June 6,7

The Aruba vacation is winding down. One part of me says boo-hoo....the other part says I am ready to go home and see fur kids, get the garden planted....etc....

Thurs the 6th went on another trek to the Alta Vista Chapel for sunrise. This time got up there around 5:45am...brought some treats for the stray dogs that live up there. The locals do feed them as well.

Unfortunately, the sunrise was not as beautiful as when we went on Tuesday.  Oh well....still very nice.

Remainder of the day just hung on beach with friends enjoying our final beach days.

Dinner was at Amadeus for another great dinner! 

Link to restaurant;

http://amadeusaruba.com/Default.asp?page=home

Friday the 7th.....went to Casabari Rock Formations looking for the Shoco owls. Unfortunately did not find any....we did see some other birds and lizards and got a few shots. Unfortunately they are turning this into another tourist trap and built a cafe / snack bar across the street. This kind of activity will drive the wildlife away.

Link about Casabari;

http://www.aruba-travelguide.com/discover/attractions-and-sights/Casibari-Rock-Formation.html

Returned back to resort to enjoy final beach day.....

Dinner was at the lighthouse. Unfortunately was not as good as when we went last week. My meal was just ok...service was eh.....oh well....

Link to restaurant;

http://www.aruba-latrattoria.com/

It is Saturday morning now and time to pack it up and get ready for the long day of travel.....will add additional 

blog updates over the weekend.....so bye-bye for now from sunny Aruba....

A few pics.....

Here is me and Doreen at Casabari Rock Formations.....

Popular snorkeling location.....

Love this house in Boca Catalina area....I believe you can rent it.....

Aruba June 3,4,5

So....I missed a few days worth of activity.....

Tuesday - highlight of this day was the early morning trek to the Alta Vista Chapel. A group of us left the resort at 4:45am to go there. About 15mins to get there. Pitch black when we arrived. Set up camera gear in dark using iPhone flashlight. Got some awesome twighlight pictures using 30 sec exposure. Then when the sun came up it was unbelievable. There were some clouds but this made it even more dramatic.  The were a couple of cute stray dogs that live up at the chapel. Locals take care of them and feed and give them water. I went back to the chapel today 6-6-13 for a later sunrise and of course I brought treats for the pups! Needless to say, the Tues sunrise was the best.

Beach was really windy and the sand was kicking up...oh poor us!

Dinner was at Amore Mio for pizza. Think we finally found good pizza in Aruba. Thin crust, wood fired, 10 inch pizza. Very good.

Wednesday - today Kathy and I went to the Ostrich Farm. Was pretty cool. Saw 3 wk old babies.

The ostriches are funny and pretty dumb birds. Got our pictures taken with the birds. Good place to go at least once. From here we took a drive down the road to the gold ruins on the rough side of the island. Snapped some cool pics.

Today we also went for a snorkel / sail on the Black Pearl. We were a group of about 15. Had a good time as always. No unusual sightings in the water other than the normal fish. This is always a great take.

Dinner tonite was hot dogs and other left overs on the grill....nite-nite.....

I can't believe we only have 2 more days....where has the time gone!

A few pics I have on the iPad.........

Aruba June 2nd

NIt is ground hog day in Aruba! Once again, it is another sunny beautiful day. 

Yesterday's adventure was that Kathy Mackenzie and I ventured over to the Donkey Sanctuary. The is run by an organization that rescues donkeys on the island. We were fortunate to really be the only ones there at the time and got to go in the corral with a mother and very young baby donkey. Of course I took tons of pics. However, on my other camera. They actually had a couple of other young that were already mixed in with everyone else. You could pick them out easily and they always followed their momma around. Kathy then bought a bag of grain to feed them....it was hysterical.  Here is their website; http://www.arubandonkey.org/

After that we stopped at the Ayo Rock Formations. Very strange place. Enormous boulders with all these smooth carve outs.  Area dates way back to the Indians and they would gather here to hear incoming thunderstorms and did some paintings on the rocks. Here is some more info;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayo_Rock_Formations

After that.....yep you got it......sun, sand and drink in hand! 

Dinner last night was at Smokey Joes for ribs! Yummy! Oh....and we tried deep fried Oreo cookies....oh my!

Here is their website; http://www.smokeyjoesaruba.com/

A few pics from yesterday on the beach;

Nick in all his glory.......

Tom in all his glory!

Fun times......

Sunset....

Aruba June 1st

Had Internet connection issues......oh poor me! LOL! I guess the island lost connection with the satellite. All is well now. Week 32 gang have all arrived. Fun crazy nite last nite on beach until well after sunset. More fun and craziness to follow....

Friday nite we tried Sweet Peppers restaurant. It was ok...not terrible...but not a do over. There are too many really good places to eat here.

Moved into our 2 bedroom unit. A/C is not the best...need to go get this resolved!

Dinner Saturday nite was burgers and dogs at the BBQ area with friends...loving the new grills and BBQ area they put in.

