Left to right: Larissa, Angie, 2 kids, Boyet and Lito in front of Mendoza's residence in New Jersey

     Then off to the Statue of Liberty. The tour guide this time was Lito Mendoza. They visited/saw Ellis Island and the Liberty Island. They went inside the statue but did not climb up as the line was very long. Then a tour of Jersey City followed. They toured where the Filipino establishments were at.  They saw "Manila Street", Philippine Bread House, Little Quiapo, etc. They had dinner that night at the house of Willy and Malou Mendoza.

     Wednesday, they were back at Pennsylvania where they went to a nice wooded garden area. Unfortunately, the spring flowers were not in bloom yet and one of them commented, "..hey this place looks like Lito's backyard.." With quick moves, they were able to get a refund and proceeded to the Pennsylvania Zoo.
     That night, they were treated to an All American Buffet for dinner by Nini and Lito in Pennsylvania.
     It was Holy Thursday. They were scheduled to tour West Point but elected to stay at home to observe Lent at Chito's home in New York. They all went to church and at night, Boyet, Angie and their respective families treated their guests this time to a dinner at famous Arthur's Steakhouse in Hoboken, New Jersey.
     They then went back to Chicago to meet with their relatives (Judge and wife), then they proceeded to the house of Annabel, their sister in Ohio.
I wanted to meet with them, but Lito stated that the schedule was so hectic and it was just out of the question. Besides, they did such a fine job of hosting that I feel proud.
     The Paner's are my "Kinakapatid" somewhat. Nanding, my younger brother is the godson of Judge Paner. Larissa used to be a close friend of mine. She was my "phone confidant/phone pal" at one time when I was having a problem with my girlfriend. Hey stop it! It was all innocent. Ask her! Hindi talo, pare ko. You could verify this with her. Annabel however was her younger sister back then, and I never got to know who Boyet was. I guess he was really young then. Ibang batch. I guess I am really old. I heard Boyet is a successful banker and currently an Executive Vice-President of a major bank in the Philippines! I guess he is a chip of the old block.
     Judge Paner is a very close friend of my father. I would have love seeing him visiting the states. To witness his expression from the things he sees. As I would probably feel, that my father would have had the same expression, had he been alive and visited the states too. I am glad CANEUSA was given the opportunity to host their visit. Good Job to all you. #

     Almost the whole family of Judge Leonardo Paner, a Calambeño, visited the United States and the majority visited the Northeast where Calamba Association Northeast USA (CANEUSA) as a team hosted their visit. Mr & Mrs. Angie & Larrissa Malinao with their 2 sons Andrew and Allen, Mr. & Mrs. Boyet Paner with their son Raphael arrived in New York to stay the night at the residence of Chito & Joy Manayon, their cousin on the evening of the 25th of March.

     The very next day, they toured Manhattan to see the 5th Avenue, Crown Building, Park Avenue, Empire State Building, etc. That night, they went to see "Miss Saigon" on Broadway. They then proceeded after the show at the residence of Engr. Lito and Nini Mendoza at Edison, New Jersey. They arrived around midnight and naturally stayed the night.

     The very next morning, Boyet's family went to Washington, DC with Chito as the tour guide while Angie and Larrissa were dropped off at Angie's relatives in Chery Hill, New Jersey. That same night, they were treated to a Chinese Buffet by Elout Nevalga Carandang and family.

     That Sunday, Elout took them to see the Liberty Bell in Pennsylvania where they took a ride on a horse drawn carriage. They wanted to take a ride on one carriage, but the owners would not let them too. Apparently, they only allow a certain number of people per carriage in deference to the horse as they do not want to "overwork" it.

     A trip to Atlantic City immediately followed on Monday. Elout, Ruffy and Art took them there. Hopefully, they won some money. They left Atlantic City at 5 pm but arrived at Lito Mendoza's house (a 2 hour drive) for the second time at midnight! It took them some 6 to 7 hours! They claim to have lost their way! Yeah, right! My guess is they got held up by the "One Arm Bandit" machines in Atlantic City". Nini of course prepared food for them. They commented that they forgot how hungry they were as they really enjoyed their trip.
     Elout, Ruffy and Art declined to sleep over as they have to work at 3 o'clock in the morning. For crying out loud, I guess they were not able to sleep at all since Lito's house is 2 hours away from Elout's house.
     Following morning, their breakfast included longonisa, eggs and rice. They were so excited as they said it feels like home in the Philippines and they even took video of it.