Thursday – Our alarm went off at 9am and I think we snoozed until about 9:45. I finally convinced Em to get up first and take a shower while I snoozed a little more. After getting ready and applying sun-block (30 minutes before going in the sun) we make it down to the buffet right before they close breakfast. I had some scrambled eggs, bacon, english muffin and OJ. We discuss what we want to do for the day and get a drink at the bar. We walk around and we take a few more pictures. She wanted to book a massage for Sunday on the beach for her and our friend (who will be arriving on Saturday). It turns out they only offer 50 minute massages because the Spa closes early and they take a 2 hour lunch. We hold off on booking that and go to the concierge. We ask them to make reservations for El Gauchos for Friday night and they are more than happy to do so. We also book reservations for the Palm grill for that night. We head off to the beach and that is where we spend most of the day. I usually hate the water at beaches mainly because my huge childish fear of stepping on a crap while in the water. I am told there are no crabs in Aruba (Which was a blatant lie that I somehow believed). The water was awesome. I floated around on a raft for a while and Em happily read on the beach. After about a half hour of napping I find the tide has drifted me away from our spot on the beach. I casually paddle back to the spot on the beach but realize I am getting nowhere. I finally suck it up, paddle ashore and walk to our spot on the beach. I get bored at the beach quickly and Em would sleep on the beach if they let her. I convince her to go get some lunch. I wanted to walk over to the Tam and she wanted to go to the buffet about 30 steps away. She always wins so I just sucked it up and went to the buffet again. After lunch we started to go back to the beach but heard and announcement for BINGO. We sat around and played BINGO for a while. It was pretty fun and the bingo caller kept it interesting. All the winners were given a t-shirt and a bottle of wine or champagne. There was a group of about 5 older people under one of the tent things by the pool. They ended up winning 3 of the games. I tried to tell Emily it was rigged but she told me to be quiet. We went back to the beach for a while and then did the t-shirt cutting activity. I hated it but she liked it so I sucked it up and helped her. The t-shit came out pretty good and I’m sure I’ll be able to pawn it off as a souvenir to someone. Before dinner we decided to sign up for the Divi Wi-Fi. We got the 4 day package for $35. We liked the idea of being able to use it from our room. I was able to check emails from school and work and she was able to do a little bit of work to lighten her load when we came back from vacation. It turned out to not be worth the money. Most of the time we could not connect to the network. We could connect everything was VERY slow. The few times it was moving at a decent speed it would stop and freeze up. Of the 4 days we had it we probably were able to use it a total of 2 hours. Oh well next time we will try a network card rental or something. Got to the Palm Grill about 10 minutes late for our 5:30 reservations but it was no problem because there was only one other table of people there. The card said we may be seated with another couple but we ended up being alone. I thought the idea of the restaurant and overall experience was awesome. In the center of the table there is a faint ring. Inside that ring becomes your grill. You were given a choice of 2 meats. They bring over stir-fry veggies and your meat and you cook your own dinner. They also bring over French fries, rice and sauces. I had the chicken and beef and Em had the Beef and Swordfish. After dinner we went back to the room and got ready to go out. We took a cab downtown and had no plan of what to really do. She wanted to shop but we quickly learned that all the stores close at 6:30. We ended up at Senor Frogs and got some drinks. It was pretty empty inside but the staff still did a good job of keeping it fun. We were given name tags. She was “Boss Lady” and I was “Yes Dear” They brought out inappropriate signs and put them behind unsuspecting people. Spray people with the huge carbon dioxide cans and dance on stage. During one song the staff came over and started dancing with significant others. One guy came over and asked if he could dance with Emily and I told him to be my guest and that I would pay him if he wanted me to. They danced and I took pictures. As for the restaurant part of Senor Frogs it seemed to be a little over priced. We looked at a menu but we really didn’t see anything that caught out eye especially for the prices ($14 nachos). There were no prices on drinks so when the bill came I was a little shocked to see the total of $30 for only 2 drinks. We each got one middle (“Palm”) sized drink. Oh well at least we got to take out palm trees plastic drink cups home with us (These may end up being souvenirs for my sisters.) We walk downtown a little and find ourselves at the Crystal Casino. We walk around and she sits down at a slot machine. I need to use the little boys room and once I enter I don’t want leave. The bathrooms are very nice and I feel like there should have been a guy selling me things at the sink. We lose about $20 each and head out to catch a taxi back to the Divi. We end up at the Pizza Bar before going back to the room. We each try our first Balashi. She isn’t a big beer drinker so I end up having to finish hers. I end up liking the beer. It isn’t my favorite but given the choice of Balashi, Miller Lite or Heniken, I would take Balashi any day. It seemed to have a little bit of an aftertaste but then again I’m certainly no beer connoisseur. She has a pizza and I have a sandwich and we also order another pizza to take back to the room with our drinks of the day and popcorn. We sit on the patio and try to check some emails but it didn’t work. We then head to bed with a nice first full day on the island under our belts.
More to come …
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