An Invite to Abundant Life: A Valentine's Date We'll Always Remember (With TobleronePilipinas)

"Say It Sweeter With Toblerone"... That's the theme of the facebook Valentine's promo/contest of TobleronePilipinas last year. I have been so blessed by the Lord to have won the grand prize in that contest. It's Valentine's season again and it feels great to reminisce the sweet victory and all the events of the road trip prize package worth P50,000.00 (but the actual expenses incurred reached more than P70,000.00 and still shouldered by the sponsor Kraft Foods Philippines, Inc.) which I have won. I am reposting below my winning entry in the said promo/contest with some additional pictures taken during the Road Trip to Hundred Islands in Pangasinan, Baguio City, Iloilo City where my 3 children competed for the National Finals of the MTG Math Challenge, and Bacolod City in Negros Occidental (my wife's home province):

A Valentine's Date We'll Always Remember ( by: Vicente I. Ferrer)

This year 2012 marks our 17th year of marriage. Me and my wife are blessed with three (3) children. A Valentine's Date during the love month of February remains a dream date that has never been realized since our children got into school. Our mind, effort, and time have been focused on the upbringing of our children especially on their education. Besides, our financial difficulties constrains us that we cannot celebrate such occasion anymore. Thus we are grateful to TobleronePilipinas for launching this promo in which we can participate and have a chance to win an all-expenses paid Valentine's Date that will give realization to our dream date.
Our dream Valentine's Date (with our 3 kids, of course) will start very early in the morning on February 13, 2012 at 4:30 A.M. A hired vehicle will fetch and take us to our first destination: Hundred Islands, Alaminos City, Pangasinan. We will eat our breakfast in a fast food restaurant along the way and upon arrival enjoy the rest of the morning at the beach relaxing and comforting ourselves away from the city crowd. Oh, how we love swimming in the beach's pristine waters. The delicious local foods that will be served for our lunch at 11:30 A.M. will be a delight. We will then have more bonding moments as we stroll at the beach then go on boat riding for a complete tour of the scattered islands in the renowned place. It will surely be a lot of fun, a great and memorable experience as we will have picture takings for mementos with our digital camera to end our date in the famous islands before we pack up by 3:00 P.M. for our next destination: Baguio City. As we travel to the summer capital of our country we will have short stopovers to have a view and picture takings on some of the beautiful landmarks or historical places along the way and also to buy some souvenir items/food delicacies. After 2 ½ hours of travel we will check in to the hotel reserved for us then take a rest. At 6:00 P.M. we will have a dinner in a downtown restaurant then go on a short walk in the city at Burnham Park and go back to the hotel to have our early night rest.
On February 14, 2012 @ 6:30 A.M. we will hear Mass at the Baguio Cathedral then have a breakfast and afterwards proceed to Lourdes Grotto. After the prayerful meditations we will then tour the renowned places in the city such as Camp John Hay, The Mansion, Wright Park, Mines View Park, Baguio Botanical Garden, and the Philippine Military Academy. A sumptuous meal for lunch will highlight our tour.
By 2 o’clock in the afternoon, we will be ready for our trip back to Metro Manila heading to a restaurant for a simple light dinner to complete our Valentine’s Date where I will be presenting to my wife my ultimate surprise gift of our Valentine’s Date: a simple necklace and a family round trip plane ticket to her hometown in Negros as processed by TobleronePilipinas. A kiss to my wife while giving her a bundled flower tied with Toblerone bearing the messages “You’re sweet, I love you, I’m yours” will end up our dinner.
Finally, at 8:00 P.M... Home, oh sweet home!... “Thank you Lord for this wonderful gift of a free Valentine's Date which we will always remember in our entire lifetime.”
Notes: 1.) Any remaining amount in our Valentine’s Date budget will be donated in the form of a check to the Typhoon Sendong victims thru TobleronePilipinas’ own choice of charitable organization/agency as our way of thanking the Lord for the wonderful date. 2.) The dates specified can be rescheduled.