Aruba Trip Favorites

Well I have dragged this out way too long but decided to wind it down with a post of my favorites. My whirlpool tub in our room, the pier and our favorite resturant. I'll give it another month or so and we'll have to start looking for airfares and work on getting Drew's passport.

Speaking of Drew I'm going to have really cute pictures from Jabari's birthday party yesterday. That is Drew's BEST friend...who will be very sad when he finds out that Drew is changing schools.

One Word meme

ONE WORD ANSWERS:You can only type one word answers. Sometimes not as easy as you might think. (stolen from Burfica)
1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Your boy/girlfriend, husband/wife? driving
3. Your hair? flat
4. Mother? crazy
5. Father? sweet
6. Favorite thing? J
7. Your dream last night? gone
8. Favorite drink? water
9. Your dream car? Jag
10. The room your in? stuffy
11. Your ex? bizzare
12. Your fears? falling
13. Where do you want to be in 10 years? aruba
14. Who did you hang out with yesterday? parents
15. What your not? superficial
16. Muffins? Weight Watchers
17. One of your wish list items? vacation-home
18. Where you grew up? Hill
19. The last thing you did? potty
20. What are you wearing? green
21. Your t.v.? big
22. Your pet? sweet
23. Your computer? awesome
24. Your life? great
25. Your mood? good
26. Missing? beach
28. Your car? safe
29. Your work? good
30. Your summer? water
31. Like someone? love
32. Favorite color? red
33. When is the last time you laughed? today
34. Last time you cried? Monday
35. School? yuck

Aruba - Jeep Tour / Poker

These are some photos from our Jeep Tour. We went to where the Natural Bridge used to be as well as the gold mines, natural pool and the highest point on the Island. We took the tour w/ a couple from Canada who were very nice. We got extremely dusty and had the ride of our lives. We traveled down "roads" that weren't roads and climbed rocks that were more of boulders. Note to self: Bring tennis shoes next time..I had on flip flops.

That was the night I fell in love w/ Carribean Poker. I played twice while we were there. Once we played and I started w/ $30, played for an hour and a half and left w/ $300. Next time I played I started w/ $100, played for around 45 minutes and left w/ $200.

We are still talking about the trip and really wanting to go back...like NOW.

Don't Let It Happen Again

Aruba Break - Life Post

I know, I know. I quite posting about vacation right smack dab in the middle of it. Main thing I haven't shared is the awesome Jeep Tour (which was actually in a land rover) and my new love of Caribean Poker. I'll come back to it.

So, we get back from Aruba on a Friday night. We are in that "travel funk". Drew was over Sunday..Monday I was still not all here. Tuesday we watched American Idol and bought mom a dishwasher..then Wednesday we went to Daughtry...BOOOM while at the doctors office on Thursday I find out Uncle Ed died.... we did take Drew to Six Flags on Saturday and went to see Is It Done Yet...(cute movie). I am proud to say that I talked Drew into going on my FAVORITE ride w/ me; The Highland Fling. He was so impressed when I told him how many times in a row I went on the ride (27)...and he told me, "BB going upside down is cool".

So Sunday was the wake, Monday the funeral. Tuesday was landry at American Idol and last night was the most kick ass Billy Joel concert that I have EVER been to!! (only missed one due to a wedding since the early 1980's)

I gotta tell you, I am a bit pooped and drained. Tonight I have to go to mom's..then Friday we're going to a thing at the Science Center, Saturday is my Aunt's 80th.. I think my goal is to get my shit together for more normalalcy NEXT week.

I need to totally Spring Clean the bedroom. (not to self to get Jeremy on that). I need to unpack all of our stuff from vacation.

I need to finish posting the vacation stuff. I need to get mom's computer hooked up.

I need to throw rotten tomatos at our goofy ass Archbishop.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070426/ap_en_mu/archbishop_sheryl_crow_4

I need a massage. (I have a gift card that my sweetie gave me for my bday that I haven't used yet)

Right now, I need to get back to work!

Horses Resting Under Divi Tree - Aruba

I didn't take this picture..actually I didn't physically take many of them. I can't get the camera to work right for me...but I take credit for this because I saw the picture. I said, "J get over here and take this.." he says, "what?"...I'm like, "the horses under the tree"...OH. Anway, it is one of my favorite pictures...ever.

