Lake Mountain

This is Lake Mountain Day.

I woke up early today at 3am and wasn't able to go back to sleep peacefully.  As I have written in my previous post, the heater was very noisy.

So at 7, I said my morning prayers, turned on the TV and had a shower.  After dressing up, I checked out.  It turned out, there were a lot of campers who stayed overnight in the area.  And that includes children.  It might have been a very cold night for them.

Ang sarap picturan ng mga bagay-bagay.  Jologs na jologs lang ang peg ko.

As I was heading down to the nearby grocery to buy some bread for breakfast, I passed by the community area where the farmers were setting up their stalls.  I chatted a bit with the old lady who was selling plants and flowers.  She comes here almost every Sunday.  I said hi and good morning to the other stall owners.  It feels great to be greeted back with enthusiasm! One of the things I like about Australians is how they easily say thank you and how are you.  It seems so natural for them.  No awkward moment at all.

So I grabbed some roll and meat pie from the grocery and had a bite while sitting on a bench outside, watching the farmers.  I wouldn't have mind staying there for an hour but after just a few minutes of waiting, Ate and Andrew arrived.

The drive up to the mountain was quick.  Maybe just about 30 minutes.  The road was winding so it kind of made me feel nauseous. But the scenery was amazing!

We knew we were near the place when we saw patches of snow along the road.  I kinda had an idea that the snow in Lake Mountain was machine-made after I checked out their website but I didn't expect that everything was like that.  So when we reached the area, voila! It's a snow-covered slope!  Kung ang mga tiga-rito nagsisiksikan sa Siloso beach for a bit of swimming and sunbathing, kami naman nakikipagsiksikan sa isang maliit na lugar para makapaglaro sa snow.  Kanya-kanyang kaignorantehan lang talaga :D

Preparation for playing in the snow was not very fun. We had to wear snow boots and layers of clothing.  I had thermal underpants, jeans and snow pants.  And I had thermal long sleeves, plus my jacket, and the parka.  Plus the boots were heavy.  And with the snow gloves on, it was difficult to move my fingers for my camera's shutter.

But tobogganing was fun!  All of the kids in the area were having fun!  Eric and Gabby were enjoying it too! After playing for about an hour or more, we headed back to the cafe to grab some snacks.  And then another session of tobogganing again.

Eric was the first to give up.  Gabby was crying because she didn't want to leave yet.

On our way back, Ate and I went to the farmer's market where I bought lemongrass soap.  We also grabbed something for dinner.  We bought meat for steak which we thought was beef but turned out to be pork.  So we had pan-grilled pork chop instead.  This time I stayed with them at Maryton B&B.

My pagsisiga  ng kahoy skills were put to test. 

In the afternoon, we had a walk in the area.  They had fat chicken, just like what we had before in the province.  They also had a fish pond and different sorts of lovely plants and trees.  And the cafeteria was very nice!  I just could't stop myself from taking so many photos.  Everything was sooo beautiful!

The restaurant that I fell in love with :) sigh...

I can stay here for the entire afternoon :)

 After dinner, we went to the other cottage to have a chat with Andrew's friends and their families.  The two couples both had a daughter each, about the same age as Eric.  They seem nice.  Both mums have stopped working too.  Seems like it's the practice here.  Mums usually sacrifice their careers to look after the kids.  They just go back once the kids go to school.  Seems like a good plan.

This holiday is making me appreciate that life is good and there is a lot to be thankful for.  The beauty of nature.  The serenity that nature brings.  The warmth of friends and families.  A lot of things to be thankful to God for :)