Here are just a few of our personal memorable moments while on the island... in no particular order....
1. Fireworks for the whole night while there on New Years Eve- fabulous show several years ago
2. Renewing vows on the beach april 08 with Rev. gibson
3. Meeting Andrea and Paul april 08
4. Teaching 2 daughters to drive in the dessert in our rented car
5. First and every sail on the Palm Pleasure
6. Feet in the water, eatting dinner at Flying Fishbone
7. Getting our certificate from the ATA for 10 yrs of visits
8. Literally finding Ling and Sons( yes, love that place)
9. Eatting at La Fondue- lot of laughs, and no food
10. Smoking a cigar at Garafolo (Sp?) yes, me after a few drinks!
I am sure Rob will add more.....
What are your memorable moments ?

Cindyo
2009 is our 12th trip.
Renewing our vows April 2008, Divi Phoenix w/ Rev. Gibson at sunset....
Next Aruba trip in

good thread

in no particular order

• meeting and keeping some wonderful friends lisa and her family, cindy/rob and kids, sherry and murray, liz-arubalover, and many more
• learning to relax and be grateful that we are fortunate enough to have seen Aruba and her people
• getting the worst ear infection in my life, going to the emergency room and having it CURED for only $49 with no waiting.
• winning enough money in the casino over the course of the 10 nights and when all was said and done having enough money to buy an additional timeshare week with winnings
• yes, iguanas do bite. one nailed my big toe.
• almost getting arrested at lacabana brc because the front desk clerk made a huge screw up. (we were there on an interval trade) front desk clerk checked us in and punched the wrong key code in during check in. we got into the unit. 3 days later security showed up telling us to get oout or we'd be arrested for SQUATTING and TRESPASSING. it took 3 hours for the wrong to be righted all because of the clerk's poor typing. we are the ones that called the police and we sat our butts down and let then all fight it out. agaiin, after 3 hrs we got an apology, a nice dinner, another apology and lots of hung heads in shame. we, were not ugly about it but we stood our ground.

the front desk clerk made a mistake typing

i could not fault him as i am the worst typist on the planet.

• hurricane ivan 1 day after the almost evicted/arrested episode and seeing for a fact that chickens and roosters do not swim. streets flooded and drowned chickens. memorable and sad.
• getting a tour of the prison from a friend that is a high ranking official (what fun and NO air conditioning)
• getting so seasick on a cruise snorkeling expedition that during the snorkel i decided to keep on swimming/snorkeling to arashi, got out and snagged a ride back to lacabana. all with the blessing of hubby and kevin. the guy in the dinghy followed me in to make sure i got in safely. gave me a towel and i was "golden". haven't been on one of those sail snorkel expeditions since. i am probably on the master list of KEEP OUT
• taking part of the "stations of the cross" at alto vista on holy thursday 2003

It's funny when you start to remember all the times you've been and think of the crazy and memorable things you've done...my list:
1. Meeting and becoming life long friends with a few of the locals.....they are
some of the best people we have ever met.
2. Being on the island for one week of solid rain.....I had to de-tox when I got
home because of all the alcohol.....nothing else to do !!!
3. Winning at the Alhambra...not like you Andrea, only enough to pay the
hotel bill at the end of the week and not have to use a credit card !!
4. Climbing Haystack.........and having a couple of the locals cheer for me
when I finally made it to the top.....huffing and puffng that is !!
5. Girls 50th........13 girls for a week celebrating lifelong friendships (we all meet in grade school).....we almost didn't make if off the island...A few of use went out on quads and one of the girls drove over a cliff on the rough side of the island as we were headed for the Natural Bridge...she spent the week in the hospital with 8 broken ribs.........had to pay with a credit card upon discharge and the whole stay was only 1200 dollars......she comes with us every year but never goes out on quads anymore....wonder why ???
.....
5. So many memories and so many more to make..........Cindyo, Thank you from the bottom of my heart.........sitting here thinking about so many wonderful times with my family and friends on the island I love so much, brings tears to your eyes.....

Aruba, my home away from home !!

I only have ONE thing for my list. And it happened on my second trip to Aruba in 2003. I will not name the restaurant for obvious (good) reasons. (I was staying at Divi Aruba Beach and I thought the food was so not to my liking that I ate dinner out at least 4 times).

Emailed resto from home to make a res for my birthday. I arrived on time for res. Pre-ordered souffle for dessert, appies, wine, dinner, more wine.....after dinner plate cleared the maitre d' comes to my table with a cupcake and a candle and everyone sang happy birthday. (Wait the story gets better!!)

Then I had my real dessert. WONDERFUL. I estimate that with a generous tip the meal would be about $120 for ME (1 person - dont do that very often).

I called the waiter over and asked for my check. I waited, and waited and called the maitre d' over to inquire about my check and he said (I'm not kidding): "Madam its been taken care of ".

I have no clue if the resto comped the meal or a generous guest did....but someone did, and that made my day (spent alone) very special).

I am going back to that resto in September. I'm pretty sure I'll have to pay for it this time!!!!

Aruba memorable moments:

The time I spent with Charlie at his place in Savaneta.

Several key nights out on the town in San Nicolaas with a group of Arucanos who let me tag along and became my fast friends.

A night my pal's girlfriend sang in Spanish at Karaoke at the Hyatt. She was so good everyone sat in silence and then applauded for about 2 minutes straight.

The day my pal Bob showed me the house and land I bought and now live in.

The day my wife said, "I think I like Aruba better than you."

The day my editor said, "I have to go to Aruba to see how much of this fiction is fact."

And many, many more.

Aruba's Novelist in Residence (sometimes)
http://www.bentpage.wordpress.com/