Aruba Tuesday - Downtown and Horseback Riding Day

Well I thought I would get back to the recap. Although now after finding out about Uncle Ed, who was only 60...it seems like a million years ago.

Elbow news: Xrays taken, not broken. It's a bone bruise that will take a month to heal, lovely.

Tuesday in Aruba we slept in...late. We decided to go downtown. Cabs tended to get expensive so we went to the bus stop, they run every 20 minutes.

We got to the bus stop and tried to get into the shade. While we were standing there a van pulls up and the window was already rolled down. This man leaned out and said, "Dollar twenty-five each, I will take you downtown". There was another man in the front seat with him. J and I shrugged out shoulders, looked at each other and figured, "Why not". We got in the van and then stopped at ever bus stop along the way and picked people up. We gave the guy a $5 and felt like we got a great deal.

We strolled the shops and I got a killer deal on a Tommy dress.

The stores were great, the dock w/ the cruise ships was awesome.

We got REALLY hot and decided to take a cab back and get something to eat. We ate inside in the air conditioning..then we had to get ready for horseback riding.

The van came around 4:30 from Racho Notorious. Yes..that was the name. They gave me a brown horse named Madonna..who happened to be the mother of Pamela Anderson. I chose to believe she was Madonna, mother of our Lord and Saviour..who is here to protect me.

We got to the Racho and it smelled like horse shit and there were big ole flys. We signed our life away and then waited. I was shooing flys when I feel this soft fur on my arms, I almost jumped. There was this beautiful but mangey looking black lab-type dog. He set his face on my knee and wagged his tail..out of the 25 or so of us there he picked me. He smelled like a barn dog and really needed a bath, but he looked at me with those eyes and I knew I had a friend. He sort of calmed me from my nerves about getting on the beast.

SO...they got to the choosing of the horse deal..NEVER been on a horse, 1-10 times, 10-20 times and a million times. There were two people that fell into the million catagory...J was in 10-20 and I was in 1-20. There were only 5 people in the NEVER catagory. I asked them to please give me an old, nice, sweet horse. That's how they picked Madonna for me. Jeremy's horse was Maverick...from TV..

We rode through cactus..across streets, past barking dogs, to the beach. I was so excited when we could get off. I almost fell on my ass, this guy was grabbing my butt helping me down and my shirt got caught on the saldal..free show. We drank water, watched the sunset..then road back. Through the catus everything was a beautiful shade of pink. It was awesome. Then back at the ranch I flashed everyone again. I survived. It was fun.

We went back, showered, watched American Idol and grabbed a bite to eat at Smokey Joes. I had the Grouper which was to die for...yummmo! We stopped in the Piano Bar again but Gidget from Hell mom from NJ was drunk and obnoxious and I wasn't in the mood. We got back to the room before midnight...took my whirlpool bath and went to sleep.

Coming next time...Off Roading to the other side of the Island...

Inturruption the Vacation Update to report a shitty day

J's Uncle Ed died yesterday. I guess while we were at the Daughtry Concert he passed away, heart attack. He was MAYBE 62.

You know how there is a person that you always look forward to seeing. Someone that makes you smile when you wave or hug hello? That was Uncle Ed.

You know the wise-ass w/ a smart alleck comment, that is totally un-PC...but you wish you thought of it first...it came out of Uncle Ed's mouth.

The guy that would say, "Hey kiddo, how you doing?" and you KNOW that he meant it. I knew that his wife and daughters meant the world to him, I had no doubt. I know he loved his brother and his family. I know that he missed his mother very much.

I know that I'm a better person for knowing him and that I'm going to miss him.
I wish that he would have been able to see his daughters marry, wish he would have been a grandfather, I wish that he would have grown old with his wife. I wish his great-nephews could have enjoyed watching a hockey game with him.

I know that Jenny and Erin treasure every moment they spent with their dad. I know that he loved helping Jenny rehab his mom's old house and he was so proud of his baby Erin and her nursing career.

I'm very happy J's mom and her sister are going to Ireland this summer. I can't belive that at 60 and 64 they both lost their husbands within 2 months of each other. I can't believe Uncle Ed is gone.

