We first got to meet Veronica's mother when she visited here back in August of 2002.  She came out to Perry's Restaurant and the rest of the band got a chance to meet her.  The photo at left shows her and Veronica on stage at Perry's.

According to Veronica the trip home didn't even start out to be a full fledged reunion.  She had been wanting to get back to visit her Mom in Manila for some time, and as the band had a week off she figured it was about time.  Gradually others in the family found that they too were free, and the next thing you knew the entire clan had their sights set on Manila.

Talk about logistics!  For Mike, Veronne, and their two daughters they spent a total of 23 hours on board a plane...first to Detroit, then to Japan, then on to the Philippines.  It took about three full days to recover from the jet lag.  And to think we got all turned around with the change to Daylight Savings Time!

In the photo on the right you can see almost the entire family (a few had already left before the photo was taken).  That's quite a crowd to try to assemble, considering they were coming from all over the globe!

When we asked her whether Manila had changed much since she was last there, she replied it had indeed changed...with "more traffic, more people, more of everything and yet people are so very nice and laid back."  

On the issue of traffic, she told us "the traffic was something out of the ordinary....actually it was quite crazy, but the people there have no 'road rage'...they just patiently squeeze their vehicles wherever there is an opening....."  If only the beltway could be the same!!!

We also asked her about feeding such a large group.  Here's what we found out.  

"Mama supervised with all the cooking but the maids did all the hard work....my sister Marilen had all of us at her house for dinner one evening, then my brother Dom had us over for dinner the next evening, then my brother Juvy had us over the next night....and they prepared a banquet every evening!!!!!   

Then we trotted to a beach resort named Tali Beach and stayed there for 2 days...we swam, got on jet skis, had a bonfire at night, and ate some more!!!  As you can see, the Filipinos love to eat!!!!"

With all the time spent with family (including 16 nieces and nephews), Mike & Veronne didn't have a chance to run into any old friends, or get back to her home town of Baguio.  They'll have to leave that for the next trip!  We did find out that their daughters are anxious to go back...it would seem daughter Nikki is all set for a major shopping expedition in Manila!!!

With Veronica's musical background, we wanted to know if any of the other family members we musically inclined.  "A lot of nephews are musicians too.....Cielo, my sister-in-law has a voice of an angel....in fact, she and her sons sang a very touching song in full three part harmony in one of our get-togethers...."

Asked to summarize the whole trip, here's what Veronica told us:

"The trip home for all of us was a very beautiful memory we will never
forget....the bond of the family was so strengthened that it was so nice to
experience the closeness of the family and how we treasured being together all at once....something we will try to do more often....."