Aruba Trip - June 4th

Today's adventure was a snorkel and sunset sail on the Black Pearl. Another year...another fun trip with friends.  My highlight was seeing a sea turtle! Lots of pretty fish, giant starfish, and other sea creatures! Pictures below;

Aruba Trip - June 3rd

Yesterday was a nice weather day. Headed down towards baby beach yesterday and made some stops along the way. Had not been to baby beach in a few years. Has changed quite a bit. There is a restaurant now where you can have lunch. It is called "Big Mama's Grill". The theme of the place is based on the Flintstones. Pretty cool. They appear to be making the area into a park. Part of me liked the old baby beach, but then again, the amenities are nice too.

Also stopped at Spanish Lagoon area and saw military running exercise drills. They were jumping off a bridge fully clothed and then had to go through a series of obstacles that were hanging under the bridge.

Next went to Mangel Halto. This area has been cleaned up beautifully. There are mangroves here.

As we got over towards baby beach towards the prison area, we saw lots of goats...so cute. Then we saw a procession of donkeys coming down the side of the road. They were funny. Stopped by our car to see if we had any food offerings. They then stopped at the next car...I think they got a treat.

Back to the beach at resort....more beach...ocean and beer and laughs with friends!

Dinner last night was at Amadeus.  Not really sure the meal was the "wow" factor that I remembered in the past years. 

Here are a few pictures I snapped on my iPad yesterday;

Spanish Lagoon

Aruba Trip - June 2nd

Days have started out cloudy and mid afternoon they clear out and we get sun. Today is starting out nice...so...we will see where that goes.

Yesterday did not start out good! Apparently I lost the car keys during the room move! What a dope. Only thing I can think of is that I threw the keys in a box that had food and when I unloaded the box I never saw the keys. Ugh....car rental place was nice about it but it will cost me $100 for the remote and keys.

After all that fiasco and a supermarket trip basically hung on the beach with the gang and had some great laughs!

Sunset was nice....although Tom will say it was not!

Went to Sole Mare for a great dinner. Food is consistently good here....although a bit on the pricey side.

All my pics are on my camera so I don't have any to post from my iPad. Oh well....you will all see those when I get home.

Aruba Trip - May 31

Weather has been pretty weird this trip! We have had more clouds than sun. But don't let that fool the tan factor. Still got plenty of tanning going on. Today I see more blue...so just maybe we will turn the corner and have more sun today. 

Well today is then end of week 21 and we will certainly miss our friends that are leaving. We had fun times and all look forward to next year. Week 22 is beginning and the next crew is beginning to arrive. 

Looking forward to another fun filled week with friends!

As for adventures I have been on......yesterday I went into the Arikok National Park. I ventured deep into the middle of no where...(you will know what I mean when u see the pics)...probably not the smartest thing to do by yourself...but oh well....I survived and did not get eaten by any creatures.

Saw goats of all sizes...that was really it. No Shoco Owls! I did ask if you can hire someone to take you out and they said I can make a reservation with a ranger. Just may do that next week.

Other than that it was beach walking, swimming, beverages.....etc....

Thurs nite we were invited to our Arubian friend's (John Kelly) home for a BBQ. What a wonderful home he has built. It has a fabulous view looking towards the ocean and resort area. Him and his family were so kind and welcoming of us to his home. It was a great evening. I hope some time to return the same should he ever make it to Boston on vacation.

Last nite we ate in and had tacos and margaritas!

That's about it...sorry no pics today. All my pics are on my good camera and won't be able to post until we get home.....

Aruba Trip - May 29

Yesterday was a weird weather day. Lots of clouds....some sprinkles, then sun broke through in afternoon. You still get sun in this weather and need to wear sunscreen!

Went to Casabari Rock formations. They have cut down quite a bit of underbrush. They have the restaurant across the street and unfortunately are starting to commercialize this area which is unfortunate. There really has been no rain to speak of here since Oct/Nov and you can see this as you get away from the resorts. Everything is brown and very little green. I drove around through neighborhoods in the very rural areas and eventually made it back to the resort.

Back for beach...sun....fun...drinks......

We went to dinner at the Lighthouse with Siobhan and Bobby McGee. Got a 6:30 reservation to see sunset. Colors in the sky were spectacular! Dinner was excellent! Siobhan  and Bobby...you are too good! Thanks again!

Here are some pics from yesterday....

Nick and Bobby

Me and Siobhan

View from lighthouse looking toward the resorts....

Siobhan and Bobby

Beautiful sunset....

