It’s been a while since my friends Jops and Rosey got
together for a summer getaway. It was last year when we were all together for
an overnight trip to Tagaytay. Although missing Gracey and Dom, we were still
excited because we’ll be spending time together.
We met up early in the morning (our planned 4AM turned to
6ish AM), and decided to get breakfast at NLEX. Other than loading up on
breakfast, we also loaded up on the first selfies of our trip.
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| Me and Rosey |
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| Rosey, CJ, Jops and Rhett |
The trip took 3 – 4 hours, plus traffic and our breakfast
and selfie stop over but we passed the time with non-stop chit chat (when you
hear us talk, it’s like a mix of non-sense and more none-sense which makes us
laugh) . I’ve seen the Facebook page of Prado Farms and being there, you really
see the eclectic style, from the décor to interesting pieces. To put it, there’s
a lot of photo shoot material for the cam whores in all of us. Just being at the reception area, we already took snaps.
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| Outside of Prado Farms |
The place is big and lush. It’s a leisurely walk from the
reception area to the rooms but it was OK because you’ll see a lot of
interesting things and you’ll be stopping to take pictures. Instead of a 3
minute walk you’ll end up with 30 minutes because you’ll take pictures here and
there.
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| View from their restaurant |
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| View from their restaurant |
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| Lush garden |
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| Old houses add to the rustic charm |
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| Daybeds outside under a tree |
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While the
place is rustic with an old world flair, the building that housed the
rooms are somehow modern and artistic with its yellow color.
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| Building where our rooms are |
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| I'm liking this big daybed and colorful pillows |
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| Staircase going to our room |
Just
a reminder though, the rooms are basic so do not expect too much. The
size is just right I think but I guess for some they will consider it as
small. There's no TV or fridge (I think the main purpose of the place
is for you to go out and appreciate the surroundings) but what I liked
is that we somehow have a terrace and the bathroom was big. The toilet
is separate from the shower (with their own doors) so its perfect
especially for non couples who are sharing the room. Both can do their
business with privacy.
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| View from our terrace |
They have
some bikes that you can use around the place. Its been a while (I mean
years) since I last used one but you never forget how to bike anyway.
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| Biking around with this artistic piece |
After
settling in and taking a bunch of pictures, we were
off to Pradera wakepark to do some wakeboarding. Pradera is a new
development in Lubao and one of their facilities is their wakepark. It
is almost across Prado
Farms but you’ll still need a car as it’s a long walk under the hot
sun.
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| Pradera Wakepark |
The
park is big (there’s a golf cart service that will take
you around including the parking lot), you have the big lake where the
pros are
and 3 beginner lakes for novice wake boarders like me! I’ve tried wake
boarding
way back 2008 at CWC and it was not really an experience I would want to
try
again as I said to myself. This was more of overcoming that. The park
also has some rooms that can be rented for the ones who would want to
stay the night however it is a bit pricey. For our wakeboarding
experience, we paid 475 for 2 hours which is inclusive of the helmet and
vest.
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| Pumped and excited |
Since it was lunch time when we got there and the operators need to take
a break as well, we decided to get lunch first there.The food was delicious but a bit pricey (I’m guessing
because people who go there are the “can afford” crowd).
After lunch, it was time. I was nervous because the last
time I did it, I failed, hahaha. There’s not much pictures since we were all
busy contemplating and psyching ourselves that we can do this.
My first run I was able to make it half of the lake before
face planting and gulping a lot of lake water. My second try was a success and
I was able to make it to the end. However I didn’t know how to turn so I let go
and crashed. The crowd was picking up where we were and we decided to transfer
to another beginner lake (good thing there’s golf cart service). I was pumped
from my success that I did it for another 4 times reaching the end and crashing
because I didn’t know how to turn.
Since I was already on a high, I wanted my friend to take a
video of me wakeboarding. Unfortunately, this time around, when I wasn’t as
successful and 3/4th of the course I crashed. I was so disappointed
that I wanted another try and same thing happened. I was frustrated because now
that there’s video evidence I wasn’t able to complete the course. I wanted to
give it another go but I was already too tired plus the crowd was picking up
where we were so we decided to call it a day and return back to our hotel.
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| Tired but happy |
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| Tired but happy |
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| Done for the day |
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| Kid at heart |
Before heading back, the kids in us wanted to try the
trampoline so ofcourse we did! The video will tell you that we didn’t enjoy it
one bit (we were already putting it on our wishlist for Christmas!).
After a tiring day, we went
back to relax at the pool. We liked it because 1. The water was warm and
relaxing and 2. We had the pool all to ourselves. The only thing is that the
pool wasn’t chlorinated that some insects were already biting us.
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| When you have the pool to yourself |
It was already past 7PM but we still had to drive to Subic
because that’s where we’ll have our dinner as recommended by Jops. Rosey and I
were so tired that we slept through the ride and just woke up when we were already
there. I felt like just staying in the car and had them just eat dinner without
me. But I managed to drag myself out of the car so I can have dinner.
We
went to Texas Joe’s which is according to Jops was yummy
and affordable. We started with some potato skins and chicken wings and
it was
sooo good (plus the fact that we were starving made it more delicious). I
mean
we ate the potato skins like there was a time limit. The seasoning with
the
sauce was so yummy! After devouring (yes that’s the term I’m using), it
was
time for our main course, ribs! Like our appetizers, we made quick work
on the
ribs, I guess too quick that we were full before we can move on to our
brisket
and egg rolls (this is the only decent picture of the food because we
were already hungry and didn't want to waste time taking pictures). We
just thought that we’ll have them wrapped to go and we’ll
have breakfast. Like the ride going to Subic, Rosey and I were knocked
out and
was sleeping at the back. I have to give chops to Rhett because he was
still
driving even though he was also tired and all.
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| Ribs, Pulled Pork Egg Rolls and some Cornbread |
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| Dinner at Texas Joe's Subic |
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| Because we have the same motif which is red |
Next day, Rosey and I woke up early to roam around and take
pictures, can you say photoshoot? We took pictures and visited the chapel which
has a beautiful wood cross.
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| Chapel |
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| Gardens |
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| Dining area |
There's a lot of quirky pieces that you'll see around so keep your eyes open and your cameras ready.
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| Nativity made up of old gas barrels |
I also took the opportunity to swim in the pool and I liked
it because I was the only one there, kinda like I rented the place to myself
(hashtag #likeaboss).
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| When you have the pool to yourself |
After my swim, alas, it was time to go (not without taking
more pictures!).
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| I like their Pandan juice, refreshing! |
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| One of the old houses |
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| Group picture |
Although
short, it was definitely uber fun! It was a weekend
of laughs, YOLO moments and good times. I was able to overcome my fear
as well as thinking of picking up a new sport, hahaha, I guess not for
now. :)
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Creative use of empty gas barrels as their gate
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