was respectable and they offered shuttle service to Walking Street (the sleazy red light district of Angeles). The next day, we took Aiden to Dinosaur Island where he was quite scared of the “robotic” dinosaurs.  They did a good job with making them move and audio sound effects.  The highlight was the dinosaur dancing show at the end where they get really close and chomp at us.  Aiden was petrified during this part.  Afterwards, we took it easy at the hotel and relaxed.  We did see our land and decided to keep it for now.  Met with Susan who is trying to convince to build a house there.  We’ll see.  Angeles is a nice city and the Clark base seems to be growing year by year.

Our final stop was Cebu where we spend 4 nights at the Crimson Resort which was amazing as well.  Swam with Aiden several times, played pool with him, and enjoyed the awesome breakfast.  There was a kidzone for him which he enjoyed and a bunch of Easter activities like finding easter eggs and obstacle course.  They gave us a free bottle of wine and let us eat at Enya restaurant for breakfast which was a lot nicer then the buffet place.  A great relaxing 4 days.  Even hit the gym a couple of times.

Enjoyed our Phillipine adventure and hoping to come back sometime in the future and try another resort!