A Family That Travels Together...Must be Crazy

My family's sensibilities are undeniably middle class.

We spent the weekend at the Fiesta Resort and Casino, a swanky facility high in the mountains of Rizal. I didn't help my family pack since I arrived from my place in Makati on Saturday morning, a few hours before we were to leave. I stood there horrified as the bellhop unloaded eight huge overnight bags (including my own), two bilaos, one filled with pansit malabon and the other with puto, a huge Tupperware container of rice, another Tupperware containter filled with adobo from the trunk of our car. Japanese tourists eyed our full trolley curiously as it rolled by the front desk.

"Ano ba yan, nagdala pa kayo ng pagkain. Nakakahiya!"

To which my sister replied, "eh ano naman ngayon? Nakatipid tayo sa pagkain"

Oo nga naman.

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My family usually books a room in hotels on birthdays and special occasions. An urban getaway, if you will. My mother's birthday this weekend was no different. After unpacking our things and inspecting our room, we almost immediately got into our swimsuits and headed out to the infinity pool. The vista of the lake from the mountain was very photogenic. My brother, his girlfriend and I immediately went trigger happy with the camera. Megalomanic thoughts entered my brain.

Wow. They denuded this mountain just for us.

Click click click.

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I was later drafted to keep and eye on my niece and baby nephew, who were taking a dip in the kiddie pool. I thought it would be fun to put my nephew on top of the little inflatable floater and drag him across the pool. Big mistake. As soon as I put him on top of his inflatable island he went in the water head-first. I frantically caught his foot and pulled him up. I was so frightened as my stunned nephew started coughing up water as I pat his back. He cried for the next couple of minutes, and coughed up more baby spit in my hair. I was so relieved that he was all right. I'm not sure if the experience has turned him into a little Achilles, but I am sure that his mother will kill me if she found out. He clung onto me for dear life soon after that. I don't blame him. I felt like I was a bad aunt.

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An hour later my mother took the baby back to the room for a nap. My brother, his girlfriend, my sister and I lazed in our lounge chairs, chatting as we watched the sun set . Though we had the place to ourselves, the light from the torches and the poolside tiki bar were ablaze. We swam, made fun of each other and sang loudly off-key along with the hip hop and RnB songs blaring from the speakers hidden in fiberglass rocks. My brother and his girlfriend tell me later that they saw a meteorite streak across the night sky.

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We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant in the hotel. The food was great, the interiors were better: reds, browns and oranges gave the place a '60s retro vibe. Save for us, the place was also empty. The entire family exchanged banter. It was a good time.

We had to pass through the casino on the way back to our room. It was then when we learned where all the people were.

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I slept early. The next morning, I wandered around and took more photos. We had to take off at noon.

In Binangonan, I saw two dinosaurs in front of a restaurant and the Statue of Liberty in front of a house. I was told that it was owned by the same person, who ran a business making fiberglass statues. I thought it was hilarious.

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It was a long trip home. My mom wanted to visit some of our distant relatives who lived in Antipolo. We got lost somewhere in the maze of streets. We were all eager to go home, except for my mom. We didn't even know of these people were to feed us. The situation didn't look promising. My parents parked in front of a 7-11 and a Wendy's as they bickered on whether or not to visit these strange people. At the back of the car, our stomachs growled louder and louder.

"Enough!" I said "Sige, I'll pay for the meal muna. Ma, you can pay me later. Please, kumain muna tayo."

Us kids trooped to the Pizza Hut beside the Wendy's and ordered. My parents grudgingly followed us a few minutes later. After the meal, we got lost some more, before finally finding the place at around three p.m.

Hooray to me, the peacemaker.

When we got there, they plied us with fried chicken and sodas. Ugh.

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These relatives were apparently so eager to meet us that they didn't let us leave until 6 p.m. We were quite happy to go, an exhausted, bedraggled bunch.

Traveling families are crazy, but have fun.

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All the pretty pictures.