Aruba Day 5 - Parasailing Day

Monday in Aruba was a BEAUTIFUL Day! 100% sunshine and a wicked breeze. I was feeling a little down since I didn't do crap on Monday. We woke up and J went down and got me an awesome iced coffee drink. We got packed up for the beach and found a spot to sit down. We were right next to one of those tents that had everything from jet ski rentals to raft rentals. I looked at Jeremy and said, "I want to parasail today". I had never parasailed EVER before in my life. Jeremy said, "Go up to the room and get some money out of the safe, I'll sit here". So I arranged for my 15 minute $50 parasailing trip. The guy radioed for the boat, "Georgie, Georgie, come into the Marriott"....as you can see above the boat came right up to the beach. Georgie was on boat welcoming us aboard. I was not keen on the metal stairs but I made it in the boat without falling, great accomplishment for me. On board was Mom and Dad Long Island w/ their princess and two scrapper boys. Dad New Jeresey was also on board w/ two teenage girls and one boy. Georgie informs us, "Yesterday was Easter and everyone got really drunk and everyone is too hungover to work today, so Sergio will be my helper." Sergio was 10, MAYBE 11 years old. Darling little brown boy with jet black ringlets, he looked like an angel. I realized that I was putting my life in Sergio's hands.

Mom Long Island wanted OFF the boat. This was because princess, who was maybe 3 1/2 was scared to death. The boat was going fast and Sean Paul and Justin Timberlake were BLARING. Princess was screaming. We got out away from the shore and Georgie looks at Dad Long Island and says, "You Ready?"...so with the help of Sergio Dad and Scrapper (approx 5) get strapped in. They go through their safety training which I am paying attention to w/ both ears. Up they go...so this is how this works. I didn't pay much attention to them since I was enjoying the splashs of water in my face and checking out the scenery. They bring them back to the boat without incident. Princess is still crying. Georgie decides it is time to dump these folks. He radio's a boat full of people to meet us. Mid water the two boasts come together...held together by Sergio as Team Long Island walks from one boat to the other. Dad helps transport the two scrappers, then gets mom over. I hang on to Princess, who is now very calm, they should have given her to me in the first place. So off they go.

Sergio looks at me and says, "Lady, you ready?". I had my underwater camera off to New Jeresey Teen, along w/ my sunglasses. I step into the harrness, Sergio tells me, "DO NOT HANG ON TO THE METAL CLIP"..there was a little fear in his eyes, I make a mental not to NEVER touch the clip. There I am in my life jacket and clip. Sergio informs me that when I go up I should sit like a swing, he shows me as he squats, holding a pole to steady himself, "See lady, like a swing". I nod that I understand, Georgie cranks the music. New Jeresey points the camera and says, "Smile!!"..I have to get these pictures developed.

The breeze catchs the chute and I can feel an upward tug. Georgie releases the line and up I go, just like a flipping kite. Up, sidesways, down, sideways, up again...a couple times I was down so far I was sure that I was going to touch the water. OMG, I could see all the dive sites and I was up SO high...Then the up the down...I was SO done. I did the sideways arm wave, I was ready to get down. Sergio and Georgie were too busy getting the NJ Teens getting ready for their tandum ride. Hmmm, Lady high in the air white knuckeling the whole thing or two tight body teenagers in bikini's...You see where their priority was. 5 minutes later down I go, it was really a smooth ride back down and very uneventful. Sergio was there for me, "STAND LADY, DON'T SIT"...I did as he said.

Total time out on the boat was at least an hour, I guess I got my $50 worth. I can't wait to see these pictures.

I get back to Jeremy who tells me that I was SO far up and so far away from the beach he really couldn't tell when it was me up there. Then he tells me the story about when he was in Mexico and the guy's thingy broke and he flew up, then back down into a reef, they had to take him away in an ambulance. Glad J waited to tell me. I was also glad I did that on an empty stomach.

Now I'm famished, we eat a late lunch then go up for a nappypoo. Poor J forgot to put sunscreen on the bottom of his legs..burt.. I feel refreshed! J says, "Lets go for a walk and hit that bar you want to go to". Off we go. We go to the Soprano Piano Bar, Kati our bartender was from Columbia, very pretty girl. We are there before Barry begins his set, there are only a couple people in the joint. We chat about music with Kati..then Barry comes out. I wave, he asks, "Mary Pat Killmer from St Louis"...I smiled. Of course I emailed the Piano player before we went!! Barry was amazing, great selection of music and an awesome player. Somehow w/ my glow in the dark, malibu rum drinks I racked up a $80 bar bill. Damn. Thank god J's cokes were free refills.

