People say that when you're at the bottom, there's nowhere to go but up. Well, in my case, I live down south of Luzon, so there's nowhere else to travel to but up north.

Every year, my family has this tradition of traveling over the course of summer. This year we planned of going to our hometown in Abulug, Cagayan Valley. Because it's a fourteen-hour ride from Manila, we have decided to make stopovers in provinces we will be passing by as we travel. If you have a car and your closest people with you, it's gonna be a fun road trip.

Imagine yourself in a movie where you trace the map of somewhere unknown to get to your destination. That's exactly what I felt like we're doing.

We first went to a church in Bulacan to ask for guidance and safety from our Heavenly Father. It was so early in the morning, I couldn't get myself to take a picture (well, I did but the quality was just...bad.)

Then we headed up to the mountainous and winding roads of Nueva Vizcaya. This was where the temperature started to get cold. I adore how clean and quiet this province is. We stopped by a local shop where we shopped for garlics and other things for household purposes.



We left home at night time. Bidding goodbyes with relatives can always be bittersweet. Seeing each other after a long time and catching up on what's happening with each others' lives kind of bonded you a little more.  Thank goodness for internet and social media, we can keep up-to-date with our loved ones.

Driving at night can be both fun and frightening. In this case, it was more frightening. Driving along a dark path with no people around felt like a horror movie waiting to happen. Like, a monster or a strange creature could just jump your car's windshield and scare the crap out of you.

Thank God, we have found a 24-hour restaurant with actual people. We had some bibingkas and hot coffees before we continued driving into the wilderness.



We stopped at Patapat Bridge for me to take some photos. I've gathered all my strength and braved the pitch-dark night. I was on the tip of my toes during the whole drive because the roads are so winding that a small wrong turn could make your car dive into the deepest waters of the West Philippine Sea.



And in the deep of the night, we drove our way to the twin province of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur.