Great Times with Friends

The Tres Muskiteros of from left to right Rhante Parrenas, Ted Williams and Rudy Salanga pose at the Hoover Dam at the Nevada/Arizona border on August 24, 2008.

Ngeeeee! was the battle joke throughout the two-day trip of the Tres Muskiteros of the Knights of Columbus to the Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon and Sedona in Arizona.  These places will never be the same again without the Tres Muskiteros DD/PFN/PGK Rudy Salanga of Las Pinas City, Philippines; PGK Ted Williams now of Burbank, CA; and FDD/PGK Rhante Parrenas of Las Vegas, NV messing them up!  Alice Williams and her two children Michelle and Melody, Cora Salanga and Ces Parrenas completed the entourage.

Ted rented this huge 18-seater GMC (?) truck from Los Angeles..  Really  big, lots of room and very comfortable.  I thought it was difficult to drive; turned out to be just like driving a small car when I took over from Ted for the drive from the Grand Canyon to Flagstaff, AZ.!

Immediately upon their arrival in Las Vegas from Burbank at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, August 22, we took Rudy & Cora and Ted & Alice to my hotel and casino, the South Point (You didn't know Ces and I own this place?), for a buffet dinner that featured seafood in addition to the Steak Place, the Italian Bistro, the Mexican Cage, The Mongolian House and the Asian Wok.

Gee, I didn't have to ask them what they wanted to eat.  They could have a feast, a really delicious treat, of whatever pleases their palates.

Poor guys!  They must have been so tired.  They immediately came home with me and slept in their royalty rooms sans their lovely wives who went spending the night at the machines and tables at my casino.  Guess who the ladies' guide was!

Very early in the morning at 8:30  (Ngeeeee! Is that early?) , we drove to the Grand Canyon, via the Hoover Dam for sightseeing.  Here's the Hoover Dam. http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/service/index.html

<FONTFACE=ARIAL size="4">We proceeded on a three-hour turtle drive to Williams, Arizona to register at Fairfield Inn by Marriott for our three rooms.  Fairfield Inn had two queen-sized beds in each room, which was good for all of us to be able to relax.  Check it out. http://www.marriott.com/fairfield-inn/travel.mi

Seeing the Grand Canyon is always a humbling experience for me.  Being the Minister of Tourism for Pinoy visitor friends, I visit this national park at least twice a year!  The hair keeps standing on edge every time I see the grandeur of this place.  God's creation is totally fascinating.  http://www.nps.gov/grca/

Rhante, Ces, Cora, Rudy, Ted and Alice having lunch at Pine Country Restaurant in Williams, AZ on Saturday, August 23, 2008.

Ted, Rudy and Rhante in front of the Desert View Tower, overlooking the mesa of the Grand Canyon.

Rudy and Rhante in front of the Desert View Tower.

Ces, Cora and Alice at the Desert View part of the Grand Canyon where the Colorado River can be seen in the background.

Ted possesses the spectacle of the Grand Canyon in his enthralling smile!

Rhante and Rudy are totally mesmerized by the grandeur of this God's creation.

Hunger struck by the time, we got to Flagstaff, AZ from the Grand Canyon.  We looked for the Himalayan Restaurant that I knew of from a previous visit.  I forgot to ask them not to put MSG in the chicken tekka masala and the tandoori chicken we ordered.  The restaurant must have put in a lot of MSG because I really sufferedwith hypertension that nightand into the next three days.  My head was actually woozy while we enjoyed ourselves in Sedona!

The great company of my friends must have given me the strength to carry on with the expedition to Sedona and the trip back to Las Vegas with utmost glee!

Ted & Alice, Rudy & Cora and Ces & Rhante stop by the roadside on the way to Sedona, AZ to memorialize the visit to the majestically serene red rock formations of Sedona from a distance.

The visit to the Chapel of the Holy Cross on top of one of the majestic red rocks brought solemnity to our visit.

The Tres Muskiteros now stand nearer to the red rocks fronting The Chapel of the Holy Cross.

 Behind and below Ces and me is the huge SUV that Ted rented for us to use on this trip to Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon and Sedona. See the red rocks behind us in the distance?  Fantastic!

I contend that these rock projectiles resulted from God's pushing The Grand Canyon.  As He stepped on the Grand Canyon the rocks erupted up in Sedona!

 See the naughty look on Ted's face?  What do you think he's doing?  Ngeeeee!  This is the entrance to a souvenir shop in Sedona where I bought a collapsible walking stick that I really love.

Ted, Rudy and Rhante stand to record the visit to Sedona, AZ to enjoy the majestic red rocks.

