September 15 2007: Miami, Florida




Its a weekend! What I love most about moving to South Florida is, I've got the beach right on my doorstep. Well, maybe not literally at my doorstep but, actually, close enough. :)


Together with my Tito Bobbet, Papa, Mama, and I drove to nearby Miami Beach. Our first stop was the Bayside Marketplace on Biscayne Bay because we planned to take the Island Queen Bay Cruise (by now you probably know that my family is a sucker for sightseeing cruises!).



Maybe we should reconsider if there are indeed sharks swimming in this bay...naaah!



Our view of Biscayne Bay.



Our boat!



All aboard!



Just testing my sea legs!



Miami skyline behind us.



This is Fisher Island. Accessible only by private boat or helicopter, beautiful people like Oprah Winfrey, Tom Cruise, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graff, Ricky Martin, Julia Roberts and the late Luciano Pavarotti own homes on this man-made island. Sossy!


The highlight of the cruise actually is the pass on Millionaire's Row. Here are some of the houses we saw.



I will try to remember what movie this house was used for. The Godfather nga ba?



The blue structure beyond the palm trees (if you can see it) belongs to designer Donald J. Pliner (but was owned before by Sylvester Stallone).



The house on the left is home to Miami's most famous Sound Machine frontwoman, Gloria Estefan. The structure on the right is a high-tech recording studio.



This huge shack belongs to the huge Shaq! We even saw his children playing on the trampoline. :)



Shaq's neighbor is no less than Miss Elizabeth Taylor.



This huge mansion belongs to the guy who owns viagra. No wonder he could erect such a huge house. See those palm trees that line his facade? The tour guide said each of those costs $10,000 to import from South Africa. Wow!



Shakira shot a music video in this house.



Al Capone lived here.


We took a lot of pictures of other houses but Mama couldn't match the pictures with the owners anymore, hehe. Other esidents include Rosie O'Donnel, Tiger Woods, the owner of Cache whasisname, that bachelor guy who built the Portofino Condos, Marimar, este, Thalia whose home was then purchased by P.Diddy, etc.



This is the Flagler Monument on Flagler Island.



The Miami Heat plays here. This is the American Airlines Arena.



With no fixed bridges and plenty of deep water, Miami Beach Marina affords accessibility to fishing, sailing and cruising. The famous Art Deco District is nearby with exciting shopping and the night life of trendy South Beach. More HERE.



A Cruise Ship.



Another one.



Back on land, here's me cooling off with some Marble Slab Ice Cream.


So then we drove down Ocean Boulevard on our way for a little swim at South Beach. All I can say is that this place has a lot of character. :)



This car has Alcatraz painted on its side.



And this car has a fake James Dean driving it. :)



Hey fashionistas! Mama and I are here in front of Versace's House.



Our view of South Beach.



Not wasting any time, Papa and me on the beach.



I love the beach!



Sandcastle making contest.



Taking this very seriously.



Beach babe princess on the hill. (Tito Bobbet is making muni-muni in the background, hehe.)



Ninety degrees today.


Time for dinner!


Because there were just too many restaurants to choose from, we played it "touristy" and decided to have dinner at Larios on the Beach, one of the two restaurants owned by the Conga Queen Gloria Estefan.



We were seated outside so we had a great people-watching vantage point.


We were not able to take pictures of our food because my Mama's camera's battery was running low. My Papa got the Roast Pork (really good. tasted like our pinoy Asado), Tito Bobbet had Garlic Shrimps (too salty), Mama had Cuban Fried Rice (too salty, too) and Mango Shake (yummy!!), and I had Chicken Soup (it was okay). But hey, Mama (and apparently, Tito Bobbet, too) prefered bland food, so to each his own. :)



We heard that Gloria's other restaurant Bongos had the same menu with Larios (only more expensive!), which was probably why they also shared table napkins, hehe.


We called it a night afterwards. Yet, there's still so much we haven't seen so I'm sure we'll come back some other weekend. :)



Signing off from Ocean Drive!

September 1-2 2007: San Antonio, Texas



For this year's Labor Day weekend, Papa, Mama and I decided to go to San Antonio and finish our sightseeing of the Texas landmarks before our move to Florida.


DAY 1: SEA WORLD


We spent a total of two days in San Antonio and our first day was spent at Sea World with the Sebastian family.



Tita Sheng gave us special $8 off coupons to Sea World, yey!


Thankfully, the weather cooperated with us and it was not so hot that day!


I love Sea World because of the shows! Unlike other theme parks where we just walk and walk and walk, here, we were able to sit comfortably in the theaters, be able to rest our legs, and enjoy the shows.



Our first show of the day is Viva! at the Beluga Stadium.



Why is it called Beluga stadium? Because of the Beluga whales!



Audience impact!


After the show, we then went to see the Pirates 4-D show. I am actually fearless when it comes to riding rollercoasters but, I absolutely did not enjoy this attraction! I didn't like the water splashing on my face or the wind blowing through my legs. Yuck! Mama and Papa had lots of fun, though!


