6 hours north of Manila is Baguio, a town up in the mountains. There is the ambassadors residence up in the mountains that’s been around for over 50 years. I’ve been hearing about this place for a year now and I’ve putting off going for year now. It’s a six hour drive and the drive has been terrifying me. We had planned to go over Christmas, but thankfully we didn’t make it up there since Malcolm came not too long after that.
Randy surprised me over this past weekend and told me he had booked Baguio for the weekend to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary. There are only three cabins/cottages you can stay in with kids (the actual residence has rooms but is only for kids over 11) so you have to book the cabins very far in advance. I was impressed and touched that Randy had thought to book the weekend so far ago for us. This was the final push I needed to try the trip. I figured worse case scenario, we have two screaming children for five hours, typical Saturday – jut kidding people 🙂
You know what, after all my worrying, in the end the drive really wasn’t that bad. Adam spent the drive up talking, eating snacks and watching Nemo, thank you Kindle. Malcolm slept almost the whole way.
The last half hour of the ride looked like this.
We stopped right before we arrived to have some lunch at Hill Country Bistro. Our friend had recommended Hill Country so when we saw they had opened a Bistro right at the gate of Camp John Hay (where the residence is located) we decided to give it a try. The food was delicious. Which to be honest in the Philippines is not always the case. Great start to the weekend. Meanwhile, Adam was up and Malcolm was back asleep.
We finally arrived and were all happy to get out of the car and settle into our cabin.
Then we were off to explore. We headed up to the Ambassadors Residence which is only five minutes away.
It’s pretty amazing in this very room below where Adam was running around (and I was silently praying he didn’t have any accidents since we’re very very new at this potty training) was where the Japanese unconditionally surrendered to the Americans after World War II. This will for sure interest the two history buff reading (this means you Dad and Henry).
Malcolm is clearly going to be joining this list, see how intrigued he is by the painting rendition. I love that Adam and Malcolm will be learning about World War II one day in school and we can talk about how they were in the room where history took place.
It was fun to see this top secret sealed shut drawer in the kitchen for the Ambassador and DCM. Wonder what top secret information it houses, or do they perhaps not like to share their utensils?
It was foggy and post a torrential downpour which made our walk after fun and full of puddle jumping.
4 happy years later and two beautiful boys! Who wouldn’t love being married to this cute face.
Full disclosure, it took all my willpower to let Adam stomp away. I kept thinking about how when I was a kid someone told me that walking in puddles barefoot is how you get tapeworms….he wasn’t barefoot but hs shoes had holes. But I’m glad I let him stomp. He loved it and so far all ok 🙂
Then it was back to the cottage for dinner and a warm fire. After a year of hot tropical living it was so nice to be able to cuddle in front of a fire. And even nicer is they completely set up the fire for you so all you have to do is light a match.
Eventually we put the two boys to bed (by eventually I mean 7) and got to enjoy some champagne and chocolates to celebrate our anniversary. We exchanged gifts and talked about all that had happened in the past year and our plans for next year and how wonderful our wedding was.
The next morning was my idea of a perfect morning. We got to sit outside in sweaters(!) and have a yummy breakfast of yogurt, granola and fruit with a beautiful view.
What a view!
The day just kept getting better. There are horses super close that you can ride. Second full disclosure- the whole time we were on the horse I was gripping Adam for dear life. I kept thinking of how Scarlett’s daughter in Gone with the Wind was thrown from a horse, and Pollyanna and the list goes on. Randy pointed out that these horses are super tame, we were walking as slow as can be and there was a guy leading him the whole time. But you never know people! Adam insisted on a white horse, his name was Bingo.
Malcolm watched for about five minutes and then fell asleep. Just you wait buddy, you’ll be begging for a horse ride soon enough.
We headed back and went for a long walk.
Then it was home for some cuddles and naps for all. Except for Randy that is, who had to figure out how to get our BBQ lit with no matches and no lighter fluid. When I woke up from my nap our neighbor from the cottage next door was over helping Randy get our BBQ lit. The best part, he had a three year old son who came and played with Adam. Adam was in heaven, he even shared all of his cars.
Worth all the effort!
The next morning we headed back to the horses. Where Malcolm was again so amazed by the horses….
Adam requested a brown horse, meet Alcapone. Randy went with Adam this time.
Then it was a mere six and a half hours and we were home. Again the ride was not as bad as I imagined it to be. We took a long break for lunch and Adam took a long nap in the car. It was good practice for our trip to Greece coming up. I was able to see where I overpacked and what I forgot. Adam got to practice sleeping in a new bed and Malcolm in our travel crib. We got to see what life will be like with two kids and no help. We got to see what a long trip was like (just need to multiply this trip length by 5 and we’ll be in Greece 🙂
It was a really nice weekend away in the mountains and we will definitely be going back. I am no longer afraid of the drive and already craving sweater weather and a patio in the forest to eat my meals!
bosas-from-us.com 