Wow, what can I say about Aruba. Technically it is a desert island that is about 12 miles off the coast of Venezuela. For a desert island, Marriott really has done a good job with the landscaping to make you think you are in a beautiful tropical island getaway. The resort had 2 beautiful pools and a lazy river all landscaped to look like lava rock. The beach there was amazing as well, I have never seen such soft sand before in my life!
We decided since we had a 2 bedroom villa that we would ask if anyone wanted to join us, and Mom, Dad, David and my nephew decided to accept our offer. It was really a lot of fun to get to see everyone having such a great time, and we were glad to be able to share it with them.
Shane and I even took advantage of some decent diving rates and got 5 dives in while we were away. You will see the picture of us underwater on this page as well. One of the divers that was with us was taking all kinds of photos and was kind enough to take one of us. He tried to get me to take my regulator out of my mouth and smile, but at 70 ft, I was too nervous to try that!
One of the most interesting aspects of the resort was the fact that there were iguanas everywhere and they are protected by law on the island. My nephew from 5 ft away had lassoed one with his lazy river wrist band. Once we realized this, David and I tried to wrestle it up with no luck. After about 30 mins of chasing it all over the pool area, a little girl walked up to it and just took the band off its neck. Unbelievable. I don't know which was more amazing, the little girl or my nephew getting it around its neck to start with!
All in all we had a wonderful time, but the next time, and there will definitely be a next time, we want to make it a longer stay, at least 2 weeks. We had felt like we had just gotten there when we had to pack up and leave.
On our last evening in Aruba, we decided to try a restaurant called Simply Fish at the Marriott Resort. It was on the beach, so we got to watch the surf while we waited for our meals.
Shane and I in our scuba gear- Hey- No jokes about my hair- I was 70 ft below the water!
To the left is a photo of Shane and Me in front of the resort and below is a pic of us at Wacky Wahoo's for dinner. The name may sound funny, but the food is fantastic!
To the left is a photo of us at our favorite bar, and to the right is a funny photo Mom took. She couldn't figure out why all her pics we coming out fuzzy. She didn't realize her camera lens could get condensation, but we thought it made for some cool photos!
These are photos of Shane and David when they went exploring around the island- you should hear the stories they came back with!
These are some of the friends (iguanas) we met on our trip!
Mom when she arrived, sans baggage unfortunately, so she is wearing my clothes. Think she was happy to be out of the airport?
While we were walking back from diving we noticed the Hilton hotel. They have a beautiful pond area with a couple of black swans along with some massive goldfish. It also had gorgeous landscaping so Mom and I took advantage.
Shane showing my nephew a hermit crab that he found in the surf
Pics of us either at dinner or getting ready to go to dinner
When we were in Aruba we discovered how much the resorts want to charge for drinks, so while we were walking back from diving our first day, we found this great little bar that had a great deal- 2 drinks for $7.50, the key was you had to get 2 of the same drink! Boy did we frequent that place as often as we could! The hard part was agreeing on the drink! Here are some pics of us enjoying ourselves at "Happy Hour"
Even the birds were taking advantage of happy hour!
<-------- I think we tuckered him out
While Shane and I were getting ready to go diving, my nephew came in and wanted to try on Shane's fins. What a kick! In order to get them back, we had to promise him a snorkeling set when he gets older!
This one just looks like he is up to no good
I thought he looked too cute in this one
Take a guess who's drink was who's?
