Where the Heck is Marinduque?: Happy Birthday America: My 20 Things that Makes America Great

Planning to Visit the Philippines Soon?

There are hundreds of tourists attractions in the Philippines. But as a lover of the Island of Marinduque (Home of the Morions and Heart of the Philippines), I am indeed partial to its beauty, charm and its friendly and hospitable residents. Therefore, help me achieve my dream of seeing this island becomes a world tourist destination, by telling all your friends and relatives about this site. Welcome, to you all, new readers and faithful followers of this site! The photo above is Poctoy White Beach in Torrijos, Marinduque with beautiful and majestic Mt Malindig in the background. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on infringing your copyrights.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy Birthday America: My 20 Things that Makes America Great

US Arm Forces-Happy Birthday, America
Every July 4th, Fortune Magazine makes a list of 100 things that makes America a Great Nation. In this year 100 things, I have identified 20 things that have personal relevance to my life here in America. The first number in list is my ranking and the number in parenthesis is Fortune's number. I added my own comments for each item in the list. How about you? What things in the US makes America Great from your own personal experience and perspective. Here's my list.

1.(1) Opportunity- Yes, indeed I immigrated to US in 1960 because of the word opportunity. I believe I did not make a mistake. Is America still a land of opportunity today?

2.(2) Interstate Highway System- Can you imagine life here in California without the highways?( freeways).

3.(10) Microsoft Word- Without Microsoft word you would not be reading this blog

4.(23) Bill and Melinda Gates-What else could I add to the numerous articles about this couple? Famous and Philanthropic are the words that can describe them

5.(25) The Mississippi River-the longest river in the world. I have been to the junction of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers in St Louis, Missouri and that is an awesome place to visit.

6.(26) Ben and Jerry- The best cone ice cream in America.

7.(28) Self stick stamps- it was so messy mailing your letters before someone invented this item. Did a post office employee invented this? I doubt it.

8.(29) Boeing 747-Makes air travel a pleasure once you pass the TSA security procedures in the airport.

9.(47) Glee- one of my top ten TV show. Enjoy the show especially when Charice was a guest star

10.(53) Gatorade- the sports drink that everybody likes

11.(55) Times Square- A place to visit specially on New Years Eve. Been to this place twice but not on New Years Eve.

12.(58) 60 Minutes-another TV program in my watch list

13.(63) Grand Canyon-One of the most beautiful places in the world. Have visited only once, but would like to come back.

14.(64) US Arm Forces- This should be Number 1 according to a radio commentator, because of them we have the number 1 item. But without #1, I will not be writing this, so my item #1 remains my number 1 in the list.

15. (82) Blogging-Life would indeed be boring if the word blogging is erased in my vocabulary

16. (83) Politician who Tweets- Is Weiner a dirty word? It depends on your frame of mind for that particular moment.

17. (90) Starbucks- It starts my day right!

18. (95) Steven Spielberg- Another one of my favorite celebrities. Who can forget ET?

19. (98) Jeopardy- I love trivia, thus I love this TV show.

20. (99) Pulitzer Prize- This made me aware of this prize when a Filipino Illegal-immigrant journalist from California won this prize just recently

For the complete list (100 items) see Fortune's Magazine issue July 3, 2011. Happy July 4th to All! From the GrandPa Blogger!

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ABOUT ME

I am a retired (Chemistry Team Leader from USFDA) Filipino-American who loves writing, gardening and photography. My wife (of 58 years) and I enjoy the snowbird lifestyle between the US and the Philippines. We have a small but very private beach resort( see above video) in the beautiful island of Marinduque, Philippines. I have several blog sites(ten), a personal blog, blogs about retiring in Marinduque and our beach resort and conference center-CHATEAU DU MER. I also write for www.squidoo.com now owned by HubPages.com

Marinduque: A Photogenic Province and Tourists Destination

Marinduque is a photoblogger dream. The province is endowed with unspoiled white sand beaches, pristine blue waters, fringing reefs, virgin coral reefs, coves, limestone caves, meandering rivers, mountain peaks, cascading waterfalls and streams, fabled sulfur and hot mineral springs,old churches and of course beautiful sunsets. The Internet is filled with photographs of the scenic beauty of this island not only from the local professional photographers but also from amateur photographers all over the world. The province has more than six big islands popular to beach lovers, scuba divers and snorkeling enthusiasts. It has Mt Malindig known to mountain climbers and hikers. It has Bathala and Tarug Caves popular to spelunkers and just curious seekers. In one of the eight caves of Bathala, there is a resident python, believed to be enchanted. If he shows himself when you visit the caves, it is suppose to bring you good luck.

Sunset over Tres Reyes Islands- Photo from panoramnio.com The nearest and most accessible islands from the capital town of Boac are the Tres Reyes Islands ( Islands of the Three Kings), Gaspar, Melchor and Baltazar in the town of Gasan. The local names are Laki, Pangkog and Man-nga ( see map above). These islands are located southwest of the mainland. The other three group of islands bigger in area and more populated are Polo, Maniwaya and Mongpong Islands. These are located in the Northeast part of the mainland in the town of Santa Cruz. Maniwaya's Polo Maria White Beach is being develop as an alternative to Boracay. There is a bigger island, Salamongue Island which is not as well known to the tourists and residents.. I really do not know the reason, but I believe it is not as accessible from the mainland . Moreover, it is not as developed( no electricity or running water) compared to the other islands.

One of the most popular white beach located in the mainland in the town of Torrijos is Poctoy White Beach. It is about a 70 minutes drive from downtown Boac. Poctoy White beach with Mt, Malindig as the background is the most photogenic and the most photographed scenery in the island.

Just late last year, the former Elephant Island in Lipata, Buenavista, owned privately, was renamed Bellarocca Resort Island and Spa. It has been converted to look like Santorini Island, Greece with buildings all painted in white sticking in the cliffs. From what I heard, this resort is one of the most expensive and luxurious resort in Southeast Asia. The cheapest room charges $300 per night excluding meals and other amenities. When I was in Marinduque last year, I met a few rich and famous Filipinos( businessmen, actors and actresses, TV personalities)) from Manila as well as Korean and Japanese tourists at Masiga Airport in Gasan on their way to the resort. From the resort advertisement, I know that the most expensive accommodation is a 3-bedroom villa with its own pool and jacussi charging about $ 800 per night without meals. Dong Ho, Oggie Ramos, Ferdz Decena, Allan Barredo, Sydney Snoeck and Dennis Villegas are some of the photographers that I know who have photo blogs about Marinduque. Their pictures are beautiful, unique and mesmerizing. It is worth your time to visit their photo blogs sites. Looking at their photographs of Marinduque, its Tradition and Culture will surely make you proud of the beauty of our island paradise.

Planning to Visit the Philippines Soon?

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy Birthday America: My 20 Things that Makes America Great

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