10 days after school started this year there was a holiday on a Wednesday and then the following Monday. We decided to pull Kalani out of school for 2 days and go on another vacation!  We headed up north to Baguio where there were trees that resembled pine trees and reminded us of Tahoe in California.  The only down side to our trip was that there was a monsoon…good thing we have a driver who took care of us and all of the driving.

Driving to Baguio during a monsoon. So thankful we have a driver.

We either had rain or fog during the drive. It took us about 5 hours to get there with a lunch stop along the way.

Since we had our own car and driver we created our own itinerary of things to see on our first day in Baguio. Thanks to the hotel for their recommendations and TripAdivsor for other people’s experiences, we put together a nice day of activities.

1st stop: Botanical Garden

There was a drizzle while exploring the Botanical Garden, but we all had a good time.

2nd stop: The Good Shepherd Convent where we bought homemade goodies

3rd stop: Mind’s View Park

Souvenir item for sale…minus the laptop

Mason was excited to get a wooden snake for his treat and to get a photo with this “cool dog”

It was still raining pretty good while we were at Mine’s View Park. The local way to get rid of the water that collects on the tarps without getting water in all the shops.

4th stop: Bell Church with some history of China on site as well

Leaving the Bell church Matt was asked if he wouldn’t mind taking a photo with some Filipinas

5th stop: Tam-Awan Village

The next day we decided to drive from Baguio to Banaue to see the 2000 year old rice terraces.  It was a beautiful drive that took 6 hours to reach our destination.  We only looked at the rice terraces for about 10 minutes because of a downpour.  So we took a longer, safer way home that took 8 hours.  The kids and adults did very well on that 14 hour car ride!

The clouds would come and go on our drive to Banaue…but it was still a beautiful drive

We stopped to stretch our legs and check out Ambuklao Dam on our way to Banaue

Banaue Rice Terraces

Local Igorot ladies that wait for tourist to come take a photo. Matt gave this lady more than the usual tip!

On the way home from Banaue we pulled off the side of the road and purchased some wood furniture at a rock bottom price!

We stayed at The Manor at Camp John Hay and had a wonderful time. Matt and I worked out every day and then got a massage. The kids loved exploring the place (when it wasn’t raining) and they also had art classes at the hotel.  We met up with a co-worker/basketball teammate of Matt’s for dinner on Saturday night. Also on Saturday, 4 families from our church arrived in Baguio but stayed at another hotel.  We actually didn’t get to see any of our church friends until church on Sunday…before we headed back to Manila.

The kids each painted 3 art pieces at the hotel on a rainy day.

Our Manila church friends that were in Baguio the same time as us.

Random lion head we saw on our drive back to Manila

Bridal Veil Falls was a good place for pictures and to get out and stretch our legs while heading home.

Before we return home to the states, I want to go back to Baguio when it isn’t raining and we can pick local strawberries! More Baguio photos here.