Standing according to height from left to right: Rudy, Ted, Rhante, Ces, Alice and Cora right after an American lunch at the Sunflower Restaurant in Sedona.

Rudy and Cora pause for a breather with some fine sculptures before continuing on with their shopping spree in Sedona, AZ.

A beautiful butterfly flutters around, entertaining us while we went shopping in Sedona.

The Tres Muskiteros enjoy the constructions I ordered to improve the Hoover Dam, especially the Freeway that will bypass the old Highway 93 and afford travelers a bird's eye view of the Hoover Dam.  The crazy U.S. government granted me ownership of this dam out of the blue!  Call me, if you want free electricity! Ngeeeeeee!

Night finally falls in Las Vegas as we parted ways.  Ces and I went to set up her classroom for Monday, August 25 so she could start the new school year right.  Rudy & Cora, Ted & Alice and their daughters Michelle and Melody checked in to the Palazzo Hotel at The Strip.  http://www.palazzolasvegas.com/PINT.aspx?KNC-PAGOOGLESEARCH

The whole trip was replete with non-stop jokes that rocked the huge SUV that Ted drove.  The pinnacle of the joke, of course, was Eddy Arreza's vintage Ngeeeeeee expression!  Eddy is my best friend who is more than a brother.  He is the new District Warden to Rudy who is the District Deputy of the Knights of Columbus in the Las Pinas City District.

This trip has not ended.  It is just the beginning of more trips to come!

 

Tags: Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Sedona, Knights of Columbus

Fear of a Plane Crash

 

Did you ever experience a plane crash?  Hopefully, not.  Otherwise, you wouldn't be reading this blog now, yes?  However, you may have experienced a near crash or something seriously scary while on a plane ride other than the plane shaking violently while going through air turbulence.  I did.  I finally have calmed down to write about one such experience.

On Monday, July 7, 2008, I was scheduled to fly to Iloilo City from Manila, Philippines on Philippine Airlines at 10:00 a.m.  After three schedule cancellations due to what-ever-they-needed-to-do-with-the-plane, I finally was able to fly out at about 1:00 p.m.  The delay did not concern me because I needed to be in Iloilo City to condole with my family at the passing on of my older brother to the second life.

The weather was perfect.  The sky was clear.  There was not a single air pocket turbulence during the flight.  Nearing Iloilo City, the purser announced for us to fasten our seatbelts and get ready for landing.  Looking out the plane window, I could see the verdant greens of the city.  Visibility was great!

As I always do, I prayed the Holy Rosary at take off and at landing.  While enjoying the scenery below, I was praying the Holy Rosary.  The man beside me said some prayers, too, as he made the sign of the cross slowly, most reverently slowly.

The plane started descending, the flaps unfolding to slow the plane down.  I expected a gentle glide for landing followed by the rolling of the tires.

BLAAGGHH came the booming sound!  The green land I was looking at disappeared and was replaced with the horizon.  The plane seemed to have dropped from the sky instead of gliding down.  It bounced off the runway!!  Complete silence enveloped the plane.  Not a single sound came from anyone or anything.  The silence seemed like forever!  Then, I guess after about 10 seconds...BAAGGHH came the thudding sound!  The plane dropped off again!  After another five seconds, SRREeeccchhh... the plane's tires started rolling on the runway.

The man beside me made the sign of the cross so fast, he must have crossed himself a hundred times in one second to thank God for letting us live through the experience!

The purser came on the PA system, "Ladies and gentlemen, we just landed in IL...IL...ILO...ILOI...ILOI...ILOILO City..."  The purser must have been scared out of his wits, too!  The passengers erupted in unison, "You couldn't even pronounce Iloilo anymore!"

Either the pilot named something like Capt. Cabahug is totally inept or high on some drugs or perhaps his co-pilot was practice landing, he scared the living daily lights out of me.  At the moment of impact on the ground, I had no feelings at all.  My mind was also blank.

It was when we started taxiing on the runway that I really got scared, my body shaking, my throat dry and my head woozy.  My imagination went wild...what if the plane tilted and the wing tips touched the runway?...what if...what if...what if...  The what-ifs wouldn't stop.  I imagined the plane bursting into a fireball.  What if?

I had nightmares.  It took me this long...over a month...to get over the what-ifs!  I hope and pray that you will not experience the fear I went through.

Philippine Airlines...Capt. Cabahug or whatever-your-name is...you owe me an apology.

I thank God for letting me live through that experience and giving me more time to serve Him in this world.

 

 

Tags: Fear of Planes