Destination City: Toronto, Ontario, New York City, Washington D.C., Danville, St. Louis, Springfield, Chicago, Lansing, Tampa, Orlando, San Francisco
Autumn 2000
30-September, Saturday
5:45am: Boarding area, Gate 14, NAIA
6:30am: Boarded Northwest Airlines, bound for Nagoya, Japan
10:40am: Arrived at Nagoya, Japan; Japan time: 11:40am; Around the Duty Free shop. Got a Japanese fan design keychain for souvenir.
12:30pm: Flight Nagoya-Detroit; Japan time: 1:30pm
3:20pm: Crossed the International Dateline Channel
30-September, Saturday (again!)
11:30pm: Arrived at Detroit international airport; US/Detroit time: 11:30am; Uncle Pepe & Aunt Fe in a white van picked us up at airport; crossed Windsor Tunnel to Canada; lunch at Mc Donalds
8:00pm: Arrived in Toronto, Canada; check-in: Delta Hotel; dinner at Wayne Gretzky Restaurant. Wayne Gretzky dropped by greeting diners. I got mistaken for a minor so he says I'm not allowed to drink liquor. Company laughed at him for Wayne's mistake. Aunt Fe revealed my age and profession, Wayne could not believe it, he got taken aback for a moment. He gifted me with a Wayne Gretzky keychain and matchstick, mundane souvenir items.
1-October, Sunday
10:00am Toronto city tour (The Eaton Center, City Hall "the Eye", Parliament House, Casa Loma castle, Canadian National (CN) Tower, where I got so petrified looking down the glass floor let alone sitting on it for a photo which I managed to do nonetheless); check out: Delta Hotel; mass at St. Michael's Catholic Church on Bond Street; on the road, Toronto to Ontario... Dinner at Skylon Tower overlooking the Niagara Falls
2-October, Monday
AM: Ontario city tour (Niagara Falls on board the "Maid of the Mist", Table Rock Complex, Planet Hollywood, Duty Free Canadian border); Trivia: Maid of the Mist - "take a historical ride aboard the world famous Maid of the Mist. Since 1846, millions of visitors have enjoyed Maid of the Mist boat tours. The powerful diesel engined boats cruise visitors to the base of the American Falls and then on to the basin of the magnificent Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Water rushes all around as you "soak" in the excitement and feel the thunder of the falls. It's a half hour, thrill of a lifetime. Disposable, biodegradable rain coats are provided with admission." As for disposable or biodegradable is to see and believe the test of time, I would keep them for souvenir items for as long as it would take.
4:00pm: crossed the Rainbow Bridge to US territory via Buffalo, New York; check-in: Howard Johnson Inn at Binghamton, New York; dinner at Cracker Barrel, Old County store
3-October, Tuesday
9:00am - on the road, New York to Manhattan, NYC; stopover at West Point overlooking the Hudson river; random photo-op with Major Isaiah Wilson & Major Levisque walking out on the curb; West Point tour of Cadet Chapel
4:00pm: crossed G. Washington Bridge to Manhattan island; Manhattan city tour (World Trade Center, New York Public Library, Empire State Bldg., Radio City, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Macy's, Rockefeller Center)
9:00pm: crossed Lincoln Tunnel to New Jersey; check-in: The Palace
4-October, Wednesday
9:00am: Day 2, in NYC; crossed Lincoln Tunnel to Manhattan, NYC; Manhattan city tour (Times Square, ie., MTV headquarters, New York Stock Exchange); hopped aboard the ferry boat to Statue of Liberty
PM: crossed Holland Tunnel to New Jersey/Pennsylvania; check-in: Shonney's Inn at Delaware, Wilmington
5-October, Thursday
9:00am: road trip, New Jersey to Washington D.C.
11:00am: crossed Baltimore Tunner to Washington, D.C.
