The next day, we were up early at around 3:30 am so that we could all take our baths and pack our baon for the picnic. There was a bit of a problem because the van we rented thru Ega was late. It turns out he was still sleeping and definitely had a hangover from a drinking session last night, oh no! The question then running thru everyone’s minds was - could he even drive at all???
But thankfully, he was OK after awhile and we were able to leave at around 5am. Well, the trip going to Tagaytay was supposed to be short (about less than two hours if coming from our office at QC) but this time, however, our trip took us more than three hours. It turns out that Ega’s van wasn’t functioning properly and it overheated in the middle of the expressway…WTF?!? Good thing, it was able to run after just a short while or else we’d have to pay a fortune on PNCC’s exorbitant towing fees! Then, Ega doesn’t also know the right exit to take, so we had to wait for them and they ended up taking a more circuitous route after wrongly exiting at Alabang.
Finally, we arrived at the Picnic Grove and we settled in on one of the big cottages there. We started to serve the prepared food so that we can all eat breakfast na of adobo, rice, boiled eggs, and the carbonara. There was also puto (biko and kutsinta) or bread with cheezwhiz and tuna spread. After eating, the kids went off for some horse-back riding. The others decided to explore and hike around the place to shed off what they had just eaten. The kids wanted to ride the zipline but the fees increased this year and so most were hesitant to just drop PhP400.00 for just a few minutes of thrill. Oh well, I would’ve wanted them to have that experience but I don’t have any more to spend since I already spent a lot on gasoline and the food. So, the kids just decided to while away the time playing on the grass. While the oldies just lounged around the cottage or slept on the wooden stools. Good thing I bought a heavy blanket so they had something to lay down on.
After the kids (and even some of the grownups!) had their fill of the horse, they had pictures taken with a huge live snake and then again had wacky shots with Taal lake in the background. Afterwards, they went back to the cottage and had some lunch. Our lunch was inihaw BBQ and hotdogs (courtesy of Allan) and the inihaw bangus which I bought from Vanmicks the other day. After eating, the kids just played on the grass and took pictures. They also tried to fly a kite but I wasn’t sure if the kite was sub-standard or if it was the kite-flyers fault. The adults meanwhile continued resting – some on the grass, while the others stayed in the cottage. It was indeed a very nice way to spend the day – just resting and enjoying the nice cool weather of Tagaytay. Even if there wasn’t much to do, the kids still had fun playing with each other in the very wide open area of Picnic Grove. While the adults just sat in their own corner to chat. We decided to leave early at around 3pm but as luck would have it, Ega’s van won’t start again…oh dear! This would surely be the last time we’ll borrow his van. It’s such a trip bummer! Instead of being able to visit more places like the Residence Inn zoo, the Pink sisters convent (for Inang) and People’s Park, we ended up just visiting Maryridge convent for their ube and buko pie pasalubong and the fruit stands to bring home some fruits. Oh well, I hope next time we’ll have better travelling provisions so that we’ll be able to enjoy more what Tagaytay had to offer.
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