My Aruba Vacation/Wedding Trip Report 06/23/07 - 06/30/07
Well let me start by saying this vacation was long overdue. The last time I had been to Aruba was September of 2004. Whao!!! Way too long.
Well we had been planning for a year and a half for the wedding. We sent out invitations and we had 24 people attend our Aruba wedding.
06/23/2007 - We left Boston at 4:30am arrived in Miami for our layover. Well as always AA over books their flights. They needed 3 people to take the later flight to Aruba and they were giving away vouchers. Well needless to say I was NOT buying that one. Just get me there NOW. Some of our group was considering and were playing Deal or No Deal with the ticket agents. Everyone was laughing at us but we didn’t care. It ended up that we all got on the flight b/c no one wanted to wait any longer to get HOME!!!
We got off the plane in Aruba and went to thru immigration and onto baggage claim. Well the carousel our bags were on was stuck. We had to wait about 45 min before we actually got our bas. We kept bouncing around to each carousel until we found them. We went across the street to rent 3 jeeps and a van. This was interesting to say the least. FINALLY we are in the jeeps and heading off to our houses we rented.
www.arubadreaming.com &
www.arashibeachvilla.com . On the way to the houses we stopped at Wendy’s and of course the grocery store. We stocked up. Everyone was getting settled so my father and I went to La Cabana and checked into our Timeshare. No one was staying there until Wednesday but we needed to check in on Saturday. Not to bad since we used that room while we were at the beach.
On Sunday we decided that we were going to hang out by the pool all day. It was wonderful to finally be Home and just relaxing. That day we had to pick up some more of our guest at the airport. My cousin and I went to the airport and picked up our friends while the rest of the group went to Eagle beach and rented Jet Ski’s. We met them at the beach and made it for Happy Hour at the beach bar. That night we the girls went to the Soprano’s piano bar and the boys went to the Casino. My parents went to the Hyatt casino. My mom hit big on a slot and gave all of us so money to play with once we met them there after. Oh yeah make sure you put your Jeep tops up at night. It POURED at night. We never heard it but we felt it in the morning.
On Monday we went to Eagle Beach for the Day at La Cabana. We met with the wedding planner and went over all the details. Everything was in place and under control. We were so excited. She did tell me to try and stay out of the sun. Yeah Right!!! We spent the day there and stayed for Happy Hour at the pool bar. That night we went to Hooters for dinner and then to the Black Hog Saloon. When we got there it was empty. My father thought it would be a good idea to rent everyone paddle boats. Not a good idea after you have been drinking. We cursed him when we all finally made it back. After that we decided it would be fun to ride the mechanical bull. My family was sooooo funny all of our stomach’s hurt from laughing. My mom told me to wait until after the wedding to ride but I didn’t listen. It was so much fun. Much better than the paddle boats.
Tues we went back to Eagle Beach to relax. Today we did parasailing and more Jet Ski rentals. More people were coming in that day so we went to pick them up while everyone stayed at the beach. By the time we got back to La Cabana it was Happy hour and needless to say EVERYONE was HAPPY!! That night we had reservations for 22 at El Gaucho. GREAT food and GREAT Atmosphere. The service was amazing. They made the night perfect.
Wed we decided we would relax at the Beach again. Today we rented a power boat, Jetski’s and rafts to Float in the water. We also had to pick-up the future in-laws at the airport. While we went to the airport some people went to the Spa at La Cabana while others went back to the house to relax by the pool. We dropped off and picked up and went home to get ready for our dinner of 24 at The Flying Fishbone. Again AMAZING food and Service and the VIEW is to die for. We had a wonderful time there. There was a sax player that came and played “Here comes the Bride” for us. It was so beautiful. We got to take some amazing pictures. That night was our LAST NIGHT OUT as singles so the girls went to the Screaming Eagle and had Champagne and strawberries while the boys went to the casino to GAMBLE. The Screaming Eagle was GREAT and since the owner’s are the same as the Flying Fishbone we received 10% off. The atmosphere was wonderful and modern. We had such a great time.
Thursday WEDDING DAY. I got up early and went to my parent’s house and left it up to my brother in Law to get my husband up and ready to be on time for our Civil Ceremony at Town Hall. The whole group met at La Cabana where there was a white Mercedes waiting to take my husband and I to Town Hall. Everyone else followed us. The ceremony was beautiful and quick We took some photos outside town hall. Once we got back to La Cabana everyone went to my parent’s house for a Cookout. I went to the Airport ONCE AGAIN to pick up my Maid of Honor and her Fiancé (They flew in from another wedding in Ireland, Talk about world Travelers). We ate some food and then back to La Cabana to get ready for the wedding. We had room 146E. AMAZING is all I can say. This room is far better than our timeshare rooms. It was so beautiful and just PERFECT to get ready. Again I left it up to my Brother in Law to get my Husband all set. From what I hear my Husband was the one being worried about being late. The wedding was on the beach with Rev. Gibbson who by the way was AMAZING. His words were kind and meaningful. The ceremony was all and more than I expected. At that moment my Husband (who had never been to Aruba) told me that he is in Love with me and this Island. That brought tears to my eyes. After the ceremony we had the reception on the pool deck at la Cabana with a steel pan band. It was perfect.
From there I was DETERMINED to RIDE THE BULL. So in my wedding dress the ENTIRE wedding went over to the black hog saloon so I could ride the bull. I got on and they took it easy for a moment until they saw how good I was doing. I stayed on for almost an entire song. It was so worth it. We danced and partied there but missed the Harley show (we really wanted to see that since we are a Harley family). From there back to La Cabana for our wedding night.
The next morning ALL of the boys Hungover and all got up nice and early to rent 4-wheelers. They were gone from 8 to 4:30 checking in periodically at the house for a dip in the pool, a bottle of water or beer and a quick bite then off again. That night we went on the KuKukanooku. Well needless to say there was 20 of us so we made our own fun on the bus. Whatever you do make sure that you get on the bus that is going to the Light house and NOT Arashi beach for the sunset toast. It is not as beautiful. I have to say the trip was not as fun as in the past but we made our own fun. We got dropped off at the Marriot to get some final Gambling in before our trip was over.
Saturday morning everyone was MISERABLE. No one wanted to leave and we were hoping the over booked the flight. NO SUCH LUCK.. However the lines at the airport were INSANE> We will never fly out on a Saturday again.
But overall the Trip was AMAZING and is already booked for 2 houses next June to celebrate our 1 year Anniversary with our Family and Friend’s again.
07-27-2007, 07:03 PM
