Every summer since 2001, my mom and i travel to Bauang, La Union to be with our relatives. 
An easy 5-hour drive from Manila, Bauang is a first class municipality bordered by San Fernando City (the provincial capital) to the north, Caba to the south, Naguilian to the east and the South China Sea to the west.
My mom's eldest sister, Auntie Aning, lives there together with the families of her four daughters. I have 9 nephews/nieces by my cousins and eventhough i'm not their first-degree aunt, i was able to bribe them enough with my yearly gifts to win their loyalty. hahaha.
We went there again last april 8-15. My pamangkins immediately quizzed me on my dialect, trying to see if i can still remember the few Ilocano phrases they taught me last year. Hmmm, let me try: apan ko diyay baybay tono-bigat, umay ka?, awan ti danum, nagbayag... napudot... madamdama...aguray ka...ay naku, ang hirap! bisaya na lang pls...hehehe
My oldest 3 nephews - Sam, Totoy & Pedro - are all grown-ups now and they blush whenever i
remind them of their exploits when they were little boys. At 14, Vincent still shares the bed with me and hugs and kisses me unabashedly in public. The two girls, Lourdes (12) and Maimai (8) can't stand each other but they unite whenever i'm around. The youngest kids are Angelo (3), Irene (1 yr. 6mos.) and Rosalinda (5 months). They're a joy to watch and play with.
The good thing about going here is you take a bus and jump off right at the gate of the 
many beachfront resorts that line the highway as soon as you go past the town plaza. Here, one can enjoy a long stretch of beach paradise peppered with relatively cheap resorts, witness a spectacular sunset, ride the fun waves and treat yourself to a body scrub with its chocolate-colored sand. We are lucky 'coz my relatives live along the national highway so we have easy access to the beach. Most of the time we just put our towels and slippers on the sand or hide them inside a parked banca but during major picnic days, we rent a hut and bring food, bike and a guitar to complete the fun.
Part of our itinerary is to climb the
200+ steps leading to the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary grotto in a private property just beside my aunt's house. A visit here is never complete without seeing Mama Mary. If you are driving along the national highway from Bauang to San Fernando, you will see her nestled on top of a hill on the right side of the road.
We also went to San Fernando City to watch the movie Ang Cute ng Ina Mo at the CSI mall. I saw it twice: first with the kids and second time with the 'oldies'. really, really funny movie! :-)
One time when we were at the beach, i found the chance to be by myself on the sand down by the water's edge under an azure sky (naks!). The sand was hot beneath my back but the fresh breeze kept me cool while the tide slowly flooded in tickling my skin. I closed my eyes. I couldn't remember what my thoughts were that very moment. Maybe nothing. I was just enjoying the feeling.
Then i heard Maimai call me so i joined them. We played with the crashing waves...ang saya-saya! I snapped photos of everyone - the kids in their salbabidas, my mom & cousins playing cards, my aunts, the big boys, and also of Rosalinda riding a floating duck as souvenir of her first beach experience. We all had lunch and snacks together that day, all 19 of us, then waited for sunset before leaving. Lahat ay umuwing nakangiti...
Once again, the sea had done its magical work to our family. It washed away all negative thoughts, unwanted feelings, misunderstandings. It renewed the ties that bind, so to speak, and made everything right again.
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Here, Luanne Rice introduced me to Emma, Maddie and Stevie who grew from girls to women on the sandy shores of Hubbard's Point, Connecticut and vowed to be friends forever.
