What can I say it takes awhile to get to Lyn’s hometown no
doubt about it. We left our house in Greensboro Saturday morning at 7 am and
drove to my daughter Chelsea’s house in Raleigh. We got there about 8:30 and
went to breakfast with all the kids. What a treat after the last few days.
After having breakfast we were taken to the airport by Chelsea, Justin and
Rheagan. We usually to try to travel light but this would not be one of those
times. We had our carry on bags as well as three 50lbs bags that we were taking
to the Philippines. Lyn has six siblings with families of there own and it is
always nice to get things from the states that they could not usually get there
so we were loaded to the gills with stuff. Our plane boarded on time but we got
stuck at the gate as the plane next to us was having a problem. They moved some
of the passengers over to our plane and by the time they moved the luggage and
added more food we were leaving about two and half hours late. Our flight once
airborne would be an additional 12 hours to get to Tokyo. Yikes!!!! We were in
for a long ride. When we finally arrived in Tokyo 5 movies and three meals
later we found out that they had actually held our next flight and we would
make it to Manila but about 2.5 hours later than planned. We were going to be
picked up by the relatives of Eric and Russelle friends of ours that live in
Greensboro but are from the Manila area. They were going to pick us up and let
us stay with them and then take us to the bus station the next morning for the
final leg of our Journey. We needed to tell them that we were going to be late
but the wifi was not working in the Tokyo airport. Finally we boarded the plane
for our trip to Manila. This flight would only be 4 hours, very short by our
current standard. As luck would have it the plane had wifi and I was able to
send a message to Eric who relayed it to his Mom. We finally arrived in Manila
to long immigration lines. By the time we made it through and found Eric’s Mom and
brother-in-law it was almost 1 AM. They grabbed our bags and took us in their
car to a condo that we could use for the night. I cannot tell you what a big
deal this was and how thankful we are to have such good friends to set this all
up. It is so hard to travel that far and be thrown into the craziness of a big
city and try to figure everything out. By the time we went to sleep it was 3
AM. We got up at 6 and took much-needed showers. Then we caught a cab and went
to the bus station. Eric’s Mom insisted that she go with us and she stayed
until we were safe and on the bus headed for Solano. While waiting for the bus
it was obvious that I was the only non-Filipino in the area. You know when
sometimes you get that feeling that you are being watched well it was happening
every minute. Every time I looked around the room it was like the entire room
was staring at me and then they would all look away. This happened over and
over as we had to wait until 11 to catch the next available bus. After saying
goodbye to Eric’s Mom we were off to Solano! Well after we fought our way out
of Manila. If you have to fight traffic, a bus is the way to go. They just go
where they want to go and everyone else gets out of the way. Once we got on the
road I just sat back and enjoyed the trip as the scenery went by. I also
enjoyed the very cold air conditioning. We made several stops along the way and
I was quit a spectacle every time I got off the bus. We finally arrived in
Solano and were whisked away to Lyn’s sister’s house. After unpacking and lying
down for a moment we headed out to Lyn’s Mom’s House. Her body was there and
most of her relatives were there as well. They are currently going through 9
days of prayer. Her Mom’s funeral
will actually be this coming Thursday. When we arrived Lyn was able to finally
say good by to her Mom. It was an emotional outburst that had been building in
her since she found out the news several days ago. I am so glad she could be
here and surrounded by all of her family members during such a difficult time.
There were lots of people inside the house and several outside as well. As with
most funerals there is great sadness and great joy as family members reminisce
about great times in the past. Lyn knew that there would be lots of kids there
so we took a box of 100 blow pops. As they got handed out we noticed that
adults and kids alike all enjoyed them. The room turned to one of laughter and
the fun stories continued into the night. We went home about 11 and went to bed
for the night. We both slept soundly and were thankful to be here with our
family.
Hotel in downtown Solano.
Bus in Manila.
Vendor on a trike.
The market.
Downtown Solano!
