London, England and Paris, France (May 1999)
To celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary, Sonia and I (without the children) went to London and Paris for ten days. This was our first time in Europe. We enjoyed our holiday tremendously, except for some incidents in Paris. My wallet and passport were picked from my pocket at the Metro; the national museum staffs were on strike; and so were the baggage handlers at the airport. I wish the Paris police would do more about the pickpocket situation.

Washington D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Liberty Island (July-August 1998)
From July 30th through August 2nd, we attended the 5th Faralan Family Grand Reunion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We also took some time to explore the attractions in that region. We flew into Baltimore airport and drove down to Herndon, Virginia to stay with our friends Norma, Warie, and Andrea for a few days. Then we drove back to Baltimore and stayed with Sonia's cousin Ruby before the big event in Philadelphia. After the reunion, we took a day trip to Liberty Island to visit Miss Liberty.

Long drive to California (June 1998)
In June, we drove to California to attend the freshmen's and parents' orientation at the University of Southern California (USC), where Ed was going to be a freshman at the School of Architecture. Going west we took the I-70 route, passing through the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Arches National Park in Utah, and Las Vegas, Nevada. On the return trip, we took the southern route via I-40. We stopped by the south rim of Grand Canyon in Arizona - what a sight!

Boracay Island, Philippines (December 1993)
In December 4, 1993, we all went to the Philippines for a vacation and also a medical mission. Sonia and I were members of the first medical mission that was sponsored by the Philippine Nurses Association of Greater Kansas City, the Philippine Medical Society, and the Rotary Club. At the medical mission in Santa Cruz, Laguna, we lost electricity and water due to a typhoon. Sonia and I had to take showers at two in the morning when there was water available, albeit only a trickle from the showerhead. On the 26th, we went to Boracay Island to spend some time in the sun and sand. Unfortunately we got typhooned again. I think there were a total of three typhoons during our four-week stay in the Philippines.

Oahu and Hawaii Islands (August 1990)
In August of 1990, the family vacationed in beautiful Hawaii. We stayed in Oahu for four days and one day in the Big Island. Marco was then six years old while Ed was ten.