Subic Trip with J's Family: Ocean Adventure

Note: This is the last (and loooooooooong overdue) installment of my Subic series. I thought I have to get this up before the year ends! Haha!

After recharging over the night and grabbing a quick breakfast, we checked out of the villa as we're all set for our Subic Day 2 destination:

This time, J's driving and that made me kinda lonely at the back seat (you see, I'm used to cuddling with him during long travels). That's his kuya on the passenger seat, guiding the way with his handy-dandy GPS.

But you know what, whenever he checks me out on the rearview mirror, with that look that I know is mine alone... I melt. Cheesy, yeah, but it's true. Hihi.

Anyway... going back to the trip, somewhere along the way to Ocean Adventure, we had to pull over because these monkeys deserve to be photographed! Haha. They're at the road-side, as if waiting for tourists to pet them and feed them and click away. That's exactly what we did :-)

When the bigger monkey came near (he's scary, he looks like he's the superior guy there), we went on our way. At around 10am, we got to Ocean Adventure. Mr. Sun's already up and about but we still stopped by the facade to take pictures.

Unlike Zoobic Safari, we didn't have promo tickets here so we availed of their regular rates:

I'm not sure about their height requirement but sadly, Jhay's nephew who's just about to turn 2 on December is no longer entitled to the free admission :(

Our tickets ^_^

Since it's Halloween, we were greeted by crew members dressed in spooky costumes. J wanted to take a photo with the zombie nurse and patient but since I'm not very fond of creepy stuff, I only let him pose by these 2. Hehe.

I also went inside the souvenir shop but didn't have the time to look around so I just took this shot.

We were given this flyer containing the show schedule. No need to worry if you miss a show because if you look at the image closely, there are re-runs throughout the day :-)

We headed straight to the Seaside Stadium to catch the Adventures of Olongapo Jones. It's more of an environment-centric kiddie show complete with a Kuya Kim-look alike lead character and his mascot friends. Hahaha.

This next act was a hit to young and old. The 2 guys were supposedly the villains in the story (they were the illegal loggers Olongapo Jones and his friends were aiming to catch) but with their trampoline tricks, they were easily the heroes of the show :)

*This is the part where I discovered the photo collage tool of Picasa. I swear I almost cried when it did the trick in a few seconds! Haha*

Of course, the show had a happy ending with O.J. and friends catching the bad guys and the bad guys then promising to work hand-in-hand with the team to save the environment.

After they took their final bow, all roads led to the El Capitan Theater where Dolphin Friends Show will be staged. On the way, I couldn't resist taking a photo of the serene Subic Bay.

As soon as everyone had settled, these adorable sea creatures started to strut their stuff. Really, I was amazed at their talent! These are the moments I wish I had an SLR. The following pictures don't do the show justice but at least you'll have an idea :)

Three dolphins and a baby whale wowed the crowd with their skills.

Oh, credit goes to their trainers, too.

The third show was another display of the brilliance of our marine friends - the Sea Lion Marine Patrol Show. It was pretty entertaining and what made it special was that one of the seals was actually blind but still proved to be as talented as the others.

I particularly loved the stage :-)

Sorry for the poor lighting but you can still see the seals naman, di ba?

Finally, we went to their Eco-Theater for Walk on the Wild Side where a native aeta talked about Jungle Survival 101.

At this point, our stomachs were already growling so we didn't finish the show. We proceeded to Ocean Adventure's cafeteria where Tita Meg and company were already waiting. As expected, the queue was long so it took us another half an hour to have these...

 Sinful Lechon Kawali for me :-)

Salisbury Steak for J

The food is good but the prices are on the steep side. If I remember it right, my plate cost PhP 250 while J's at PhP 190. Without drinks pa yan.

After lunch, we took a quick tour inside their aquariums. I didn't find anything extraordinary inside, just like a much smaller version of the Manila Ocean Park.

Sharon and Gabby daw sila :P

I missed J here. He's already outside getting the car :(

One last group shot.

Overall, I think we got what we paid for at the Ocean Adventure. If you're heading to Subic with your family, don't miss to include to include it in your itinerary. I'm sure the kids and kids-at-heart will enjoy!

And of course, what Subic trip would be complete without a stop-over here? :D

Duty-free shopping at Royal.

By some stroke of bad luck, the window switch of our car malfunctioned. J had to stay in the parking lot so I really didn't enjoy shopping. I only bought a few chocolate bars (which I regret, by the way, coz they're so cheap there!) for pasalubong and then spotted an All Flip Flops outlet at 40% off so I bought us these matching slippers. Nice, no? ^_^

These are only Php 567 a pair. I thought the purple and pink combo is too feminine so I got J the brown one. Ending: He's inggit with mine. Haha.

On the brighter side, not having J beside me that time game me a chance to bond with his mom. We strolled in the supermarket together and she told me a lot about J and their family. Being able to spend time with my MIL2B is truly a rare opportunity and for that alone, I'm very thankful that this Subic trip came to be.

We drove off soon after and reached home in less than 3 hours. Thanks to the Hipolitos and Paulinos for making my Halloween weekend fun and truly memorable :-)