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Aruba since 1979
Moderator
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 1,211
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Apr 23 - May 3 2008 Lacabana Brc
Greetings and salutations.
(in as brief format as i can do)
10 nights in Aruba
WONDERFUL VACATION
Restaurants/dining/pigging out
Promenade, every night is appetizer night now and we enjoyed dinner there on Friday the 25th. ($68 + $13 tip) no liquor, just iced tea and the appetizer night specials.
Tulip, ate here 2x. 1st time Paul had mixed grill and I had chicken sate'........both had mixed salads, iced teas. ($45 + $7 tip) 2nd time was chicken parm special and we both loved it, cesar salads (sae price as first visit..or thereabouts)
Buccaneer, we each had pirates delight, (shrimp, grouper and tenderloin) iced tea, side salads.....$55 with service charge included.
We left a few extra dollars for our waiter not to share.
PamPam, had dinner with friends. Service could have been better. Food delicious, 3 lasagnasa and joanne had a beef dish. Price was excellent including tip was $35 per couple we all drank diet sodas.
King Ribs, got 2 large take out rib/chicken combos and had enough to last for 2 nights! $24.
Madame Janette, Our anniversary dinner! (24th) We ate very differently at MJs this visit. We usually have the old reliable/regular me=grouper, paul=lamb. This time I had chicken ceasar salad and paul had a hugh steak. Job and Chris sent over champagne for an anniversary toast and it was a very very nice dinner indeed! ( $60 including tip)
Weather
Was "odd" on 24th, 25th, and 1/2 day 26th. Mostly cloudy at the Eagle Beach section. Few spits of rain drops. Of course I did not wear sunblock and FRIED fro the invisible rays of the hidden sun.
I know better and I was foolish to blow off the applications of sunblock.
26th - May 3rd..............SUN and nice breezes.
Some sandblasting on the beach with the gusts of wind.
Sadness
Our friend and chiropractor Joe Evans of Watertown, MA died on Apr 25. We got the call on the 28th and it made for some reflection/remembrance/sadness. His memorial service was today and I am really glad that we got home in time to be there!
Casinos
Since this was our pre-retirement vacation, there was little "discretionary money" to be thrown away. We did play for an hour slots here and there (key largo 1x, marriott 1x and alhambra 1x) and only dropped in what we could afford to lose 
Alcohol and other high calorie drinks
I got my daily fruit "fix" from my homemade sangrias.
(awesome recipe)
1 bottle merlot
2 cups cranapple juice
2 cups brandy
1 can fruit cocktail
1 apple chopped
Mix and enjoy.
In fact, if you need a morning "pick me up" and orange juice does not quite cut it, have a swig of the sangria  .
and
We bought 2 1.75 litre bottles of baileys at duty free @ JFK
and guess what?
we drank them.
See, when we do not go out gambling we drink way too much.
OMG i sound like a lush and i really am not.................well maybe for the last 10 days i was.
Car Rental
Rented a Toyota Yaris from TROPIC.
Excellent vehicle for our needs
Clean
Well cared for car
Not a pig on gas
Great custoer service fro Hans Dhooge owner/manager of Tropic.
FAIR, VERY FAIR PRICES!!!!
Bulletin Board Get togethersWe were to have gone over to the Amsterdam Manor on the 28th to meet Amy, but prior to us leaving we got the call of Joe's passing and did not feel much like socializing. I hope that Amy is not miffed that we did not show. I did leave word at AM for her.
Meet and Greet
Paul and I had the pleasure of meeting Cindy and Rob O and their very lovely teen daughters! Cindy and Rob are exactly in person as they are on this forum................kind, well spoken, personable and just plain NICE. It was an honor to have met them and, like meeting Lisa, and Sherry years ago...................we all greeted with HUGS. We are a community, a family.
and......
Brings me to Bill and Jean.
Again, more nice folks. Have had a tough time. Jean's dad died last week.
Their son is in Iraq. Jean's mom in a nursing home with multiple illnesses.
They needed this vacation and when i met up with Jean, her face was full of kindness, but her eyes showed exhaustion. Again, a lovely lady and she and Bill had planned on 10 days of total r and r. They needed the break...the escape!
It was a pleasure and an honor to have finally met my community friends.
FLIGHTS
AA ran out of coffee on the way to Aruba AND i had a seat kicker behind me.
Flight from JFK to Boston last night was interesting.
We were #54 in the line for takeoff. Yes, 54. The line of planes was looooooooooooong. Took us 1 hr to get to be #1.
Did i skip something?
Oh ya, the job action there ended without fanfare.
The folks in Aruba do not call it a strike.
Water Park is about 70% complete.
Rogers @ Alhambra (handshaking genie) is ill and needs everyones prayers.
Gas is less than $5 a gallon 
Milk @ Lings is 1/2 gallon $4
Cinnabon and Carvel at Lacabana closes nightly at 9pm. 
(both are very overpriced)
If you are an owner at the villas (behind lacabana) i would not be holding my breath waiting for renovations. It is a SLOOOOOW project. The casino there is gutted and we saw NO work being done at all any of the times we mosied on over there.
The folks that are selling the timeshares back there are making promises and pledges that i cannot imagine them being able to fulfill.
LACABANA BRC renovations have BEGUN!
1st and 2nd floors facing chapel 119 B - 111 A and 2nd floor seem to be emptied and real work begins Monday.
off to bed!
andrea
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