A dip at the Atlantic Ocean

Sure it's nothing compared to the paradise that is Boracay back in the Philippines, but Ocean City, Maryland has its own charm, interesting enough to entice someone who used to live thirty-minutes away from the shoreline and spent summer, semestral, and Christmas breaks by the sea (It's not home if there's no beach and seafood!).

It was already a new and exciting experience for me as it was my first time to be in a beach of another country. I've seen the pictures, I've watched the movies, but of course they're not enough. How I see it is obviously different than those of the locals and those who, like our group, drove for three or so hours and got stuck in insane traffic to get there. (The drive was quite pleasant though, thankfully!) One thing's for certain, however: everyone who went there craved for and glorified the sun, the sand, and the sea. That, the three-mile long boardwalk which boasts of its amusement parks, arcades, shops, restaurants, hotels and other places to stay in, and the rest of the things OCMD has to offer.

And though technically we were only there for half the day, I felt that our time was enough. We took a dip at the Atlantic Ocean, ate ridiculously good New York-style pizza, which the man took only five(!) minutes to prepare, and french fries, dug holes and built sandcastles and fortresses, watched the beautiful sunset, walked miles in the boardwalk in search a place to eat dinner that would accommodate fourteen customers (I was with my relatives and families of my aunt and uncle's high school friends), had one of those typical American meals (Philly cheesesteak for me and pizza, pasta, and chicken wings for the others), devoured five huge flannel cakes and six bite-size fried oreos, and ran back to the hotel under the pouring rain with our one dollar ponchos which we bought only minutes after it started drizzling.

I only wish we visited at least one of the amusement parks (It would have been a huge photo opportunity!) but it would be hard to look after the seven kids under the age group of two to twelve years old we were with. No worries though, with a resort town as clean and full of character as theirs, there is no doubt that we are coming back.

Ch-ch-ch-changes and a few firsts

I have always been the homebody. From way back in grade school, "staying in" was how I spent most of my free time. Instead of meeting friends at the malls and watching the newly released movies at the cinema, I am content with being at home, chatting with people through the latest social networking site, the landline, or my cellphone, and watching my Filipino teleseryes or American shows on the television.

After a while though (see: on a midsummer morning in 2012, about two weeks ago), I got so bored and so used to what I have always been doing that I craved for yet another adventure! The next thing I knew, I hopped on a bus to the city of Roxas in Capiz, roughly two hours away from Iloilo. Aside from finally accepting the long overdue invite of my very good dorm friend Connie to come over and explore her hometown, I was there to support mi amiga for her sagala stint.

We also had the company of three of Connie's closest college blockmates who flew in from Manila and directly to Roxas: Jill, Mae, and Gio—whom I all met for the first time there despite us graduating from the same university. We all did touristy (as it was their first time to be in the area) and non-touristy things: ate seafood everyday, joined the sagala parade (my first!), surfed the Internet and watched movies during our free time, and attended a recital. I was even able to squeeze in some time with my relatives who also resided in Roxas.

However, for me, the highlight of our short stay with Connie's family was taking a roadtrip to Iloilo and then riding a pumpboat (for only fifteen minutes) to the small island-province of Guimaras. It was everybody's first time there but mine, although I haven't been to the place in four years. And so with a tiny jeepney and a small pumpboat, we visited the interesting spots of the island and eventually bathed in the sea, the sun, and the rain.

Truly it was the adventure I have longed for and the perfect goodbye to the hot summer days! Very much grateful for mi amiga and su familia!


Photos by me, Connie, and Gio.