I thoroughly enjoyed our tour of the Syquia Mansion.  I hope to post more photos after I’ve gone through our vacation photos (thousands of them!) and post-processed them.  Sooner than soon…I hope.

Viva Vigan!  Mabuhay!

We drive to Dallas, at the very least, three times a year. (I should probably already start looking into destin florida vacations as an alternative option.) And when we do go to Dallas, we always stay at our favorite hotel located in Irving, Texas, which is just a few minutes away from a popular attraction, The Mustangs of Las Colinas.  We’ve seen these beautiful sculptures at least 4 times, the last being a week ago.  Every visit feels like it were the first so much so that I’ve already amassed a good number of photos of these horses.  Hee hee.  Believe it or not, I’m already looking forward to our next rendezvous with the mustangs…whenever that is.

Have a great week ahead, y’all!  Cheers!

See what I mean?  These photos were taken at the beach two months ago. I took lots of photos this past summer and a lot of them were taken at the beach.  I will need some heavy duty wall mounts to display my favorite pics…if and when I finally get around to printing to printing and framing them.  *sigh*

One of our favorite “go to” places for photo ops is the Williams Square in Irving, TX where the Mustangs of Las Colinas can be found.  But on September 12th, we had to take photos from a distance…inside the car!

Oops, let me roll down the window!

So near and yet so far. Tsk. We’ve been here so many times.  (In fact, we were here again just this morning.  Hee hee. )  But that was the online time we ever saw this place without shutter-happy tourists.  Everyone, except us, opted to stay indoors.  Some probably opted to light their Padron cigars instead. Tsk, tsk, tsk.  Not a very smart choice.

I don’t know who among my friends owns this pair of flip-flops but I do know which Shoe Store this nice pair are from.  And I bet you can tell, too!   Hee hee.  Ditching footwear at this beach was the most natural thing to do.  How can one not opt to go barefoot when the sand is so powdery soft?  Even the most obsessive-compulsive of neat freaks will want to feel the sand beneath their feet!  It’s something we don’t get to do very often after all.

Life, for us, was a BEACH from August 2nd to the 5th.  Technically, it was just from the the 2nd to the 4th because we didn’t set foot on the beach anymore on the 5th.

We can now add Port Aransas to our list of favorite Texas cities.  Our days there with our friends were just pure blissful fun.  No dull moments, I tell you!  The only minor glitches were during check-in at our hotel (a first with Hampton!) and at check out (something about the receipt printer working improperly).

I have a ton of photos to share.  The question is when I can post them.  Hee hee.

Hindi ako nakalahok noong nakaraang linggo sa LP, kaya’t pagsasamahin ko na lamang ang dalawang tema sa iisang entry.

Ang gusali sa larawan sa itaas ay ang Lucille Halsell Conservatory na siyang matatagpuan sa San Antonio Botanical Garden.  Nagkaroon kami ng pagkakataong bisitahin ito noong Enero ng 2008.

(The building in the above photo is the Lucille Halsell Conservatory, which is part of the San Antonio Botanical Garden.  It does look like one of the Westgate resorts at first glance, doesn’t it?  We had the chance to visit the San Antonio Botanical Garden in January 2008).

Kabilang sa mga pangkat ng mga halamang matatagpuan sa loob ng konserbatoryong ito ang mga sumusunod: epiphytic plants, desert cacti at succulents, equatorial tropicals, palms at cycads, tropical fruits, ferns at aroids, insectivores, and aquatic plants.  Ang lahat ng mga ito’y may kani-kaniyang lugar sa loob ng konserbatoryo na nagbibigay sa kanil ng “climate-controlled environment”.

(Inside the conservatory, plants that need a climate-controlled environment are housed according to groups in individual  rooms.)

Narito ang bahagi na siyang naglalaman ng mga palm trees…

(Here is the 65-foot high area where palm trees are housed…)

Ilan sa mga bulaklak na makikita sa loob ng konserbatoryo ay ang mga orchids sa mga sumusunod na litrato…

(Some of the beautiful flowers that can be seen inside the conservatory are the orchids in the following pictures…)

Isa pang lahok para sa LP DITO.

Mabuhay!

Unang taong anibersaryo ng Litratong Pinoy bukas, ika-3 ng Abril.  At ang pang-anibersaryong tema ng LP ay “Paboritong Litrato”.

Sa muli naming pagbabakasyon sa Dallas magdadalawang linggo na ang nakaraan, binisita namin ang Mustang of Las Colinas sa pangalawang pagkakataon.  Ngunit sa pagkakataong ito, hindi na ang mga mustangs ang pinagtuunan ko ng pansin sa pagkuha ng mga litrato.  Nagkaroon kami ng kaunting katuwaan ng aking mga modelo, at sila’y walang iba kundi ang aking anak, kabiyak at ang isang mustang. Narito ang aking mga paboritong litrato mula sa hapong iyon…

(It’s the first anniversary of Litratong Pinoy tomorrow, April 3rd.  LP’s anniversary theme is “Favorite Photo”.

Two weeks ago, we spent the weekend in Dallas.  For the 2nd time, we visited one of Irving’s tourist attractions, the Mustangs of Las Colinas.  This time, however, I didn’t take very many photos of the mustangs as I already had plenty from our August visit.  Instead, I decided to have fun with my models: my daughter, my  husband, and one of the mustangs.  Here are my favorite photos from that afternoon…)

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Abby:  Nakikiliti ang tenga ko! (That tickles!)

Abby:  Mommy!  Kasya ang kamay ko sa butas ng ilong ng mustang!  (Look, Mom!  My hand fits inside the mustang’s nose!)

Oras ng Kain (Feeding Time)

Kayo na ang magbigay ng pamagat sa litratong ito.  (Feel free to give this photo a title. )

Kabiyak:  May naamoy akong hindi maganda. (Something smells awful.)

May isa pa akong lahok para sa LP:  Mga Paboritong Litrato sa Dallas Arboretum

Isang maiinit na pagbati ng Maligayang Anibersaryo sa aking mga kapwa litratista sa Litratong Pinoy.   Mabuhay!

When we here in December 2007, there was nothing on this plaza worth taking photos of.  See for yourself…

The plaza was but a fenced area with construction and industrial supplies. They were still probably building the fountains that time.

Now, the plaza just can’t be ignored.  Everyone just has to make a stop here to take photos.

The fountains look even more beautiful at night!

I’m glad we decided to hang out at the West End District in Downtown Dallas.

As for us, a week-long vacation is out of the question, although that would really be sweet.  We’ll be more than satisfied if we could squeeze in a weekend get-away.  Dallas would be a wonderful destination.  It’s just a comfortable drive away and getting a  travel insurance quote won’t be necessary.

Here are slide shows from our August 2008 trip to Dallas.

I just love that city.  But Austin will always be #1 in my heart.