Last April 30, ALPers that includes James Kevin Ty , her wife Charito , son Kendrick Cole  and Chat's parents as well as Allen Yu, Francisco Lao, Jonathan Alcartado and wife Ellen, Jhun Embuido, Edgar Ang and  Lea Visaya got some rest from astronomy and had ALP first excursion trip to the wonderful and beautiful Hidden Valley Resort in Alaminos , Laguna.

They agreed to meet at around 5:30am at Shell Magallanes before they head to the site via convoy.  Jhun Embuido had to fetch Lea Visaya and Jun Lao before going to the meeting place while James and  family as well as Allen Yu and Edgar Ang arrived on the same car with James.  Upon reaching the meeting place, they had to wait for a while for Jonathan and wife Ellen till around 6:00am because of unavoidable circumstances that occurred that morning.

Nevertheless, they had their early breakfast first at Jollibee before they head to Hidden Valley which is approximately 80 kms away.  The group arrived at the site at around 9:30am and had some rest while drinking their complimentary welcome drink at the resort.

Then , they started unpacking their stuff from their cars and had a long leisurely walk toward the main area of the resort.  They then rented locker rooms so that they can leave their stuff in good hands while having fun at the resort.  While James had to lead the way for his in laws to the warm pool area of the resort, the other ALPers started to made a long hike to see the hidden falls that is deep inside the resort. They first came across the century old tree which is huge in size and was  protected safely by nature lovers from the hands of illegal loggers.

Then they proceeded for another long walk toward the majestic hidden falls which is indeed true to its name as it is well hidden inside the vicinity of the resort :)   Upon reaching the area, the group was awed by its beauty and their cameras started to fire away at the sight of the beautiful fall that is surrounded by thick forest :)

After a while, James was able to catch up with the group and also had some pictorials before they head back to the main area of the resort which are surrounded by many lukewarm and warm pools around the vicinity of the resort.

It was already noontime when they head back and they decided to have a good lunch first before they dipped into the clean running waters of the resort.  Although the resort was a bit far and secluded [almost no signal (or very weak signal) from cell phone carriers], the resort was well visited by mostly foreigners such as Koreans, Japanese as well as Germans on that day.

After a good hearty power lunch, the group rested for a while before they started to dipped themselves into the waters.  The group alternately visit all available pools to their desire. Allen , Edgar as well as Jhun Embuido were having a great time swimming as well as sight seeing while the rest of the group either dipped themselves around the pool and chatting the hours away :)

At around 4:30pm, after a long afternoon submerged on the pools, the group finally ended their relaxation at the pool and started to take a shower to catch up with the free afternoon merienda (up to 5pm only folks so they had to hurry up!) before they head home.  

After having their merienda, the group posed for posterity before heading home.   The group members were already talking on their next plans for another excursion in the months to come..... some wants volcano hiking adventure at Pinatubo and Taal crater , while others set their sights on beach resort, Boracay..... the list goes on and on..... With a successful excursion trip made by ALP, the next trip will be easier and will surely be filled with fun and adventure!

 

For more images of the trip, click here.