It was 7:00 a.m. Sunday morning. The sun shone brightly and the weather was pleasant.
As we awakened, the smell of sunny side up eggs, honey-cured bacon and fried garlic rice greeted us. Breakfast was served, and we were eager to go.
"I'm excited for today," Ella exclaimed.
"Don't get your hopes up," Michelle warned Ella. "We still have a lot more work to do. And don't forget about some technical difficulties we suffered yesterday. Let's be prepared this time around."
Having learned from yesterday's debacle, both Michelle and Taylor went outside to carefully inspect their cars. Upon further review, the tire pressure was in good condition; the fuel intake was close to full and the engines were in near perfect form.
While genuinely enjoying some breakfast I promptly received a call from Charissa.
Charissa: "Christine, how was the trip?"
Christine: "Mom, it has been fine so far. Other than some mechanical problems it was all smooth sailing for us."
Charissa: "It was good to hear you were okay. Well Christine I got to leave now. Good luck today. I know you and your friends are enjoying the trip so far."
Christine: "We sure do mother. Okay then goodbye for now. See you later."
After breakfast and a change of clothes, our group was ready to leave Erin's home. But just as we went inside our cars, Rachelle suddenly came out.
"You're leaving guys?" Rachelle humbly asked.
"We still need to go back to Laguna and finish the project," Erin answered. "But don't worry, I'll be back later."
"Okay then. Stay safe and good luck," Rachelle advised us.
We finally left Erin's home at around 9:00 a.m. But just as we entered the expressway, Ella found herself gasping for air.
"What's the matter Ella?" I approached her.
"I couldn't breathe," Ella hoarsely said. "I'm having an asthma attack. Open my purse and find the inhaler."
Michelle promptly stopped her car to the nearest emergency parking area with Erin's group following suit. After retrieving Ella's inhaler she sprayed it onto her nose and gradually experienced some relief.
"Are you okay now?" I asked Ella. "You sure terrified us."
"I'm okay now," Ella smilingly assured. "I've been having these asthma attacks since childhood."
"Well, we're going back to Los Banos to experience its magnetic hill," Michelle said. "Perhaps some mountain air will help you."
We made our way back to Los Banos with no further incidents. Upon reaching the infamous magnetic hill, we stopped our cars and began recording the proceedings.
It was my turn to handle a video camera while Jamie took care of the boom microphone. On the other side of the road, Taylor and Erin prepared to snap some pictures.
Meanwhile, Michelle unlocked the parking brake of her car to see if it would go down. Almost immediately, Taylor and Erin shot some photographs of the moving car while I carefully recorded a video of it.
The magnetic hill was undoubtedly a strange optical illusion. It may look downward physically but as Michelle's car moved, the road seemed to go the opposite way.
"Gosh, this is so amazing," Michelle commented on the quirks of the magnetic hill. "I've never seen such an unusual road."
Michelle stopped the car, and the rest of us approached her. At the end of this experiment, Taylor and Erin captured 15 different images, while Jamie and I recorded 10 minutes' worth of footage.
"Well, it didn't take long," Ella commented. "This was much easier than yesterday's trip to Mount Makiling."
Still concerned about Ella's health, I approached her for a private talk.
"Ella, how is your breathing?" I humbly asked her.
"It feels good now," Ella assured. "My asthma attacks come in every now and then but I manage them all the time."
"It was great to hear from you, Ella," I said while giving her a pat on the back. "At least you're still in good health."
After stopping by the magnetic hill the whole group headed to the Los Banos city proper for some lunch. There we found a restaurant that served local fare.
We ordered a pot each of bulalo and chicken tinola, with steamy hot rice served for good measure. While feasting on the day's lunch, Michelle made an important announcement.
"Well, since we are finished with the project which one of you is going to take care of post-production?" Michelle called out.
"Taylor and I will edit the photography assignment later tonight," Erin said while raising her hand. "Taylor knows Adobe Photoshop relatively well."
"Jamie and I will edit the videos tonight and tomorrow," Ella announced just as she lifted her own hand. "Jamie is experienced with Adobe Premiere, and we'll help each other out."
"Okay then it's settled," Michelle finalized the workload. "It will be Taylor and Erin for the videos, and Jamie and Ella for the pictures. That's all for the project."
After the whole group had finished a delicious lunch, we stopped by a souvenir store and purchased some pastries for the journey home. Then at 3:00 p.m. we were prepared to leave behind Los Banos.
"Guys it's been a pleasure working on this assignment," Michelle uttered with joy. "I sincerely hope we can do this again some other time."
"Why not?" Taylor responded positively. "It's been a thrill to work alongside you. Ok then, we'll see you tomorrow."
Taylor and Erin bade farewell to the rest of us, but not before exchanging some hugs. After their car had left our sights, Michelle, Ella, Jamie and I slowly followed.
This time the trip back home went a little smoother. Ella, Jamie and I had a good nap while Michelle sang to the tune of "Amazing" by Aerosmith.
That one last shot's permanent vacation
And how high can you fly with broken wings?
Life's a journey, not a destination
And I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings
You have to learn to crawl
Before you learn to walk
But I just couldn't listen to all that righteous talk, oh yeah
I was out on the street,
Just a tryin' to survive
Scratchin' to stay alive
It's amazing
With the blink of an eye, you finally see the light
It's amazing
When the moment arrives that you know you'll be alright
Oh, it's amazing
And I'm sayin' a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight
After fetching Ella and Jamie home, Michelle transported me to my condominium. Before I bade farewell, she hugged and kissed me on the cheek.
"Well Christine, I'll see you tomorrow then," Michelle said her fond farewells. "Better wake up early tomorrow."
"Sure thing," I replied promptly.
And just like that, the weekend trip to Laguna came to a close. Now for some good night's sleep.