Love You, Ah Ma

Few months back, a few of my co-workers had this discussion about seeing a loved one 'visit' them after they passed away. They said it usually occur within seven days. It's a sign from loved one showing that they are doing fine and that they wanted to say hello or perhaps goodbye?

Last week, you came to visit me, I don't recall much except that you were with us, Mom, Papa, Sean Ee, PCC and myself, joining us on our vacation. You always have a smile on your face. You seemed happy and we all enjoyed your company. I woke up smiling that you came to see me.

You visited me again this morning. I don't recall much either but we were riding bicycles -- it was strange, because from the beginning of our bicycle tour, it seemed like it was somewhere in the US, but we eventually reached familiar roads where Mom's house is. We were so happy that we made it almost to that ESSO gas station. You seemed happy and strong (I assumed as we rode for miles and miles). When we reached there, we gave each other big hugs and so proud of ourselves to have rode such long ways. Then I woke up.

I have this post saved in my draft for quite some time now. Didn't know how and where to begin. I didn't want to say goodbye because I know I will see you again -- when you visit me, or when I visit you. Either way, we will definitely see each other again. I do want you to know that I missed you terribly.

I remember when I was younger and used to stay over at your house and slept with you, every night I would pray for God to take a few years (a lot of years) from my life so yours would be extended. At that time, the thought of losing you was unbearable, still is to this very day. I would cry so hard and beg God for this favor. I never stop praying for this because I never want to know that you will leave us. That day came and went, a very small part accepted that fact but a big part of me still find that hard to believe. 

I know you are in better place now, at least from where you were a few months back. I am sorry we didn't get to spend much time together when I was home four years ago. I am sorry I couldn't be by your side. I am sorry I didn't call to check on you as often as I could. I am sorry for all the trouble that I was/am.

You are my rock, I wouldn't how to else to describe you. I think you were everybody's rock. You held everyone together. All you ever did was to ensure everyone is well-fed and happy. You'd go beyond the call of duty to do this and I didn't know how to appreciate that then, but I do now... You are so even-tempered and well-natured, I have lots to learn from you.

Please check on me anytime you want. I love you and missed you.

Our last meal together in this life.

I wonder if God really took me up on that favor that I've asked...

Apple Picking

Sunday - October 3rd, 2010

Yucaipa, San Bernardino

Reached JP's house at precisely 6:15AM. Split into two cars, I have the two teenagers with me, while she has the 2 younger ones and her sister with her. We drove to Monrovia first to her cousin's place so she could take us all there, but there were fewer people coming than anticipated so we consolidated everyone into two cars, with mine adding her sister and her cousin's van consisting of the two younger kids and her cousin with her two young kids too.

It takes about an hour and a half to get to Yucaipa from Monrovia, to get to the orchard to be exact. I didn't know that apples are harvested in Fall along with raspberries and blackberries to name a few. We parked our cars right by the stores and since we were early, nothing's been set up yet but from afar we could see smokes coming from a grill by the outdoor kitchen and boy did it smell good.

So, we just strolled along and came to this trail leading to the orchard. There were a TON of apple trees with TONs of ripe apples waiting to be picked! I believe these are called the Arkansas Black, the darkest red on an apple that I've ever seen, they call it ruby red. But they were not ready to be harvested yet until end of October if I remember correctly.

There were signs saying no picking fruits from the tree, but there were no mention of anything picking apples that have already dropped onto the ground hehe so the kids picked up some good ones and with a quick rinse of water, the apple is ready to be eaten.

The trail lead us to a tiny forest, I guess you could call it that, with some pretty big trees which some are local to the area. Further down the trail, we discovered a small lake.

With a floating dock... maximum capacity: 10 person

And more apples on trees.

They also have Christmas trees...

As we came back from our little walk, we saw that more cars have arrived and the whole place was all set up and running. Everyone was getting hungry so we went to our cars and got our picnic baskets out along with all the gears. On the grounds, they have set up picnic tables, so that was fun to set up the table and all.

After finishing our early lunch, we checked to see what is there to do. There was a pumpkin patch, the kids stepped all over the pumpkins to take picture on top of a hay that was placed all the way at the fence. The owner wasn't too happy that he went inside the store and printed out two pieces of signs saying no stepping onto the pumpkins hehehe

Next to the patch, they set up a little shack with some weird looking equipment, meant for making cider. We watched as others tried it out. Seems like hard work and a lot of apples for just a few drops of cider. But, boy those ciders are delicious!

We also saw that they have a cart-ride drawn by Belgian horses. The horses were beautiful, felt sorry for them to be working non-stop shift, drawing the cart filled with about at least 10 adults/kids. It costs $5/adult, $3/kids. I didn't really enjoy the 'tour' because it was so dusty and the host who tag along at the end of the cart wasn't that entertaining. It was boring to say the least hehe but I think the kids enjoyed it.

After we got back from our ride which took roughly 30mins, we went into the store and sampled some apple cider, pumpkin bread which was SO delicious. They also have a variety of spreads and jams/preservatives made with some sort of combination with apples. I bought a loaf of the pumpkin bread, an apple pie and a bottle of cold cider.

There are other orchards within the area, so we drove to check out the other orchards. We stopped at one not too far away for apple picking.

Basically, you select a bag size, small, medium or large. There are signs posted, you pay for what you pick and if you decide to throw them after picking, you will be charge with theft. OMG, a bit siao. I guess just trying to protect their business. But, shit happens sometimes (most of the times). Oh, they also included instructions on how to properly pick apples...

So, I got really picky when picking. They tied different colored ribbons on each tree to differentiate the types. So, I just get one from each tree. Most of the apples have sap on them. There were a few incidents that when trying to pick the chosen apple, while trying to do so,  I knocked other apples, obviously they were very ripe, that's why they fell off the stem so easily, right?

They also have some raspberries but most were gone, whatever we managed to find were small but they were sweet. I think people were picking and eating at the same time that's why they were out so quickly hehe oh yeah same goes with the apples, evidence was evident all over the place.

They also have corns.

Also tomatoes and zucchinis.

The farm that we went to also provide other forms of entertainment -- archery, knives throwing and wood chopper throwing, I forgot what term they used for that. After we're done picking, we went back to the first orchard to have dinner -- leftover from lunch and we tried to order something from the tasty smelling grill, we have to wait for more than half an hour because it was that good and the lines were long. We managed to find a good picnic table nearby and assemble everything again. 

We left close to 5PM and stopped at another store to pick up some preservatives and the kids had ice-creams and all of a sudden a pea-hen, I believe it was, jumped out of nowhere onto the roof of one of the stores. It sure did get a lot of attention.

 It was a fun and hay-py day. Maybe even go back again for the Arkansas Blacks. Will definitely get two loaves of that pumpkin bread!

Vac Day XII - Farewell

Wednesday - September 8th, 2010

Final Day

Papa and I went for a hike, quite late actually, I think it was after 9AM. He showed me the reverse walking down move. Even another hiker stopped and inquired about it. We stopped to gather some watercress that grew along the stream. By the time we got home, it was already way past 11AM, I went to buy some hot soupy noodles from a Thai restaurant nearby. The noodle soup is similar to our Koay Teow Th'ng. I always love a bowl of hot soupy noodles after hike. 

Everyone finished packing all their stuff the night before. Basically Mom went through everything in my fridge and pantry and cleared out all the expired items hehe Found some pork in my freezer so that's what she cooked for lunch. Papa cleaned the backyard, trimmed all of my plants, wiped all windows, swept the garage floor, wiped my car, that's just all the chores that I'm aware of. He also harvested all of the Japanese eggplants in the backyard so we stir-fry that for lunch. 

Mom also made soup from the pork bones and I did an easy shrimp and garlic dish. Mom also tried out one of those Sal's instant curry and she let out a cry when she discovered that they actually included the meat inside the sachet hehe

The previous night, we called PCC and MCC to check status of flight and they were able to get a flight out the next day (this day) and told them that they didn't get anything from Coach. PCC said what a waste because Coach bags in M'sia easily would have fetched up in the thousands. 

Since their flight is at 2AM, we have another day to spare. So, we will go to another Factory Outlet, this time in Camarillo, about 45 mins drive. We took off pretty late after lunch, reaching Camarillo around 2PM. Camarillo's outlets offers more stores and is much bigger in area compared to Barstow. This time around, Mom and Sean Ee bought one bag each. Papa also bought some shoes. Mom wanted to get some good sandals from Clarks Bostonian and I found out from the sales lady that we could get further discounts if we have AARP membership, which I did. So I headed to the Info center and found out that the sales lady misinformed us that it was AAA membership. But the Info lady said that I could get the discounts if I was a VIP member at the outlet, and thankfully I was. But I'd have to prove that by showing a printout of the coupon in my name. In order to do that, I had to login with my username/password to their website. Well, long story short, I was able to show her the proof and she gave me the brochure for discounts.

