The Plan That Changed
Four of the seven who came had never been to La Union before. It was also supposed to be their first time in Baguio, right after. That second half of the trip is the one that didn't survive. By Sunday, the road up meant flash floods and rockfall and landslide danger along the way, and there was really only one call to make. Rather than cut the trip short, we extended the La Union stay by a night instead, turning what was meant to be a quick two-day run into three days on the coast: August 8 to 10, 2026.
Wheels in Benguet
On the drive up Saturday morning, before we'd even set foot in La Union, we made a quick detour through the "Welcome to Benguet Province" arch: crossed it for maybe five meters, then pulled a U-turn right back onto the highway. At the time it was just a fun photo op. We had no idea yet that this would be as close as we'd get to Baguio all trip. At least the wheels made it to Benguet, even if we didn't.
Lunch First: Baybay Seafood Grill
We rolled into La Union around lunchtime and headed straight to Baybay Seafood Grill, our first stop of the trip. Good food, good company, and a proper meal before anything else got underway.
Beach Before Anything Else
Before a single ball got served, we spent a solid stretch at the beach. The waves were big and strong that day, strong enough that they could've easily talked us out of it, but they didn't. We waded in together anyway, held hands against the current, and let the tide do what it wanted. By the end we were tired, bruised, and scratched up in places, the kind of sore that sticks around for days. But that's exactly what made it feel earned. Those moments don't come back twice.
First Open Play, Rain and All
Sore bodies and all, that same day we headed straight to Union Athletics Sports Complex for our first open play of the trip. The rain came down hard enough to flood parts of the court, making it flat-out unplayable at times, but tiredness wasn't stopping us, and neither was the weather. We just waited it out, wiped the puddles when we could, and kept playing whenever the courts let us.
Baguio, Officially Off
Sunday was supposed to be the day we actually made the climb to Baguio. Instead, we found out it really wasn't happening: flash floods and landslide risk along the mountain road made the call for us. No point pushing it, so we stayed put in La Union for one more night instead of forcing a trip that wasn't safe to make.
An Extra Night, Naknak Supremacy
With the extra day suddenly on our hands, we roamed around La Union and ate our way through it. Naknak Eatery was the runaway favorite: good food, good price, the kind of place that earns a nickname. Naknak supremacy, as we call it now. We also made time for Mango Mama, because no beach town trip is complete without ice cream.
Round Two, Unplanned
Sunday afternoon, we played again, this time at an unplanned and completely spontaneous court: PaddlePoint La Union. Same story as day one: heavy rain flooded the courts even though they were covered, on and off through the session. Still didn't stop us. As long as no one got hurt, we counted it as a win.
Flotsam Nights
That night, we spent good time together at Flotsam: good ambiance, good company, the kind of night that closes out a trip right. First time again for four of the seven of us. We ended the night the way we started the trip, together, and grabbed a photobooth strip to prove it happened.
Worth The Extension
Monday at noon, we drove back home to Cavite. A trip that was supposed to be about Baguio ended up being about La Union, twice over, and honestly, we're not complaining. Solid people, solid nights, and lots of first times, even if not the ones we originally planned for. Til the next destination.