This summer has been my craziest within the past five years, not only because of so much work and overtime but I have almost spent my whole summer weekends traveling. Two days of escapade to Chicago, Illinois during the Carigara town fiesta was fun but exhausting because I was catching every single minute of my time. Between the reunion with my town mates and an overnight of bar hopping at downtown Chicago, I was left me with too little time to visit the museums. But nevertheless, my instinct found a way to delay my flight so as to explore this “Windy City” hence finding myself in the long line that goes to the Sears Tower Sky Deck and rushing through the Water Tower Place, Navy Pier, Soldier Field and Adler Planetarium. Although, I did not have time to go to the Museum of Science and Technology, Museum of Contemporary Art, Shedd Aquarium, John Hancock Observatory and Kohl’s Children Museum but I have promised myself to come back for more educational tour.

Four days of stay at Washington Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania during the 16^th International Conference on Teaching Philosophy is like staying in the monastery because the town is almost empty of nightlife. It was pure academic lectures and workshops of weird students, professors and philosophy enthusiasts mostly from around the colleges and universities of the United States. Although I was appreciative of the seriousness and intellectual ambiance of the gathering but I am an advocate of “pleasure after work”. The green taxi (although the color of the cars are red) would charge sixty dollars for a one-way trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home of the Steelers. The city of last year’s super bowl champion is modestly engineered and developed within the “foothills of Appalachian Mountains where Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers joins to create the great Ohio River<D>”. A ride through the “Monongahela Incline” gave me a spectacular and awesome view of the entire city. The downtown area bespeaks the city’s good financial status and stature as the Gateway to the West.

A weekend in Black Point Road, Niantic, Connecticut was a mesmerizing experience of the harmony between man-made  landscape and the vastness of the oceans of Long Island (New York) and Connecticut. A long walk within Black Point neighborhood gave me the impression that the rich and famous are never showy about their wealth and their humility is true and sincere. I never felt an inch of inferiority and an ounce of discrimination. And there I conclude that democracy is indeed at work in that community.

A day’s spent in Providence, Rhode Islands can never be ignored because of its unique feature. A river walk within the train station and downtown shopping malls was quite relaxing yet puzzling how the local government has maintained the ecosystem of a fairly decongested business district which is the exact opposite of Manila and the struggling Pasig River.

A quick but detailed visit to the heart of Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia during the first week of August was like digging the history of George Washington and General Robert Lee. Prince, Duke, Wolfe and King streets offer a parade of Victorian and old houses of the past. Old Town Square provides an avenue for a boat ride along the historic district and Potomac River. The State of Virginia though conservative and a Red State gives an ample venue and opportunities of anything that people love hence the mantra “Virginia is for lovers”. Three weekends in Virginia Beach, Virginia were never enough for me because I believe that swimming in the ocean is fairly good compared to an indoor pool. A night walk in the white sand was like walking in the “sacredness of the clouds” and in the “footprints of the Unknown”. My last summer kickoff ended up in Rehoboth, Delaware where I have done nothing but hang out in the boardwalk and read. It was more of soul-searching as to where life is going through and trying to answer the question with some philosophical tone the most elementary question I have always asked my students, “Do you like the things that life is showing you?” (Diana Ross).

Much have been said and done in our life but we’ll never get to the right direction unless we take off and be comfortable in the solitude and quietness of our being. Not a sermon, just a thought.