Underground Sac Tour

Old Sacramento is a favorite destination when it comes to learning about the history of California including the gold rush, trains, and railroads are among the topics often featured in the local museums.  One aspect of Sacramento's past that has had little publicity up to this point is the Underground Sacramento.  But now, Underground tours are offered daily to the public.  

My family is a bunch of history geeks with one exception - me.  So we went on the subterranean tour of Sacramento.  We learned why the city got to go higher than its original elevation and how the people did it.  One can only imagine that the work was hard and workers lived a difficult life.  But I'm sure they didn't know back then because that was the only life they knew.  However, we all appreciate and benefit from the result of the hard work of people who came before us.  

After the tour we had lunch at Joe's Crab Shack.  This time we did not have to wait in line for thirty minutes.  The day was generally fun!  I just wished my oldest was with us.  

Miriam in Hawaii (Part 1)

I can't remember when we (my husband and I) decided to make a proclamation that stated that when they (our children) would turn 14, they get to travel alone with one parent, but we stood to that promise to our children.  And this year, it was Miriam's turn and she chose Hawaii as her destination. Fortunately for me, I had to go with her.

Breakfast at Mauna Lani

June 1, 2015.   Miriam and I flew to Kona, Hawaii and arrived at the Mauna Lani Hotel at 10 o'clock pm where we were offered with cold face towels (a sensible thing to have after a long flight from Sacramento) a glass of cold fresh guava juice (an upgrade from the soda we had in the airplane)  and beautiful leis made of fine shells (as a reminder that we were about to begin our vacation).  Then we were escorted to our room - they said we had an ocean view but at that time it was too dark for us to verify.  

Akaka Falls

 It was our first time to be in Hawaii outside of the airport.  I always thought that Hawaii, because of its tropical setting and the pictures seen on magazines or books, that it is all lush and green - a rainforest that is full of orchids, passion fruit vines, and ferns.  Well, I just realized that this was only part true.  The island (Hawaii) is divided by the volcanoes into two major classification - the dry and the wet side.   Kona is the dry side where the area get very little rain.  Volcanic rocks dominate the scenery.  One can drive for a long time without seeing any vegetation apart from the fountain grasses along the roads or the man-made oasis around hotels. The place is so clean and untouched - the rocks are fresh from the earth's core, they have not undergone weathering at all.  I'm exaggerating but you get the idea.  This is the touristy part of the island because it is always sunny - hardly any rain. People can sun-bathe all day everyday in Kona.

Kilauea

On the other side of the island is Hilo, capital city, where an average of 130 inches of rain is dumped annually.  This is where the rainforests are found.  When we visited this side, we were supposed to take a helicopter tour but it was raining so hard that the flight was cancelled.  Nonetheless, we were in a place where where waterfalls flow unceasingly into rivers that never seem to run dry.  The air is heavy with humidity and the vegetation is glossed by frequent showers and rains.  Miriam and I zip-lined across some of these rivers, water falls, and some green pastures that are saturated in water. We had fun except for the fact that we did not have rain jackets and we were in a high elevation area.  Miriam was particularly cold. 

Kilauea at dusk

The other thing about Hilo is that it is the home of one of the most active volcanoes on earth - Kilauea.  We went near the crater at dusk to watch it glow. As the sun fades away and when you see the color of the crater slowly turn orange, you cant help but feel that you are actually looking into a portal to the center of the earth (don't you dare get into it!).  Well, there was another igneous portal that we entered but it is a cooled down version of the orange one we saw in the crater - lava tube that is so huge a bus could fir in it (I think).  

To be continued...

Miriam in Hawaii (Part 2)

Vacations are great because they provide a temporary break the monotony of the everyday.  First of all,  the setting change.  The place that says chores in every corner is behind you and you're headed to some place where everything says relax and have fun. Often times, our family vacations are a combination of relaxation and experience.  We always begin with a good hotel because when you stay in a nice place there is no requirement for anything more- everything else is icing on the cake. Our trip to Hawaii was no exception.  All that Miriam asked for is a nice place to stay with access to a sand beach.  We got both at Mauna Lani Bay Hotel And Bungalows.  

High tide or low tide, the beach offered Miriam fun things to do.  The morning's low tide gave her the chance to walk on the volcanic rocks and discover the wonderful marine life that reside in them.  In the afternoons we sat on the beach and waited for the sun to set while the water slowly rose beneath our feet.  We spent many hours doing nothing but experiencing God's creation.  It is amazing how the waves slapping on our feet brought so much surprise and laughter as we laid on the hammock.  

One of the things that Miriam and I enjoyed so much is the warm water both of the ocean and the swimming pools.  This is something I took for granted when I was growing up in the Philippines.  I always assumed that the ocean is always the same anywhere until I moved to to a place where the water is really cold even in the summer. So spent most evenings soaking in the pools and just being silly.  

Mauna Lani Bay, featured marine life throughout the hotel grounds. There was water everywhere and every water-feature contained different fishes - including the honu (sea turtle), sting ray, shark, and brackish water fishes of many colors.  Although we spent some time following turtles and fishes in the shallow waters of the sea, most of the species we would have seen there are already swimming by the stream that runs along the Terrace Bay (where we ate breakfast) and the Canoe House.