And then, we went to see the Sea Lion show entitled, The Cannery Row Caper.



Here's the set of the show. Awesome! :)



I loved Clyde and Seymour! They were so funny!


Next, we went to see the star of the Park: Shamu!



Shamu's show was entitled Believe. It was so sweet and so inspiring!


And then we caught the end of Waggin' Tales at Nautilus Theater, where they featured tricks by different animals like dogs, cats, pigeons, pigs, parrots, and many more!


After lunch, we headed off to watch the Rockin' Ski Party. This is a fast-paced ski (as in jet ski, water skiing) show which was so fun and entertaining.



Here we are at the outdoor bleachers watching the ski show. This is me with Papa and the Sebastians. That's lola, ate Aina, Tita Lioly, and Tito Apol behind us.



I love ate Aina!


Then, I tried some "thrill rides" like The Shamu Express, which I rode with Mama, and this other mini-drop zone ride (I forgot the name) which I rode alone.



Now this is exciting!


And then we went to see the world-famous Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales, the "regal ambassadors" of Budweiser.



Here's Papa and me! It definitely smells like horses in there.



A giant (but gentle) horse is behind Mama and me.



The Bud beer wagon that's actually really heavy (4 tons!) but is easily pulled by the horses when they work together.



Mama and me at the barn.


My favorite thing that we did that day was getting close to the dolphins. They are soooo cute!



I love dolphins!



Here's the little dolphy smiling at me!


Right beside the Dolphin Cove is the Shark Reef.



No thanks, I don't want to pet that guy.


By this time, Ate Aina and her family had to leave already. I will miss them very much!



Until we all meet again!



I didn't want to let go of my Ate Aina! *sad*



But she did give me a great gift: these cool shades! I love showing them off. Thank you!


Before we left Sea World, we caught two more shows: Shamu's Splashing Beach Party, where Shamu showed off his moves to current popular dance music, and another Sea Lions Show where they spoofed all the shows on Sea World. Imagine a walrus doing Shamu's moves?? Very funny!


And that ended our day at Sea World. It was one of the most fun outings I've ever had. I enjoyed watching the animals perform, and interacting with them, too! Did I mention, I got splashed a few times? Well, you have to expect that at Sea World! :)


DAY 2: DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO


After going to church in the morning, we went straight to the Riverwalk to meet my Mama's friends, the Arieta family, whom we would be spending our second day in San Antonio with.



While waiting for Tito Alain and his family, Mama and I just had so strike a pose.


For $7 each (I'm free), we got to ride a river barge for a 30-minute drive down the river. It was so fun! Our driver was so funny, too. He cracked a lot of jokes and he made our ride so enjoyable.



Here we are on our boat! We love sightseeing!



This building is shaped like a boat (moving towards the river). Do you see it?



La Mansion del Rio. The most expensive hotel along the river.



The Aztec on the River Theater.



Jennifer Lopez shot a scene from the movie Selena on this bridge.



And the talent show on the Miss Congeniality movie was shot here. Remember Sandra Bullock diving for the guy with the gun?



Mama and Me with our hosts: the Arieta family.


That ends our boat tour. After having lunch, we went straight to The Alamo.



Long line. As expected.


The Alamo was originally built by the Spanish Empire in the 18th century for the education of local Native Americans after their conversion to Christianity. The former mission, which became a fortess, is best known for the Battle of Alamo in 1836 during the Texas Revolution wherein all its Texan defenders fell to the Mexican Army.


Today, its a museum and no pictures were allowed to be taken inside the church.



Remember the Alamo.



We can, however, take pictures within the grounds.



Now we can say we've really been to Texas.


We said goodbye to Tito Alain, Tita Vi, Ate Sam, and Kuya Andrew then. Thank you for being such great hosts! I hope we get to see each other again, soon! We will miss you! :)


Our last stop for the day, the Tower of the Americas.



A view of the top. All 750 feet tall of it!!




A view of the bottom, with the 7-foot combo. :)



Trying hard to fit everyone and everything in one picture.



Outside the tower is a beautiful garden of fountains. Here we are on top of one!



Here's me and my Mama on the observation deck (called Flags over Texas). Soooo windy!!!


Our views! So breathtaking!



View 1 of the Alamo Dome. (Hi Spurs!)



View 2 of the Riverwalk area.



View 3 of something. (Sorry, forgot!)


We had to get out of the viewdeck because it began to rain very very hard! So then, we went downstairs and watched Skies Over Texas, a 4-d movie that's included in the entrance fee.



I really really really don't like 4-d movies!! But I do love wearing the glasses.


And finally, time to go back to Houston to do some more packing! I really enjoyed San Antonio, and Texas, but I am looking forward to Florida, too. I wonder what adventures await us there. Many, I'm sure!



Until then, yeehaw!