Clark Adventures: 2011 Hot Air Balloon Festival

We made plans with my college friends to go to Clark this weekend and watch the 2011 hot air balloon festival. The four of us met up with Sunshine and her family, Ching, as well as Chris, Eddie, and Rico. It was a nice road trip going to Pampanga, making occasional stop-overs for the kids.

Jen managed to reserve a lodge at Fontana Resort (with membership discounts). It was a three-bedroom cottage with television and a spacious living room for the kids to run around and play. We managed to check-in the resort around 2pm Saturday, take a short rest, and visit the Hot Air balloon show at around 5pm.

The house we got was a three bedroom duplex, with two beds on each room.  Good thing the neighbors were not that noisy. We managed to take a short snooze before heading out to the air field.

It was a short ride going to the balloon show. Traffic was heavy but tolerable, since you get to see the balloons and airplanes even from a far distance. A lot of people did not go in anymore; they just parked their cars outside and watched the show from the street.

We managed to get into the field at around 6pm, paying 150 pesos per adult (kids go in for free), to watch the final event. Everyone got a chance to see different hot-air balloons -- like Darth Vader, Frosty the snowman, Pirate in a barrel, and others.

This was our first group trip ever since I got married. It was both fun and tiring, since Jen and I had to deal with the two kids. Sunshine and Leo also had their hands full with Basti. I am really thankful that Ching and the other guys were there to help out, taking turns watching the kids.

We left Clark at around 12 noon the following day. But before we left, the group managed to take a dip at Fontana's pool grounds. Too bad the main pool area was under renovation. However the 'smaller' pools are still big enough to accommodate the guests -- with Olympic sized pools and hot/cold pools for people of all ages.

Everyone had a great time -- with all the traveling, eating, swimming, and balloon watching. It was a bit tiring for the adults, since we had to pack up and drive whenever we wanted to eat or go around.  Despite this, we are looking forward to our next out of town trip.