Sail Tranquilo Aruba

We sailed aboard the 43 foot sailboat, Tranquilo in September. They offer a couple of different types of sailing excursions. We chose to do a 6 hour Lunch/Day Sail/Snorkel Tour. Unfortunately we awoke that morning to pouring rain. In 14 trips to Aruba we had never seen it rain so hard for so long. Dh phoned Captain Anthony on his cell and we were still "on". By the time we made it to our pick up spot at the De Palm Pier on Palm Beach, the rain had stopped and you could see the sun was making an effort.

Overall the day ended up overcast with some drizzle and a shower. Luckily the showers were while we were snorkeling so did not make any difference whatsoever. We had a two hour sail back to Palm Beach and the skies cleared and the sun came out in all it's glory. Almost made up for the weather the rest of the day. All in all, given the weather, snorkeling was a better way to pass the day than sitting under a palapa in the showers on the beach.

Radisson Aruba Accommodations

Our room was 1717 and below was our view-- Just gorgeous!

I have a layout of the resort at Radisson Aruba Resort Property Map

Will Not Leave From Home Without It

We will never travel again without it. Tide To Go Instant Stain Remover.

Dh took the one he and dd used in Aruba and took it to school to keep in his desk. I already plan on purchasing at least 2 more for our December cruise.

Passing Our Days in Aruba

Friday we we on the beach by about 4 pm. Hit the pool before coming back to the room for showers before heading to Gasparito's for dinner.

Elvina was so surprised, but of course happy about C. She had an inkling something was up since we were not there last year. I was asleep by 9:30 pm. C. was also tired and on overload. When the island first appeared from the plane and she saw the pretty blue water she was just speechless. She is still overwhelmed. But everyday she gets a little better.

The Easy Way to Awaken At 4 am?

The morning of the Aruba trip has arrived. What is the quickest way to awaken someone at 4 am besides someone telling you that your house is on fire??? All they need to do is say,

"Wake up, I cannot find our daughter's passport".

Where Did All The Flags Go?

Where did all the flags go?
Did I miss something on the news?
Is the war over?
Did we win or lose?
Wait a minute this can't be right
Four Marines killed in Iraq last night

Another Brave New World In Travel

IMHO, brace yourselves because all indications are that new security measures may be around for awhile. Supposedly the terrorists have found a "secret weapon" and until Homeland Security finds a device which they feel does the job of detecting explosive liquids, we are going to pretty much have to live with this lousy situation. Ingredients for a Bomb Are Not Hard to Find.

It Is Work Learning How to Swim

This past Christmas, once again, my grandmother treated our family to a Caribbean cruise. One of our stops was in Grand Cayman. Unfortunately it was not very enjoyable. Here we go with that whole not knowing how to swim, insisting on wanting to be in the water thing. We had booked an excursion to the popular, tourist destination Sting Ray City. It was a nightmare.

What do you need to know for Aruba?

Are there any necessary skills involved in vacationing in paradise? You need to know how to swim. C. never had the opportunity to learn how to swim.

Last year however, she wanted to go to summer camp, yet another experience she had never had. Summer Science Camp was a big hit with her. No time for swim lessons.

She had never even seen the ocean until she came to us in 2004. Since then, the past two summer, a few times in Florida, C. has swum in the ocean.

IS Aruba REALLY Safe?

Let's do a quick comparison of Aruba and the British Virgin Islands, the richest island in the Caribbean. Do I have a beef with the British Virgin Islands? Absolutely not, we had a wonderful day there in 2004 and look forward to another one the end of this year.

Why the BVI'S then? The British Virgin Island's with one of the highest GDP'S per capita in the world of $38,500 ranks #12 in the world. The United States Ranks #9.

Where to Begin?

People have asked us why dh and I did not go to Aruba last year. Very interesting story actually. In the late part of 2003 we decided that we would like to become parents through adoption.

We already had a few "irons in the fire" so to speak, when we last visited Aruba in June 2004. Domestic adoption is much less expensive than International adoptions, but nonetheless, enough red tape enough to go around the world.