Need to figure out my photo excursion for today...I guess that is it for now....

Here is view from new room.....

Aruba May 30th

Another great day in Aruba has come and gone! The days are passing by way too fast. Took a ride to the Spanish Lagoon and Mangel Halto with my friend Maryann. The color of the water in this area is beautiful. There was a detour on the main road so we had to venture into some unknown roads. Saw a sign to Frenchman's Pass....decided to take it. We ended up in some real desolate area. Really cool....actually ended up making a big loop...so we did not end up lost. Pit stop at Ling and Sons supermarket and onto beach time.

More sun, sand, drink in hand....floating....etc.....

Dinner tonite was a BBQ with friends on beach. Grills are built in now and nice sitting area. Lots of food and laughs....a great time.  Looking forward to all our friends coming in on Sat!

A few pics......

Nick contemplating.......

Maryann and Ricky(aka...Elvis)

Bobby and Sioban.......

Looking up the black towards other resorts

Our beach.....

Aruba May 29th

Good morning from Aruba! This morning started with an early morning rainstorm and another beautiful rainbow. Sun is out now...beach hut reserved and ready for a new day. Yesterday I ventured into the downtown, snapping some pics. Found the store with the Boston hats and shirts....score!

The area beyond downtown has really been cleaned up. Board walks along the ocean side, a new park in the area of Nicky beach. Looking good.

Pit stop at the market on the way back and onto the beach! Sun, sand and drink in hand.....yippee!

Dinner last night was at Amadeus. Once again, awesome meals had by all. Will purchase a couple of bottles of Lost Symphony to bring home.

Tomorrow will take some additional photo adventures and plans are to BBQ for dinner with friends.

I am missing the fur kids....little Miss Lucy is being a brat 'cuz momma is not there!

A few pics......

Doesn't this look nice?

Iguanas .........

The "hangout"

Aruba May 28th

Well...what can I say....it was just another day in paradise. Oh...we did have a couple of drops of rain....but don't feel bad.....the sun prevailed! Went and had a nice massage at Spa de Sol......so relaxing and I now am truly relaxed. It really does take a few days to unwind and get in the groove.

I even took an afternoon siesta in the hammock...only to look up and see coconuts in the tree above my head. I could only think of one of them falling and smashing me in the head! So.....the siesta ended.

Sunset was beautiful.....

Dinner last night was at the Lighthouse with 6 good friends. It was outstanding! Many thank you's to Sioban and Bobby McGee!

Think this morning I might go down town and see if I can find the special hats...take some pics...etc....

Here are a few pics......

This is the spa I went to.....

View from inside massage cabana.....

Sunset from patio last night........

Aruba May 27th

Well.....sorry New England friends, but it was another warm sunny day here in Aruba! My morning adventure was to find the Alta Vista chapel so I know exactly how to get there in the dark because I want to take sunrise pictures. Like a dope I got so lost. Good thing is you can only get so lost on the small island of Aruba. Eventually I found it and know exactly how to get there now! Going to do this next week...anyone want to go? I have a couple of people going. Kathy Mackenzie....maybe you wanna go?

Today was the members party and Elvis rocked the house once again!

It was another beautiful sunset and took some sunset pics of friends.

Dinner was nicks homemade pasta and meatballs with our 2 good friends....Maryann and Elvis!

Tues going for a nice massage.....yay!

A view from our room....

A couple of night shots of the resort.........

We are awaiting the arrival of our week 22 friends....the hut is warmed up and the beers are cold! See you all soon......

Aruba May 26th

The day started with coffee on the veranda and taking in the Aruba air and the views. Ahhhhhhh!

After a quick breakfast headed to the supermarket. We checked out the new "Super Foods"...Although 

It was nice and clean and new, I still prefer Ling and Sons! Picked up foods and the required liquids for the week. Back to the resort, unload the goods, load up the cooler and onto the beach! Lots of hugs and hellos from our Aruba friends we have not seen in a year welcoming us back!

The day consisted of meeting up with friends, beach, sun, drinks.....yup....I am finally on vacation!

We went to a new restaurant for dinner called Zuzuroh. Italian/Greek fare. Very good. They have been in business close to a year. They are down the road on right near the "Screaming Eagle Restaurant".

This is a definite redo.

That's it for today......last night's sunset.....

Oh....and here is the semi clown car we have.....it is the "Great Wail".....

May 25th - The Day Is Finally Here!

6:30am pickup...in airport by 7:05.....through checking and security in no time and on to Johhny Rockets for breakfast!
Now at the gate. Plane is here....just waiting......
Hopefully luggage and cooler makes it on plane. We unknowingly checked in at the domestic counter but the guy said no worries...would walk it all over there...I sure hope so!

Aruba 2013

Sun 5/19 - 6 more wake ups until Aruba 2013! Sill so much planning to do. This will be my blog for communicating the adventures of Aruba 2013!