Off To Manaoag! An Easter Sunday Trip
April 8, Easter Sunday, 4 am. I was sleeping at the backseat with my wife and my son. Tyo Rolly was driving and mama (my mother-in-law) was sitting upfront. We were going to Our Lady of Manaoag in Pangasinan. Since it was still dark, mama did not let me ride my bike. We agreed that I will bike all the way to Manaoag after having our breakfast at Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac. She doesn’t like his unico hijo to ride a bike with an empty stomach. Spoiled nya ako eh…..hehehe.
After having a hearty meal in Hacienda Luisita, I assembled my bike and started my 90 km ride to Manaog. It was already 7 in the morning, the national highway was already busy. Even though I had an escort vehicle, I decided to take the long cut to avoid speeding cars and buses. My route was Tarlac City, Sta. Ignacia, Camiling, Bayambang, Malasiqui, Mapandan then finally Manaog. I informed Elmo Ramos that I’ll be riding to Manaoag. He decided that he will meet me along Malasiqui so we can ride together to Our Lady of Manaog, where I will meet my family. Aside from occasional speeding vehicles, it was a lonely bike ride on long stretched of road cutting across corn and sugarcane fields in the towns of Tarlac. Mahirap talaga magbike ng nag-iisa.
Elmo and I arrived at the Our Lady of Manoag grounds past 10 am. The traffic was really heavy malayo pa sa simbahan. The church was jammed packed with devotees from faraway places. Maraming sasakyan na kasabay naman sa NLEX ang napansin din naming naka park sa simbahan. We met my son and Tyo Rolly in the parking lot. The mass haven’t ended yet so we waited for my wife and my mama, who managed to squeeze themselves inside the church.
After the mass and shopping for pasalubongs, we proceded to elmo’s house in Binalonan, about 10km from the church. It was an extra hot noon, but the gentle and cool breeze under the shade of mango trees in Elmo’s yard was very refreshing. Matapos kulitin ang pabo at makipaghabulan sa mga bibe ng anak ko, we decided to go home to avoid the traffic. Uwian na kasi ng mga bakasyunista. Pinabaunan kami ni Elmo ng mga manga at caimito na pinitas namin. Masarap talaga sa probinsya! My son enjoyed it so much that he was asking me to take home the turkey and the ducklings.
On our way home, my wife told me they saw a lot of cyclists pabalik ng Manila. They also passed by the San Marino Team being motor paced and escorted by 2 vans. Pagkatapos ng mga kwentuhan at nainip kakatanaw ng mga bukid, nakatulog na ulit kami ng anak ko. 
Nasa NLEX na kami at naghahanap na ng makakainan ng ako ay magising. We had our lunch at KFC in Caltex Gasoline station along NLEX. May nakakatawang nangyari, may channel 11 lakbay alalay offering free gift packs to tourists. There were two sets of gift packs. Ang isa ay nakalagay sa itim na magandang fabric bag, while the other one was packed in an ordinary paper bag. Depende ang ibibigay nila na gift pack sa mabunot na color ng ball. There were only 2 balls to choose from inside a box. Sa kamalas malasan! The four of us picked the wrong ball and were given the brown paper bag! Pero ok lang, masaya naman. Dami palang libreng kung anu-ano sa NLEX pag season ng byahe. Hanggang sa toll gate may mga namimigay ng mga kung anu-anong product sample to the delight of buk. He gathers all the free stuff and said, “Daddy today is a special day? Is it Christmas daddy?” I answered, “Yes anak, today is a special day. Quiet time is over. It’s Easter Sunday.”