February 17, 2015 (Baguio to San Juan, Phillipines)

Pretty mellow day. After packing up we hit the road headed down the mountain to the beach. Apparently Baguio is around 5500 feet above sea level so we had a big mountain decent to go. The road wasn't crowded and as soon as we left Baguio there were lush green hillsides and tropical forests. I was back at the helm and it was a nice mellow drive around winding roads. We stopped at one spot where Allie and Riley got out and we took a picture. Along this road right near this spot is where Riley had fallen asleep while driving on his mission and been a really dangerous accident where thankfully he hit the side of the mountain instead of the other way which could have sent their car off the cliffside. We also stopped to take photos of the beautiful hillsides.

Arriving in La Union we pulled off had lunch at a very Fillipino fast food restaurant. The food was really good. Sam ordered something totally authentic and heavens knows what it was, but he liked it. The Hales ordered the traditional dessert with beans, jello cubes, ice cream and anything else they you can imagine. It was crazy looking but they said it was good ;)

We made it into San Juan and scoped out the places we had seen on the Internet. It was between "Awesome Hotel" and "Kahuna." After scoping out Awesome Hotel it didn't look quite as awesome as it did online, especially since the pool had no water in it ;) We made our way to Kahuna and it was great with a nice pool right on the beach and tons of surfers out. We checked into our very inexpensive rooms which were right at the pool and overlooking the ocean. I immediately changed into my suit and jumped into the pool. Beach was much warmer than the mountains but again nothing like the heat in Bali. There were all kinds of surf schools on the beach so I rented a board for Sam and although the waves were really small you could catch them easily and he went out and surfed for an hour and a half. It was fun to sit on the beach and chat with Amber while we watched Sam. Allie and Riley and Klane went to visit some of his friends in a neighboring town.

During sunset Amber and I went for a walk and checked out some of the other places near by. There are several tiny shacks on the beach that for sure in a big storm would blow right away, but a pretty nice simple life on the beach with a  great view :) It was a relaxing afternoon on the beach and in the pool and a chance to just be in one spot and relax.

For dinner we ate at the restaurant next to the beach. Dinner was tasty and after dinner Sam had gone for a swim and back into the room. About 20 mins later he comes back to the table where I was sitting still talking with Klane and Amber. I asked what was us. He said he had gotten stuck in the room, the door was jammed and the only way out was through a small bathroom window which he cleverly climbed out and jumped into some bushes and then came to find me. Totally calm, love that he just figured it out and didn't freak. So funny.

Tomorrow we have a big day of driving back to Manila, while stopping in Rosario to visit a couple more of Riley's friends from his mission. We have been here 4 days essentially and in 3 totally different environments: busy crazy city, pine forest mountains, and lush beach landscapes.