Dessert.....Tiramisu ala something or other!

Aruba Trip - May 28

Good morning! Yesterday's weather was sunny, cloudy, sprinkle, ending with another near perfect sunset! Got up at 6:30, reserved the hut...Yes you now have to reserve your spot by getting a ticket at the towel hut. I can understand the need I guess in the high season, but seriously, this time of year is just a PIA....anyways...#28....was ours. 

Then went for a jog/walk....ok mostly walking...but it was exercise!

Went off on a photo adventure. Went to Bubali Bird Refuge and saw more birds in there than I ever did! Got some great pics on my good camera and snapped a few on the iPad which are posted below.

Then I went to who knows where and was in the middle of no where desert and saw peacocks, goats, a couple of dogs who didn't like cars...ended up on a dead end near the Arikok National Park. Turned around and headed back to the resort.

Sun...beach......drinks.....swimming for remainder of the day.

Had dinner with our friends Siobhan and Bobby McGee. We had hot dogs, burgers at the grill and Nick made Margaritas. It was a nice relaxing evening. The power went off and on a few times. Power surge blew out my little fan. Oh well.....need to go buy another today.

Here are some pics from yesterday....

Snowy White Egret at Bubali Bird Refuge

The Divi Phoenix Resort

Avril and Carmen

Sunset at the waters edge

Muscle man.....ya...ok

Aruba Trip - May 27

Another beautiful day in Aruba was bestowed upon us! There was another near perfect sunset.

Went and had a massage at Spa deSol....was wonderful. Probably one of the best ones ever. Felt like jello when all was done. Below are a few pics from there....

These are the cabanas where you get your massage.

This is looking out at the beach from the patio at the massage place. Eagle Beach was voted one of the top beaches in the world a few years ago. I believe it was 8th....

I next went to go find a beach bag since mine broke in many ways. Went to the Certified Mall...cheaper  then buying one at any of the tourist spots. Found a decent one..$22....good deal. Then.....it happened....the clerk was speaking to me in a foreign language..I said do you speak English? She was speaking Dutch because she thought I was Dutch. Only took 2 days this time before someone thought I was either Dutch or German!

Rest of the day was beaching it. Went for a nice beach walk. Wind was by strong and sand was really blowing. Stayed in the water a lot. Problem is, got a little too much sun on the shoulders...oh well.

Here is the McGee family from Westwood,MA

He is Nick being a bookworm reading his book and guarding the cooler...

Monday is the managers party at the resort. Was a good time. They have mixed it up a bit and is a little different than years past...I will leave it as a surprise for the week 22 folks coming in.

We went to Zuzuroh's for dinner. Small little Greek / Italian place. It is on the side street where Screaming Eagle is. Was very good and would definitely go back.

Final picture for today's update....this is the pool at night from the balcony....

Aruba Trip - May 26

Good morning from Aruba! Coffee on the balcony. Well....last nite was another amazing and perfect sunset! And......no....I did not have camera gear at the beach! I will however starting today be bringing it down and be starting my photo excursions. Yesterday was food shopping day at Ling and Sons. I still like this market compared to any others. This is probably because this market is pretty like a market in the US.

Yesterday's activities included a nice beach walk for about an hour. Ahhhh...so nice. Walked down to the Ritz Carlton resort which they recently finished. What a beast of a resort! Not my cup of tea.

Rest of day was beach, swim, drinks.......repeat! There was a live band 4-7pm at the Pure Beach bar. My friend Siobhan were dancing fools and had a great time.

We at dinner in last nite. Grilled chicken salad. The grill area is now quite nice and a great improvement. For the gang coming in on week 22...we should have a BBQ after the snorkel / sail trip on that Weds...

That's it for now! Massage time this morning.....will have more pics tomorrow. Happy Memorial Day everyone!

The Day Has Finally Arrived!

Count down = 0! Will be landing in sunny Aruba in about 5 1/2 hours. Can't wait. Sitting in Jet Blue terminal waiting to board. The plane is here so...so far...so good.

Took off at 11am onetime, landed in Aruba 3:30. Zipped through customs in no time...was amazing.

Got luggage...met the fellow from Hans Tropic...fast easy transaction. They have my repeat business!

Also met my buddy Roland to get my wireless MIO...another fast and easy transaction and we were on our way.  

Arrived at the Phoenix fast checkin.....dumped our stuff in the room.....loaded the cooler with essentials and hit the beach for sunset. Met some friends....all is good! 

Here is a post sunset picture from the balcony last night....