Chandelier by the Sea: 2009-2011: Sealed With Surf

The past 3 or 4 years have been wonderfully sealed with post-Christmas surf trips & it's a tradition I would like to keep for a long time. :-)

Always a treasure and a pleasure to go & escape to La Union for the holidays, to clear my head in time for the New Year. To regain my composure after all the Christmas rush & gift-buying & giving, the rush deadlines, the rush packing! All that RUSHing & puffing, boo!

The drive alone relaxes me already and takes my mind off work for a while, at the same time energizing me to plan & look forward when work resumes in a few days. And THEN there's the wonderful surf sessions we always seem to be blessed with once we are there.

2009. We found ourselves in the ocean with friends & relatives visiting for the holidays...

cousins Roxy & Mia

Miggy-- the real one & the sandy one

buying fish to grill in the market w/ Diboy

little brothers, cousins, friends...

best friends...

well, there's the other MAN's best friend...

Joncy looking out to the sea and to the sun

all photos above by Dibs Trofeo

2010. This time with cousins, nephews, nieces, & parents---mommies & daddies, and most wonderful of all, a grandma! My 88-year-old gramma came along for the trip! A time together I will never forget. She put sunblock on me, ate liempo with me, and nursed my reef cuts everyday. Feeling loved is the best feeling in the world.

Kiddo & Amy-- a year-ender staple in LU

The pretty Mommas!

Marshmallows & hotdogs around a bonfire, with friends & family---
definitely better than any New Year's firecrackers!

Aaaaaaand of course there's always the furry friend along for the trip. This baby belongs to Earl & Mel!

2011. This year, not the usual cast & crew could make it to the trip, and we sorely missed some friends & furry creatures! But it was still a happy time. The new company was good company!

Kevin, Kiddo (told you he was a staple), and Buji at our apartment

Killing time watching surf vids before Carille starts firing

buji, dad, brother, sister...!

Amy & me with the new company I was telling you about!

not-so-new company... I was happy to bump into old friends

my best buds for the trip: my cousins Charlie & Binky!

haven't gone to the beach with this cousin, in like, maybe 10 years!

but as for this cousin...we probably spend more time together in the ocean than anywhere else!

sharin a beer w/ my friend Roxy banana

Year after year, the ocean is always very much kind to us and keeps on giving us unforgettable rides (& wipeouts) to close the year with...

2009. clockwise L to R: Jing, Nikki, me, Buji, headin' out w/ Roxy, me wiping out :-)

2010. w/ Marco in the lineup

2010. Philip havin' a good morning.
Photo by Yutaka Kishida

2011. Heading out w/ Junjun. Pic by Charlie Gomez looking every bit like a Monet painting.

Claude Monet, The Sea at Saint Adresse, 1868.
(Charlie, you must have been an Impressionist painter in your past life)

...and unforgettable sunsets to haunt us as we head home...

2009

with friends, cousins, sons, brothers, fathers...

nikki with not-so-little brother Enzo

Photos by Dibs Trofeo

2010

The sunset casts a magical light on all things.
530 pm. DJ hi-fivein' w/ Notnot

2011

5.30 pm Carille

everything is soft & beautiful
photo by Charlie Gomez

6pm on our way back. Photo taken from my super mega ultrasonic hi-tech camera phone.

Bad photo quality but still, it's truly a gift from the heavens. :p

Moreover, the li'l bump in Amy's tummy is now a part of the weekend surf scene...

...and the little puppy from 2009 is not so little anymore...

Change is inevitable and so it must be welcomed if you want to enjoy this life on earth. So with these happy thoughts I end the year, and embrace the new one. Allow me to close this last 2011 entry with another quote by Brian Tracy:

"The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good."