Day 2, A full house at 530pm, we were lucky to sit in the backyard to escape a bit NY’s 95 Fahrenheit in the summer. Our guests tonight are friends we have not seen for 25 years, Rebecca Asedillo and Doug Cunningham. It was a lively exchange of lived experiences from taking care of grandchildren, to being retired, to archiving documents of our organizing days as young folks for the return of democracy in the Philippines.

What did we eat, more like what did we not eat? We ate dumplings, fresh lumpia, mussels, ribeye steak bistek, okoy, bibimbap with 21-spices roasted duck, eggplant with smoked coconut cream, sisig, halo-halo with ube, coffee, macapuno, champoy ice cream and bread pudding topped with vanilla ice cream

We came back to the hotel quite satisfied, but never bloated by extenders or preservatives. This is what fresh, from scratch, cooking with the freshest ingredients. Doug kept complimenting that each bite is amazingly fresh and flavorful, not over the top, quite restrained and self-assured dishes not needing any more seasonings.

A great evening of fellowship centered in how else can we help Kamala Harris win? I shared my 2008 experiences of campaigning over a weekend for Barack Obama. Thanks Rebecca Asedillo for my homemade soap and for driving an hour and a half from your residence to break bread with us.

What a beautiful evening of soulful conversations!!

A hefty thanks to Romy Dorotan and Amy Besa who were kept so busy with two sittings, 530pm and 7pm! Daghang Salamat! Muchas Gracias!