This years winter vacation started about 1am on Saturday January 22. It would be the first exchange of my timeshare and also the first trip with my childhood friend/neighbor Ellie. After my wake up call from my cousin Kathy, I decided to call Ellie to make sure she was still awake (she pulled an all-nighter with visiting family...none of that for me...I need my beauty rest!). Not being so alert when dialing I asked "Ellie" if she was up and packed....I was rather surprised to learn the person on the other end was awake, wasn't packed, and was definitely NOT Ellie! OOPS! I apologized profusely and explained myself, the older woman on the other end was very sweet and assured me that I did not wake her up and told me to "be safe and have a great time". How embarrassing! My regular shuttle driver Eric arrived promptly at 2am and loaded all of our bags into the car, quite frankly I'm surprised he didn't need to
bring a van. Everyone knows I do not pack lightly and am prepared for nearly every situation that may even inconceivably arise! Ellie didn't pack quite as much, but realistically I had enough crap for 2 people in just my luggage! The American Airlines terminal is definitely NOT as nice as Delta's. But at 4am, I really just wanted to get on the plane so I could sleep! Ellie too! When I awoke from nap #1 I was surprised to see that we were still in Detroit, they had to replace a burnt out lightbulb. Despite the nearby crying baby we both did get some quality zzz's in before arriving in Miami.
Miami was dreary and rainy and I was just really hoping that all of my luggage would meet me in Aruba. Fortunately, I've never been more than a mile from my luggage...but the fear is always there! So, I always am looking out to see if I can spot my bright yellow tape I place on those big black cases I know the handlers are crabbing about, hey I'm entitled to 50 pounds...I make sure I get my money's worth!
After a nap, and the movie "Eat,
Pray, Love" (which was pretty good from what I could hear, earphones still don't cut the noise from a jet engine), I just peered out the window for the rest of the flight while Ellie slept. I'm really not sure which islands we flew over...but they looked nice!
In the past I never remember
seeing the blackness of outer space like this...no, I do NOT want to be a tourist in space...too scary!
We arrived in Aruba about 3pm, and
it
was HOT! All of the bags arrived promptly, customs cleared and we were on our way to Caribbean Palm Village (CPV). The grounds were quite nice and loud, tropical music seemed to be coming from the pool area! Actually there were 2 pool areas and 2 hot tubs. A nice restaurant, activity center. I really couldn't complain at all! It
was a 1 bedroom unit with 2 baths and ample space for all our stuff! A really nice patio on the balcony with table and chairs, a large living room/dining room and decent kitchen too!
About 6pm we decided to take a
1/2 mile walk to the grocery store to fill up our fridge and make some dinner on our return. Ellie had the brilliant idea of taking the 2 rolling duffel bags! Smart, very smart! So off we walked only to find out it was a Chinese grocery store. We really didn't know what a lot of the stuff was, but we did see some familiar items and picked those up. It was well after 7 by the time we were on our way back...and VERY dark. No streetlights! No need to fear...Kriste's here...as I pulled out my tiny maglight flashlight to lead the way as we avoided most of the holes in the sidewalk and the many curbs! We made it back to the resort without incident but the whole place was pitch black and absolute silence! I thought it was rather odd that even the pool area was dark and not lit! I'm certainly glad I didn't fall in with the groceries! And I was REALLY glad I had my little flashlight! Ellie suggested perhaps everyone was in town for the nightlife or were all old geezers in bed already! I was beginning to wonder what kind of place I had booked us in! Well, I figured we'd just cook our dinner and be mind full of those who didn't want to be disturbed. After lugging the food up the stairs, we were met by a fellow guest who then informed us that the power was out on the island..."its usually only out for a few hours" she said. My first thought was for the melting ice cream (and other perishables) and then I felt relief (that would explain the dark streets), but then wondered "how often does this happen?". So, we quickly put the food in the fridge and we made sandwiches after I retrieved my big flashlight from my nightstand (Ellie had laughed at me earlier when I unpacked it). She wasn't laughing anymore! I told you I'm always prepared! So, 8pm in Aruba with full bellies, I provided the after dinner entertainment by doing shadow puppets on the wall.
