OHIOans in FLorida

UPDATE: Pics available here and here!

ang saya-saya!!!!

we picked up niña, eron and dacks (friends/officemates ko from SPI) from the airport around midnight of friday. it was cold, pero since galing sila ng ohio, i think mas kaya ng powers nila yung lamig ngayon dito sa FL. anyways, here are some notable accounts dun sa visit nila, starting with....

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DAY 1 (Saturday)
we went to the Salvador Dali Museum. we were just in time for the guided tour, so we joined the group para maintindihan namin yung mga paintings nya. grabe, ang galing! Dali is popularly known for his surrealist approach in arts. there are pictures within pictures, it's almost like looking at holograms. his paintings are rich in symbolisms too, i feel like being in a live "DaVinci Code" expedition at the museum, looking for hidden things and interpretations on his paintings. after the tour, may free breakfast snacks sa labas ng gallery, we helped ourselves kasi almost lunch time na non. in short, sinulit namin yung $12 entrance namin, mwehehehe! check this out: Salvador Dali Collection

then we went to The Pier. there wasn't much to see there, but we were happy just taking pics with the stinky pelicans. =P oh, and we took the tram from the parking lot to the main pier too. this is where nins and the rest got their souvenirs. =)

lunch time is at around 3pm, we just picked up lunch at Arby's, we wanted to catch the sun at the beach kasi eh. so off we went to Clearwater Beach. when we got there, the sun was shining alright, but the wind is blowing a little harder than usual, so malamig din sa beach. sayang, coz we brought our 2-piece bathing suits in case we'd find the weather good for swimming. we ended up walking along the shore lang, taking pics, walking on the dock, just goofing around. =)

then by dinner time, we went to the first-ever Hooters store in Clearwater. we ordered 50-pieces of chicken wings, buffalo shrimps and onion rings. grabe, kami ang sumuko sa wings! ang sarap nya, pero talagang nabusog kami kaya we just asked for a box, iuuwi na lang namin. before leaving the place, we asked the Hooters girls if they could pose for a picture with us. 4 girls posed with us, yung iba di pwede kasi they were attending to the other diners eh.

went home dead-tired. nins fell asleep on the bean bag, eron fell asleep without changing into pajamas, and dacks tried to stay awake watching tv, but eventually gave up and slept na rin. we had a looong day. punta pa dapat kami ng Ybor City for a night-out, pero bagsak na kami. =P

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DAY 2 (Sunday)
we went to DisneyWorld!!! medyo umaambon, kaya it slowed us down, pero nung tumila ang ambon, gumala ulet kami! hehehe! we've been to so many rides and attractions, i won't mention them here na lang. basta pag may characters na nakakalat, picture agad! hehehe! we got the chance to watch the Share a Dream parade on Main street too, ampogi ni Alladin!!!! pogi din si Prince Charming, pero mas ma-appeal yung tan color ni Alladin, hehehe!

around 7pm, we left DisneyWorld and proceeded to Downtown Disney naman. it's just a few minutes drive, so dun na kami nag-dinner instead of sa loob ng DisneyWorld, mahal! may McDo sa Downtown Disney, kaya dun kami kumain, then we went to the World of Disney store, kung saan para kaming na-holdap sa dami ng pinamili namin. =P

we also went to the Ghirardelli chocolate store, where we got some free chocolates! yum! pero mahal! kaya di kami bumili, nakikain lang kami ng free samples, hehehe! ay si nins, she bought a cup of coffee, which actually kept her up until we got home, around 1am. we also took pics sa Planet Hollywood and Pleasure Island, then we headed home na kasi masasakit na mga paa namin.

although pagod na, nagchichikahan pa kami nila dacks at nins until sumuko na si dacks. nins and i stayed up until 3am, after which, we agreed it's time to rest na. kung di lang kailangan ng lakas the next day, di na kami matutulog eh.

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DAY 3 (Monday)
Due to the Disney adventure the day before, bulagta talaga kami. we woke up later than our target, so we left home at around 10:30am na, papuntang Orlando Premium Outlets. shopping naman ang target namin! je wouldn't be able to join us kasi may pasok sya, so ako ang magdadrive papuntang Orlando! that trip was the longest drive i've done since i got here. uneventful naman, di naman kami naligaw. =) paranoid lang ako sa speed limit, baka kasi mahuli kami ng pulis na nagmamadali. hehehe!

andaming stores sa premium outlets! we went to Gap, Nike, Levi's, Puma, Adidas, Fossil, Anne Klein, Nine West, Banana Republic, Guess, Lacoste, OshKosh B'Gosh and the Character Store. andami pa naming di pinuntahan na, kasi nga gahol na sa oras. their flight is at 5:34pm, around 3:50pm na kami umalis don! it's approximately 1 hour 30 minutes according to google maps, pero halos 5:10pm lang, nasa airport na kami. we were often at 80mph, sa 65-70 mph speed limit zones.

thank goodness, di naman sila naiwan ng flight nila. di na ko nagpark sa airport, kasi matatagalan pa pag iikot pa ko, so i dropped them sa curb side, para aakyat na lang sila ng escalator, andun na yung shuttle papunta sa gates. grabe, tumatakbo na daw sila papunta dun sa gates, kasi may security checks pa yon shempre! =P

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all in all, it was a nice experience going out with them... nakakatuwa silang kasama, high on energy kasi, tsaka cowboys. they gave us our first Christmas gift as a couple, pang-interior design na wooden(?) vase, at isang pair ng Kenyan tribal marriage/friendship masks. tamang-tama nga, kasi je and i are into Survivor, feeling namin we earned some kind of immunity. hehehe!

nakakamiss na agad sila! never a dull moment with them kasi eh, kahit na nasa kotse lang kami, sagana kami sa chikahan, kaya ang saya ng mga lakad namin. =)

nins, eron and dacks! balik kayo dito ha! ;-)