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November 03 Olivia's Parents Visit WashingtonHello friends and family! It’s been a busy couple of months around here. In the latter half of September into early October, Olivia’s parents were finally able to come to Virginia for a visit. After their arrival in the United States for the very first time, they stayed in California with Olivia’s brother in Los Angeles. They remained on the west coast for several months so they could spend time with their son, his wife and their new granddaughter. Finally, on the third week of September, Olivia’s mom and dad landed at Washington Dulles International Airport to begin a three week visit with their oldest daughter and American son-in-law.
The first place we took them (after a brief visit at the Philippine Embassy) was the Washington Catholic Basilica: National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Here they were able to view the oratory altar for Our Lady of Antipolo – a tribute to the catholic faith in the Philippines. It is always a favorite of mine to show any out-of-town Filipino guests we entertain.
  
The end of September is the beginning of the Fall season around here which normally means leaves start to change color for Autumn. Unfortunately, we had a record setting drought this year which caused the leaves not to change at their normal time and the colors were not as vivid as they usually are. Regardless of this fact, we still took Olivia’s parents up to West Virginia (about a 3 hour drive) and they were able to see the mountainous forests, waterfalls and wildlife of one of the most beautiful states in America.
  
On the last day of September we took them to my hometown of Alexandria, Virginia so that Olivia’s parents could see where I grew up. Later that day we arrived at my boyhood home and they got to meet my mom. The highlight of this event was the surprise of Olivia’s mom when she discovered that my mom was of petite stature just like her! In fact, they are just about the same size and my mom couldn’t stop hugging her because they were both so similar in size. This created a rare moment of laughter from Olivia’s Dad. We ended the day with a pleasant walk at the waterfront in Alexandria's historic district.
  
On October 3rd I picked up my daughter and we all met my Dad at a popular restaurant in Fairfax, Virginia. My Dad and Olivia’s parents were able to talk about familiar places and experiences from the past, as my father had visited the Philippines in the 1960s when he was in the military at Subic Bay and Clark Field. The next day we traveled to Fort Washington, Maryland and met up with Auntie Pat and her family….Auntie Pat is the only Filipino that we know personally in the Washington area that comes from Olivia’s hometown neighborhood of Libsong in Pangasinan. She was a elementary school classmate of Olivia’s aunt.
During the last week they were here we found a way to tour all the world famous monuments and government buildings. Being from the area doesn’t help when trying to find parking in that crazy city. Normally, I would advise people to use mass transportation (metro rail and buses), but since Olivia’s parents can’t do much walking we had no choice but to drive them from spot to spot. This involved some creative driving for me (especially at the White House) but somehow we accomplished our mission unscathed.
Lastly, I thought it would be neat for Olivia’s parents to be able to lay their eyes on the Atlantic Ocean. That way, they can truly say they have been all the way around the world. On October 11th, we drove the 4 hours east to Ocean City, Maryland and they dipped their toes on the sandy beach and walked the boardwalk of this popular vacation spot. Then it was northward another half an hour to the Delaware beaches of Rehoboth and Bethany so that they could add another state to their tally.
Thus ended Olivia's parents visit to the eastern United States. You can find more pictures of their visit in the photo album here and on our FLICKR site. |
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