That got old pretty quick and we
decided to sit on the patio and try to play cards by moonlight, flashlight and the light from a candle that we eventually found. By 10pm, power had been restored and the pool area was once again lit and the ice cream (and other food) would make it to see another day!
bring a van. Everyone knows I do not pack lightly and am prepared for nearly every situation that may even inconceivably arise! Ellie didn't pack quite as much, but realistically I had enough crap for 2 people in just my luggage! The American Airlines terminal is definitely NOT as nice as Delta's. But at 4am, I really just wanted to get on the plane so I could sleep! Ellie too! When I awoke from nap #1 I was surprised to see that we were still in Detroit, they had to replace a burnt out lightbulb. Despite the nearby crying baby we both did get some quality zzz's in before arriving in Miami. 
Miami was dreary and rainy and I was just really hoping that all of my luggage would meet me in Aruba. Fortunately, I've never been more than a mile from my luggage...but the fear is always there! So, I always am looking out to see if I can spot my bright yellow tape I place on those big black cases I know the handlers are crabbing about, hey I'm entitled to 50 pounds...I make sure I get my money's worth! After a nap, and the movie "Eat, 
Pray, Love" (which was pretty good from what I could hear, earphones still don't cut the noise from a jet engine), I just peered out the window for the rest of the flight while Ellie slept. I'm really not sure which islands we flew over...but they looked nice! In the past I never remember 
seeing the blackness of outer space like this...no, I do NOT want to be a tourist in space...too scary! We arrived in Aruba about 3pm, and it
was HOT! All of the bags arrived promptly, customs cleared and we were on our way to Caribbean Palm Village (CPV). The grounds were quite nice and loud, tropical music seemed to be coming from the pool area! Actually there were 2 pool areas and 2 hot tubs. A nice restaurant, activity center. I really couldn't complain at all! It 
was a 1 bedroom unit with 2 baths and ample space for all our stuff! A really nice patio on the balcony with table and chairs, a large living room/dining room and decent kitchen too! About 6pm we decided to take a 
1/2 mile walk to the grocery store to fill up our fridge and make some dinner on our return. Ellie had the brilliant idea of taking the 2 rolling duffel bags! Smart, very smart! So off we walked only to find out it was a Chinese grocery store. We really didn't know what a lot of the stuff was, but we did see some familiar items and picked those up. It was well after 7 by the time we were on our way back...and VERY dark. No streetlights! No need to fear...Kriste's here...as I pulled out my tiny maglight flashlight to lead the way as we avoided most of the holes in the sidewalk and the many curbs! We made it back to the resort without incident but the whole place was pitch black and absolute silence! I thought it was rather odd that even the pool area was dark and not lit! I'm certainly glad I didn't fall in with the groceries! And I was REALLY glad I had my little flashlight! Ellie suggested perhaps everyone was in town for the nightlife or were all old geezers in bed already! I was beginning to wonder what kind of place I had booked us in! Well, I figured we'd just cook our dinner and be mind full of those who didn't want to be disturbed. After lugging the food up the stairs, we were met by a fellow guest who then informed us that the power was out on the island..."its usually only out for a few hours" she said. My first thought was for the melting ice cream (and other perishables) and then I felt relief (that would explain the dark streets), but then wondered "how often does this happen?". So, we quickly put the food in the fridge and we made sandwiches after I retrieved my big flashlight from my nightstand (Ellie had laughed at me earlier when I unpacked it). She wasn't laughing anymore! I told you I'm always prepared! So, 8pm in Aruba with full bellies, I provided the after dinner entertainment by doing shadow puppets on the wall. 
That got old pretty quick and we 
Sorry folks, I know I talk in run-on sentances, but each time I try to put spaces between the photo's and the paragraphs..it gets gobbled up! Perhaps, its been too long since my last post!
ReplyDelete