It was a short five-day vacation but I could not account for every things we experienced together. I am very sure that Miriam has a compilation of her own memories of that time.  The important thing is that we will always have something that is unique to just the two of us and we will remember them as a time when we had each other's undivided time and attention.  There are many other occasions like this throughout the span of growing-up years when we there were just the two of us -like a trip we both took to the Philippines, but this is will be the only one that happened when she's 14 years old.

Time is flying by so fast for my baby girl.

Epic Job Begins

This month marks a very important milestone in the life of my eldest child - she started on her first career job (as Business Intelligence Developer) at Epic.  Last month we, the parents, worked on helping her get settled into her new place in Wisconsin.  It makes us happy and proud to see her begin true adulthood with financial independence.  Adjustment will demand emotional strength since this will be the first time when she will have to live alone - no roommates or apartment-mates.  On the other hand she will also be starting a new life of being a working girl -meeting new co-workers and being challenged to contribute towards a bigger (corporate) goal instead of personal goal of getting good grades.  Beyond work, I hope she will also establish herself as part of a new church family.

We will still be hovering over her like helicopters - no longer as Black Hawk but instead Highway Patrol.  :)  

For as much as she insisted on not becoming a computer programmer, she has become one.  :)

Hazel Visits California - Again

Hanging out with her silly cousins

So we had the pleasure of having  my niece, Hazel again.  The last time she visited us was when she was a little girl.  This time she all grown up and a missionary with YWAM working in England.  She was on her way from Idaho (for a training) back to England (for another year or so) when she came to see us.  I thank God for the girl that she has become.  It is very hard to imagine, knowing her family background, that she should be in the position that she is now.  God is good and full of surprises!  

Visiting the California Capitol

One of things Hazel enjoyed while she was with us was the privilege of being able to drive alone - in California. She drove the old Nissan Quest.  Having been in England for quite sometime now, she feels a little bit deprived of the independence she once enjoyed as a young college girl in Toronto.   In exchange for this freedom, she had to drive me to and from work - which didn't mind at all.  :)

California Capitol Gardens

When I look at Hazel, I am amazed at God's incredible goodness. 

Twenty Four Years and Counting

For the second time in the history of our life with kids, we celebrated our anniversary alone - without our kids with us.  It is kind of different because our children have been part of our life and every celebration.  We went to Seaside and stayed at the Sanctuary Beach Resort. It was very appropriate place for people like us who are like on a honeymoon. :) Breakfast is delivered to the rooms which are almost like cottages along the beach.  We don't often wake up in the morning and eat breakfast while we watch the waves rush to the shore and leave foam on the sand.  

For 24 years, we have been on this fun ride - with challenges and bumps along the way - but a really fun ride.  And I am prepared to continue on with this journey with this guy that God has chosen to be my mate in life.  I do not know what is ahead of us but I know one thing - that the God who was there with us on Day 1 will be with us in all the years to come.  

Twenty four years married!  And it is all by the grace God...

Welcome 2015

Another year has past and it went by so quickly. The parents worked and the kids went to school as usual.  A lot of details were entailed in those two basic classification of activities but God was exceedingly gracious in the way He guided us and took care of us through the whole year of 2014.  In spite of minor challenges and complications here and there, at work, at school, or at home, life was peaceful - as usual - because the Lord is good and He is good all the time!

Miriam said goodbye to Rolling Hills Middle School and embarked into high school at Oak Ridge this year.  Unlike her siblings, she bravely joined the marching band.  As a member o f the drum-line she played the heaviest instrument - the mallets.  It is worth mentioning here that she is probably one of the smallest students in band.  She did a great job and we are so proud of her determination, persistence and of course, musical skills!  At present she is training to play the snare drums next year.  Academically, she is also doing great in Spanish, Biology, Algebra, Life Fitness, and Language Arts.  Hooray for Miriam!!!

Brahms started his second year of college life - majoring in Anthropology heading towards a double major in International Agricultural Development.  He moved from the dorm to live in a nearby apartment with two of his college (Christian) group friends - Pavel and Daniel.  They have a landlady named Mrs. Lee.  I have heard a lot about Mrs. Lee and it is all good.  Brahms' involvement in the college group of University Covenant Church is balancing his college life.  To break the monotony of thinking only about papers to write, tests to take and grades, he plays bass and banjo during the group's weekly meetings and spends time with people outside of his classroom.  He continues to work as a student assistant at the Dining Commons - they call it the DC - and learning a lot about work, work politics, and life itself.  He tells me I should not send him loaves of bread.  Last Christmas he gave me a beautiful red silk scarf.  I like it a lot.  

Shannon started her last year in college last year and is scheduled to graduate early - in March to be specific.  Around Thanksgiving, she applied and got a job offer from Epic Systems.  According to plan, she will start working there as a computer programmer.  In the meantime, she has to complete and pass all the remaining classes that she has to take during the next quarter.  Hard to believe how things are happening so quickly.  It seems as though it as only last year when we brought her to UC-Irvine to start college.  Time flies!  I am so happy for her and yet the thought of her going even farther away is not easy.  But we know that God will always be with her - protecting her as He always did.  Last Christmas she gave me a beautiful set of coffee mugs.  They are the right size and weight for drinking tea.  She seems to understand me more as she grows older and wiser.  

Life goes on.  God's promise (to be faithful) keeps our hopes alive.  We can laugh at the days to come because He is with us!  Welcome 2015.