There is Always Elyu

Aaah…The weekend that was. Where and what we’ve been up to, the goal to break the monotony of the usual work, school and family life while observing necessary government restrictions caused by this pandemic. The predicament of making ourselves sane and keeping up with the new normal is an ongoing circumstance to most of us lately. Have you ever experienced planning things in advance and then everything turned out to be spontaneous?

I am a thalasophile, so expect that my weekend getaways, vacation leaves from work and travel plans will always involve a beach to go to. Pre-pandemic days, If it is a longer road trip that requires to atleast stay overnight, my top picks will be the white beaches of Bolinao, Dasol and Bani in Pangasinan (I rate Bani as the top 1 in Pangasinan now). Pagudpod in Ilocos Sur too is something I would like to go check again or explore more of the many white sands of Aurora. Aurora is famous for locations that starts with a Di… Dinadiawan, Ditumabo, Dicasalarin, Digusit, etcetera. I had only been to Dicasalarin and Digusit and would love to check the others soon.

When it comes to my travel plights, there is this funny quote for dog parents that I can very much relate to. Here’s what it says:

(You get a dog so it will guard your house, now you can’t leave your house because no one will guard your dog 😅)

Thank God for San Juan

I am a multiple dog owner. We have 9 dogs total and our dogs’ welfare and safety is always my top priority. I used to travel a lot before covid happens and I made sure someone that can be trusted will look after them most especially if we will be away for a couple of days. Unlike before that we have a helper/petsitter that looks after them, travelling and having dogs is a challenge for us lately. Thankful there is San Juan we can go to where we can leave the dogs for a few hours and go home the same day. Elyu by the way is a slang for La Union (L.U. abbreviated). San Juan is only a two hour drive from where we live and so far I think San Juan is the only few beach locations in La Union that was able to maintain its cleanliness. I am always tempted to go to Poro Point, Aureo or Luna at Bahay na Bato also in Elyu but somehow San Juan always wins me over.
The big waves of San Juan is the main culprit for this unanimous choice. I am not a surfer, I just loved to play and embrace those big ocean waves as it tries to splash and tumble me. Raise your hands if you can relate 😊

The last time I was in San Juan was March of this year. I was with my husband, daughter and some friends. I remember it was even @ARTicLee’s birthday that time. The waves was so calm that I didn’t enjoy the beach that much plus we had a little side trip to Vigan. I was all for the waves, that I have been planning since then to go back once my husband gets the opportunity to have a vacation from work since he is the only one that can drive us. Five months of planning on when is the perfect time to go back to the beach… the great PMS happened 🙃😄. My daughter also needs to cancel because of some commitments that she needs to attend to and the lazy mood swings got into me the night before our beach trip. My husband thought we won’t be going anymore and started making himself busy doing last minute touch ups with his front gate project and was surprised with my sudden change of mood when I told him before lunch time we are pushing through with the trip but this time it will just be the two of us. I just had to see and smell the beach!

We got there in San Juan at 2pm and left before 8 in the evening. It was a quick getaway but we enjoyed a lot and made the most of it. For the past trips, we always ended up in Villas Buenavistas but this time I wanted to try somewhere else. We didn’t check in advance what beach resort we will go to but so far the one we went to thanks to google is all worth it.

P&M Final Option Beach Resort

Like all resorts in San Juan where outside food is not allowed, we were a little famished when we got there especially that we didn’t have lunch before we travelled. The foodie in me is happy to find a beachfront resort and getting a bonus that the resort offers good food as well. Being on a diet while travelling is a big No for me. I always make it a point that I enjoy the food with every places I go to.
My husband ordered Pinakbet ( to him Pinakbet in the lowlands are the best so he always orders one in every travel we went to) while I ordered their Cheesy Beefy Kaldereta. Two cups of rice and empty plates later I could definitely say their Cheesy Kaldereta is to die for. It is that good! Their Pinakbet is also yum worthy. Yup, We finished everything.

We chose to enjoy our late lunch in their nipa huts fronting the beach. The weather is a little gloomy that time and we were like the only guest at the resort. The beach is also empty that afternoon except for some local surfers. I actually do not have any idea if La Union were accepting tourists since we don’t see a lot of people when we got there considering it is even a long weekend but my husband and I didn’t have any trouble passing through their numerous police checkpoints.

I made a video walk through of the said resort and you can check it here:

When Odie, my rescued golden retriever passed away last April, I’ve been wanting to visit friends who owns a golden ret so I can just hug their goldies but it never happened. My husband and I missed Odie that we even talked about getting a golden retriever puppy but soon dismissed the idea. I was so ecstatic when we spotted a goldie at the beach. I was literally goshing here at the video I had to mute my voice when I did the editing haha! Goldies indeed has the best temperament and I got excited when this dog approached me. Sigh! They are just so adorable.

Sunset State of Mind

Before our trip back to the highlands (Baguio my hometown), we decided to check out the resort’s coffee shop: German Bistro. It was almost sunset when we settled in our table. @Bloghound and I have been wanting to do a quick catch up so my husband and I waited at the bistro for her to arrive. The said cafe had a very good view of the beach and the golden hour.

My husband ordered Halo Halo ( a Filipino staple dessert made with shaved ice, kamote, banana sweetened beans, drizzled with evaporated milk, and ube ice cream) while I had a cup of brewed coffee and their apple crumble cake.

@Bloghound came with her beautiful daughter and we had pizza for dinner. It felt good seeing a good friend and I guess those reasons I enumerated above why I always choose San Juan is we also have a family there because of them . For some reason, I suddenly miss seeing in San Juan the big guy who used to flood my facebook newsfeed and gets to be bullied by @ARTicLEE. LOL! Hi Billy, I hope @Bloghound gets to show you this post. Take care and stay safe.

All pictures are mine.