Since summer escaped us this year, we chose to chase summer. We have had no summer outing with my friends this year because of unavoidable circumstances. Plus, the weather is not favorable for travel. We have made plans but those had to be canceled. We kept making plans and finally we made a quick escapade to San Juan, La Union.

San Juan has become the Surfing Capital of the North. Considered as a second class municipality in the province of La Union, San Juan was able to make it as one of the favorite spots here in the North of the Philippines. Lots of surfers come here. Businesses started booming offering surfing lessons. Resorts are built beside each other. I was here last year and in a year's time it is fascinating how quickly businesses picked up here. There were more establishments, resorts and food parks flourishing.

We left Baguio City around 8:00 a.m. arrived in San Juan just before lunch time. We have to search first for a resort. @bloghound, who is from San Juan, gave us options to check. It was a miss so we have to go search for other places to go.

In our search, we came across some colleagues from previous work who now manage a resort.

Now, a little bit of throwback. The friends I was with together with @bloghound worked in one company before and then resigned and then again worked together in one company. We left that company and went on to work in different companies. We have history and through the years we have been friends.

Our former colleagues now have a 1-year-old son. They started managing a resort since last year. After 15 years of working in a BPO, they were able to set up this business and start a family. Unfortunately, they have guests that day. It is just a small semi-private resort. They were preparing the place for their guests and not entertaining guests even for day swimming. From there, we asked them recommendations and gladly made a few calls in our behalf. It was a mini reunion.

We had to move on for the day is slipping by fast. We have checked different places before finally deciding to stay at Villas Buenavista.

Villas Buenavista

Villas Buenavista is a Mediterranean-inspired resort and hotel and villas. The swimming pool is beside their bar and restaurant. This is my first time to come here and the marble structure is striking which gave a good first impression.

The factors we considered while searching for a resort aside from price was the size of the pool and how close it is to the beach. Some resorts do not have pools. If they do, it is small. Some are far from the beach. Villas Buenavista has a medium-sized pool and the beach is just a few steps away. Another plus point.

We chose from their available packages for day swimming. There were six of us, four adults and two kids. The package we chose included swimming fee and food which included pizza, buffalo wings and lemonade.

One of us cooked some chicken and rice. We were not sure if the place we are going to allows food. Most resorts ask for corkage if you do bring in food and drinks. Good thing they allowed us to bring food here without corkage which is a plus.

In addition, we ordered pancit (stir fried noddles with vegetables and bits of meat) and pinakbet (Ilocano vegetable dish consists of bitter gourd, eggplant, string beans, squash, onions, tomatoes, long green pepper, slices of meat of choice mostly pork and/or shrimp and fish sauce. Pakbet or pinakbet is a favorite vegetable dish of mine.

By then, it was lunch time so we ate first before swimming. The bar and restaurant is bright and airy. It has a good view of the West Philippine Sea. The glass windows and walls is perfect for this view. It has a high ceiling which makes the place spacey. It makes the ambiance pleasant overall.

While the food was being prepared, I roamed the property a bit and took photos.

The restaurant offers alcoholic beverages as well which includes cocktails. Tempting to try one of those but I passed for now. The restaurant has a mini stage, too, which indicates bands set up here to entertain guests. No one is playing this weekend or probably it is too early.

Potted plants give life to the marble structure. Some are flowering plants just like the rose above. These plants are all located around the lower grounds of the property.

The long hallways make a nice photo opportunity. This was taken at the second floor of one of the buildings. As you can see, no plotted plants other than the one at the end of the hall. Pots of sands are distributed along the halls of every floor which are designated for cigarette butts for smokers.

By the time I got back to the dining area, food is served.

After we ate, @bloghound and Yani arrived bringing ice cream which served as our dessert. It already started to melt for the resort is a few minutes from town proper and they have to travel via tricycle to get to the resort.

Just look how this girl go! Her excitement is obvious. What a delightful kid!

We were finished with our meal by the time they arrived though and we already started swimming.

Check out @bloghound's #Ulog Day 27: Weekend With Friends (Wandering Pekers)

You might have noticed from some of the pictures how gloomy the sky is. The sun would peak in and out. It was threatening to rain that day but for the duration of our swim, it held back. The odds are in our favor.

We are thankful for these clouds though for they shield us from the heat of the sun which makes the temperature bearable. It turned cool as the day progressed such that it is better to stay in the pool than out of it because it is cooler plus it is windy.

The day is not complete without checking the beach. The waves are strong but it did not deter my companions. I did not dare test the waters. It was one of those moments that I was not in the mood to do so. It is funny how I had been wanting to go to the beach and when I got there the feel of the sand on my feet and the heat burning my skin is enough plus the wind that blows my hair in a tangle is enough.

It is funny though because we rented one of the cottages thinking we are going to use that. The cottages are down by the beach and you have to go down one level to get to them. However, the restaurant is just beside the pool. There are chairs and tables outside the restaurant where we decided to put our things. This way, we can watch for our things and no worry about them being taken advantage of. We spent much of the time by the pool anyway.

Here is Yani not so enthused about the beach. Seeing that strong current is enough to drive her away from it. I cannot blame here. Everyone of us were there at the beach and she wants to go back to the pool.

I had to keep coaxing her to go to the beach also and join the others. I am not the greatest sweet talker to convince her to go to the beach. That is her happy face thinking she was free from me keeping her by the beach. She is strong willed that one. I wonder where she got that from @bloghound @vegasgambler? Lol!

Nature teaches and shows us art.

There was a watchtower beside the resort. Two guys were sitting in one of the windows. It made me not to go check out the structure further for I might be a disturbance. It would be something to go back to next time and take pictures.

After a few minutes of being tossed and turned by the waves, incurring bruises here and there, back to the pool we went.

Good thing though that most of the time, we had the pool by ourselves for us to swim till our bodies were tired. After having swam to our hearts content, the rain arrived. It started a drizzle but it is enough to drive us out of the pool.

We showered and left the resort with the final look back and promise in our hearts to go back.

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# **Caravan Treasures**

Before going home, we decided to check out this halo-halo place. We were planning to go to another place for a halo-halo but that is a drives away, probably 30 minutes away. We have been there before and liked it. However, it is always good to try something new. As per @bloghound's recommendation, we checked out Caravan Treasures.

It is within a ruin which gives it a quaint vibe. Adding to that unusual feel are the varying sizes and forms and colors of jars, vases and pots. There are old pictures of buildings and other structures of San Juan hanging on the walls.

What is striking are statues, pots and some wall decors which are Thai related just like this bust guarding both sides of the entrance.

Tables and chairs are placed here and there. They even turn some of these big vases into tables by placing glass on top of them.

We were here for stomach progress and those jars and pots were out of the question. Aside from these vases and pots, they offer food like burgers, ice cream, halo-halo, etc. After a tiring swim of fun, the body needs energy booster.

Some of us ordered burgers and sandwiches but all of us ordered their halo-halo. The heat from the day earlier on left us thirsting for something cold to cool ourselves. These are placed in small earthen pots. Halo-halo consists of crushed ice with a little of everything. This specialty by Caravan Treasures consisted of gelatin, sweetened beans, nata de coco, tapioca pearls, ice cream, ube jam, cereals, rice cake, chicacorn, milk and sugar. The ice cream melted because earlier that day the town had a power outage which melted everything especially stores without generator.

It was not as good like the other halo-halos I have tasted but it has its own taste that you can attribute to Caravan Treasures. That is their version of halo-halo.

While we were at Caravan Treasures, the rain came stronger.

Overall, it was a good day with friends and it was sheer fun!

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