THE DAY BEFORE TYPHOON PARMA

We needed to wind up our apartment checks for the Lingayen Zone, and down this road was our last one. When we got there, the elders had left so we were going to miss their apartment. As we were leaving we saw them in the distance so they turned around and headed back to their apartment.

It is Oct. 7, 2009 and we are in Lingayen, it has rained off and on most of the morning and we are headed back toward this companionship's apartment, they chose to walk back instead of getting our car all muddy. The tall elder is Elder McKeown, from Austrailia and his companion, who I don't remember right now. This is actually the "road" to their apartment. I think they were one of the last apartments we needed to check.

This gives you an idea of the weather we were experiencing at the time. Wet, very wet! We didn't think too much about the rain, it had rained all day many times before, we just thought this was another typical day during typhoon season. Little did we know!

Unique Things about the Manor

In Baguio they have a rule for limiting the traffic, if your license plate ends in a 1 or 2 you can't drive on certain days, and this day happened to be the day we couldn't drive our cars. SO, in order to all go together, we had to all pile in Pres. Jensen's 4-wheel drive car, the hitch was there are only 5 seats so some lucky soul got to ride in the back! Guess who? Pres. Thomsen's won!! It was hilarious driving up to this fancy hotel with a grown man riding in the back end. The valet opened the hatch and let him out, meanwhile we were all having a good laugh about it! I guess there is still a little kid hiding in all of us no matter what the age! The objective was still reached--we all went together to a fine dining experience. I am sure we gave the valets something to talk about during a lull in the customers!! They all had a smile on their face! He he he!

I had to take a picture of this "Comfort Room"--it was awesome. If you knew what a "normal" comfort room looked like here you would know why this one caught my attention big time! This one looks like one you would find at home. Most of the CR's even in the nice modern malls do not have the normal items you would expect in a restroom. For example, a seat, soap, toilet paper, paper towels and sometimes water. This was a joy to behold.

I just had to document that there really are very nice CR's in the Philippines.

This is a different view from the terrace, the place is amazing. They have gone to great lengths to make sure this is the place to be.

Dinner at the Manor

This is a huge, fancy hotel in Baguio, called the Manor. All three couples, Jensen's, Thomsen's and us went to dinner there. It was a wonderful meal and great atmosphere. For an expensive place the meal was very reasonable and the service was top notch! A really "POSH" place.

This is just one of the views from the terrace where we had our meal. The terrace is open to the outside but under a roof so you can enjoy the cool evening air but there are glass doors that they pull shut if the weather is bad so you can still see the view without having to put up with the rain, humidity or wind.

This is the view just off the terrace where we had dinner. You can hear the fountain from where we sat and there was soft music playing in the background and very professional waiters attended our every wish. This is the life! (even if it is just for a couple of hours)

This was right after our excursion to the Tiki Village so I look a little hammered, we were still in the typhoon season. The water fountain was huge and didn't have a bad side--it looked gorgeous from any angle.

Tiki Village in Baguio

This is a little known site right in Baguio. The Jensens, Thomsens and us all went there one day when we were up in Baguio. It was a clear day and a perfect day for an outdoor activity. Some of these huts were built in the 1500's. The trails were steep, covered with moss and slick. Some of the steps were very high, a little scary for my old knees but the rock that made up the steps were slick as well. It wasn't a very big place but it had some very interesting huts and art exhibits there as well as art.

We all had a fun time in the souvenir shop with the owners. They gave us a demonstration of a "nose flute" which you play with your nostril, so we promptly had to have one! The owner actually gave us demonstration of how to play it, he really made it play! Sis. Jensen got one for fun for their family gatherings, I got one just to see what fun the grand kids would have "TRYING" to make it work! I had to have a rain stick too, Rick didn't think I needed one but I got it anyway! (The grand kids will have fun with it, I remember Kendall bringing one home from his mission!)

NOTE: I am playing catch up with my blog so this was posted long after the event. Since that time this whole complex has been destroyed by the Typhoon Parma or Peping as they call it here. There were horrible mudslides in Baguio and all over the mountain, there is almost nothing left of this village, just huge gouges out of the mountain. We picked a great time to see it because in less than a week it was gone! Sad!

Baguio Mission Home Prior to a Remodel

The Mission Home is about 35 years old and even though a tad out-dated is nice. The kitchen was the problem, it had wood rot and smelled bad. It also had critters when the Jensen's first got there. They all been dealt with "post haste"! The staircase leads upstairs where all the elders stay when they come to Baguio for Zone Leader Council, the new elders stay until "Transfer Day" until they receive their assignments of areas, or if any have to come to Baguio for a number of reason, and last but not least, for departing their missions to return home.

The sisters stay in the "blue room" (where we usually stay when we go to Baguio for the night) and the other turquoise room with twin beds. There are usually a small number of sisters in the new "batch" so they don't require a lot of space. The elders on the other hand usually have about a dozen or so at one time in a "batch", so the upstairs can sleep about 18 elders at one time.

The upstairs has a couple of bathrooms for the elders, and the two bedrooms on the main floor have a bathroom attached to the room.

The dining room is where they are fed all their meals while staying at the Mission Home and Bert is the wonderful cook! He is a master in the kitchen -- we all love the meals he prepares, and are a big undertaking--which includes huge pots of rice no matter the menu! Hello?! We are in the Philippines--it is the staple of their diet.

The living room is where all the meetings take place, new arrival meetings, departing missionaries, zone leader council, etc. Many of the elders enjoy playing the piano while waiting for the meetings to start and I find it helps set the tone for any meeting we have. I might add that many of the elders learned to play the piano while on their missions, many are self-taught!

The "gaudy" picture in the kitchen is a favorite thing to "hate"! It lights up at night too--however I have seen it lit up only once! (I think that was to demonstrate how ugly it is!) I think we all pretty much try to ignore it!

The entry way has the picture of the Savior right as you walk in. I don't have a picture of the courtyard right before you enter the Mission Home but it has a great many plants and flowers. It is all enclosed with a brick wall and metal gates for security. There is a security guard at night and all around the clock on the weekends because Pres. and Sister Jensen are gone a lot to various Stake and District Conference. It is a safety precaution.

Leaded or Unleaded??

I have to admit I stole this idea from Sister Jensen. This guard is posted at the Petron gas station just down the block from the Mission Home and he looks pretty tough! Right next to this station is one of my favorite places to eat--The Pancake House. We pulled in there to get gas and to have breakfast.

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After we had breakfast, I just thought what the heck--I am going to ask him if I can take his picture. He was happy to oblige us and so we just decided to stand there with him. He was all smiles and flattered I think that we wanted his picture. He was very friendly and a happy guy--I guess he has to appear "Rambo" like so people know not to mess with him!

The Town of Bugallon

This is a HUGE statue of a common sight in the Philippines. The carabao are work animals, and you see them in fields all over the country. They are often seen grazing in the early morning and late evenings as well. As near as I can tell this statue is made out of a heavy metal. It stands at the front of a city park, along the main road, you can't miss it!

You can get a feel for just how big this statue is by looking at the man walking under it!

One thing about the Philippines that I just love is all the beautiful flowers, bushes and trees that seem to grow everywhere with little or no effort. The abundance of rain I am sure accounts for the bountiful vegetation.

This is a shot of the park behind the statue.