PM: Bus tour around Washington D.C. (Arlington Memorial, ie., changing of the guards, the White House, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Capitol, Supreme Court, ESPN); check-in: Harrington Hotel in downtown D.C.; dinner at Tony Cheng's in Chinatown
6-October, Friday
10:00am: Day 2, in Washington D.C.; FBI agency tour, Bureau of Printing & Engraving
3:00pm: road trip, Washington D.C. to Danville, Illinois via Pennsylvania, Ohio & Indianapolis
7-October, Saturday
3:00am: Arrived in Danville, Illinois (home of Tita Fe & Tito Pepe, travel sponsors, 3635 Woolman Drive)
11:00am: road trip, Danville to Decatur for cousin CJ's football game at Milliken University
8-October, Sunday
11:00am: Mass at St. Paul Catholic Community; visit to Mama Baring's resting place
3:30pm: drove around malls in Danville (KMart, Sears, JC Penney)
9-October, Monday
1:00pm: drove to Tuscola, Illinois; Champaigne factory outlet store
10-October, Tuesday
8:30am: road trip, Danville to St. Louis, Missouri (The Gateway Arch, Mississippi river)
2:30pm: road trip, St. Louis, Missouri to Springfield, Illinois (Lincoln Land - Lincoln's New Salem, Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Lincoln tomb - lucky nose)
11-October, Wednesday
11:00am: road trip, Danville to Indianapolis (Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis Hall of Fame Museum, Indianapolis Arts Garden, Civil War Museum); met Rick Smith of Indiana Pacers
6:00pm; dinner at Danville Country Club with Thai couple
12-October, Thursday
AM: pack things for Tampa, Florida
7:00pm: dinner with family relatives (Jun & Mandy)
13-October, Friday
8:00pm: dinner at Thai couple's home
14-October, Friday
8:00am: road trip, Danville to Chicago
11:00am: Chicago city tour (The Field Museum, Sears Tower, Grant Park's "Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain")
15-October, Saturday
AM: road trip, Chicago to Farmington Hills, Michigan; sleepover at Rudy's home in Rumblewoods
16-October, Monday
10:30am: road trip, Farmington to Lansing, Michigan; tour of GM car assembly plant
4:30pm: Road accident (18-wheeler truck hit car at Interstate 94 junction) on the way to the airport; still arrived at Detroit airport on time; flight: Detroit-Memphis-Tampa
11:30pm: arrived at Tampa airport
17-October, Tuesday: brother's home in Granby place
21-October, Saturday: Magic Kingdom Orlando
22-October, Sunday: MGM Studios Orlando
28-October, Saturday: Sea World Orlando
29-October, Sunday: Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral
30-October, Monday: Universal Studios
31-October, Tuesday: Halloween trick or treat at Welshore Mall
3-November, Friday: First friday at St. Paul's Church
5-November, Sunday: am, church; pm, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Howard Franklin Bridge, Sunshine Skyway Bridge
8-November, Wednesday: Celebrating my 29th birthday overseas! Simple, no frills, no fuzz. With dad, mom, brother, sister-in-law and niece in Tampa home. Except the law office staff, no one else greeted me. I'm 29, still single and need I say, free?! I can only wish, someday, my wish will come true. Good to hope, to look forward, to see what's in it for me. To hope, to pray, to have faith, and believe that it'll come to be... soon. Happy 29th Birthday, ungkler. Cheers to many wonderful years to come.
12-November, Sunday: Busche Gardens, Tampa
18-November, Saturday: Ellenton Mall
*Days in between, in Tampa
23-November, Thursday: Thanksgiving Dinner
24-November, Friday
4:00am: Tampa airport
6:25am: leave Tampa
9:30am: arrive Memphis, Tennessee connecting for San Francisco; 7:20am Memphis time
11:40am: arrived in San Francisco airport
12:30pm: on the road, San Francisco to Stockton (aunt's home); lunch at Applebee's in Dublin Avenue; Stockton to San Francisco crossing the Bay Bridge; San Francisco city tour (Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Bridge);
PM: on the road, San Francisco to Fairfield (Richie's place) crossing the Golden Gate Bridge
25-November, Saturday
AM: breakfast at Goldilocks; cable car at Powell & Hyde Sts.; Nordstrom
PM: San Francisco to Stockton, crossing the Bay Bridge
26-November, Sunday
AM: in Stockton
PM: in San Francisco (Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street)
27-November, Monday
12:30pm: San Francisco airport; flight San Francisco-Narita-Manila
28-November, Tuesday
9:40pm: Arrival in Manila