I went back to Clarks and just in time as they were about to pay. We didn't visit other stores and started heading back. We stopped at Red Lobster in Valencia for dinner. We ordered lobster pizza, New England sampler consisting of fried clams, bacon wrapped scallops, cheese stuffed mushroom for appetizers and we shared a whole lobster stuffed with crabmeats, finished off with a slice of cheesecake.

We hurried back home so they can take a quick shower to refresh themselves, loaded the luggages in car and on our way to the airport. Traffic was not bad so we reached the airport with plenty of time to spare. I dropped them off curbside while I park the car. I joined them inside trying to locate China Airlines counter. We finally spot it and boy the lines were fully packed. We waited in line to get their boarding pass and to check in the bags. Asked if they could change their flight from Taiwan to Singapore to an earlier flight, the attendant wasn't too helpful. After obtaining their boarding pass, we walked around the duty free shops for a little while.

It was approaching midnight when they decide that they will go into their designated gate. I gave each one a hug and watch them go into the security checkline.

Papa, Mom and Sean Ee, thank you for visiting me. I hope it was a fun and happy experience for you as it was for me. Hope to have you back here soon :)

Vac Day XI - Vegas to LA

Tuesday - September 7th, 2010

Drive to LA

Up early to shower and start repacking luggage for our journey. Snapped this shot from the hotel room overlooking the backlot of the property. Noticed the roads were wet, it rained earlier that morning... in these desert environment, rain doesn't come too often. Look at the skies... is someone trying to tell me (us) something or I'm just imagining.

We left the hotel close to 9AM with Florence and PCC who dropped us off at the car rental building. After saying our goodbyes, I went to one of the kiosks and retrieved the papers for our rental. We chose another silver Camry that has Illinois plate. Didn't want to waste much time, or rather didn't have much appetite for breakfast so we just headed straight for the freeway heading back to LA.

About an hour into the journey, our stomachs started to make known of its emptiness, so we were on the lookout for restaurants and I believe it was in Primm that we saw one of the casinos with billboard flashing great deals on their breakfast: $3.99 for 2 pancakes, 2 eggs and choice of 2 bacons or sausages. Without the slightest hesitance, we pulled over toward the casino for refuel.

Each of us had a plate of the advertised platter, Papa had bacon with sunny side up eggs with the pancakes, Mom and Sean Ee each had bacon with scrambled eggs with pancakes, and I had sunny side up with sausage and pancakes as well. Initially, I thought all that wasn't going to enough to satisfy our hunger. But after wolfing down everything, we, or at least I felt quite content, almost to the brink of fullness.

After heading back onto the freeway, I let Papa take over the driving because Mom was saying he could boast about it (that he's driven in the US) and because the freeway was just one straight road and also one way, I did not find any harm to it. Besides, it's not like Papa didn't know how to drive, just on the opposite side. I think Papa did pretty good except he wasn't really comfortable in speeding! He drove for about an hour or so before I took over the seat again as we approach to exit Barstow.

Barstow is about halfway between Vegas and LA and the only reason for this stop is because of the Factory Outlets. Since the trip has been cut short, I thought we might as well take the opportunity to utilize whatever remaining time we have, besides it was on the way anyway. So, Mom and Sean Ee went into the Coach store first while Papa and I went into the sports outlets. Papa bought a couple of shirts and when we returned to get Mom and Sean Ee, they were nowhere to be found! After walking up and down the whole court of stores (thank God it wasn't that big of a place), Papa finally found them. Well, they weren't done yet, and by they I mean Mom, Sean Ee and Papa hehe they were in shopping haven. Oh, Mom and Sean Ee didn't get anything from Coach because they were way overpriced.

After shopping, of course, we were famished, well, at least I was with all that walking. So, we browsed around for meal options and ended up at El Pollo Loco. Cheap, tasty and not junkie. We inhaled those deliciously grilled chicken along with the two sides of rice and pico de gallo, guacamole, cilantro, onions as condiments. Once hunger is taken care of, we resumed our journey.

Remainder of journey was uneventful mostly until we reached the LA county line where traffic starts getting heavier, thanks to GPS, it was able to get us through different freeways, avoiding heavily traffic areas. We reached home after 6PM. The journey should have been about 5 hours, took us all day to complete but it was well worth the time because everyone get a taste of Outlet shopping.

All I remembered after reaching home was I sat on the couch to watch some TV and passed out.