Walk home was uneventful, I still had my whirlpool bath then crashed...what a great sleep that was.

Aruba Day 3 and 4

Day Three of our Aruba Trip was Saturday. We slept in. What a beautiful thing that was. I was 100% moved into our room. Stuff in the bathroom, closet and drawers.

We lathered on the sunscreen and headed to the beach...and we walked, and walked and walked. Then I read and read and read. I sat by the pool for a while and had a little drink w/ an umbrella..well actually it was paper fruit, but you get the picture. Saturday night we did a VERY bad thing. We went to Champions Sports Bar in the Marriott..great food. We didn't want that much so we decided to get appetizers, here is where the bad thing comes in. We ordered Sliders. For those of you from the midwest..or east coast I guess...you know what a Slider is in the US, think White Castle, Belly Bombers.
Well these puppies came on a skewer. They were little hamburgers in grilled onions w/ pickels and they were SO yummy. I ate 'em all and swished them down w/ some Pinot Grigio. WOW that was dumb.

Easter Sunday Comes.(day 4)..and I pretty much ain't goin nowhere. J's not feeling that hot either. I woke up to squeeling childer hunting Easter Eggs under the palm trees. We do manage to take another enormous walk and we check out the Hyatt's outdoor area. They had parrots, black swans, it was awesome. They had outdoor beds w/ canopy's. We saw a cute little family taking pictures of their little kids..all in their white Easter dresses...too cute. I went to the store and bought a can of tuna, mayo and triskets..that was lunch. I don't even remember dinner.

MP's Aruba Creation - Day 2

I'm doing major catch up at work today. The porn is off my computer but it was stripped bare, so now I'm trying to get it back to the way I need it to for work.

Day 2 of Aruba was a bit uneventful. I woke up, had some great french toast made by Sherrie Buffman then it was off via cab to the Marriott. Tommy the cab driver was AWESOME. We arranged for him to pick us up at 5pm to take us to the Flying Fishbone.

J and I weren't able to check in right away at the Ocean Club but we were able to check our luggage. We took a walk on the beach then got a bite for lunch. Before 3pm our room was ready for check in. We were trilled w/ our room. One bedroom, full kitchen, dining area, whirlpool tub, stand up shower and balcony.

5pm Tommy picked us up and we traveled South to almost the tip of Aruba, 15 miles from Venezula. We ate at the Flying Fishbone. Shoes off w/ our toes in the sand. Should I rephrase, my shoes off and my toes in the sand. It was pricey but the food was good. The bad thing was that they sat you so close together we felt the need to whisper. Added bonus, the Dutch family next door has a deck. Dad and son were out there smoking and drinking wine. 2 of the little ones came out to play. The baby, maybe 16 months..was nekkid..little bondie boy without a stitch of clothes, boy, the dog and a fishing pole, it was hysterical!! We headed back to the Marriott after dinner and hit the casino. This time it didn't hit back, I think we made up for the night before. Well I guess I should say Jeremy did...I lose, he wins ususally. After getting back to our room the first thing I did was fire up the old whirlpool tub...man that was aweome. I have to get myself one of those.

Slept like a baby..except for the trobbing elbow and burning knee.

See the cool collage I made???
Day three later...

Aruba Part One

Injured MP sitting at Buffman's. ....View across from Tulips...

Wedesday: I leave work early. It's an OK day and we are packed and ready to go. Temperature is dropping fast. We take a cab with a Chinese guy from Vietnam to the Days Inn at the Airport. What a HOLE!! We watch TV and I sleep while Jeremy is awake by the "party" in the next room. We make it down to the shuttle by 5am and get to the airport without incident. Of course it is around 25 degrees outside. Flight to Chicago was on a puddle jumper. When we get to Ohare we actually have to get out on to the tarmac and back up into the airport, it was even colder there. I'm in my navy velour sweatpants and a shortsleeved shirt. We get Starbucks and a muffin and wait for the Aruba flight. We're not sitting together but we're in the same row, I have my window..in the LAST row, I'm seated next to two Canadians who were very touchey feely. Jeremy was on the aisle next to two from CT..they chatted alot. I read. I had seen both movies so it was great reading time.

We land in Aruba and smoothly make it through customs, we pick up our luggage and walk outsite. BAM! The warmth of the sun hits you in an instant. We figure out we need to just grab a cab and get moving. I couldn't wait to get out of those pants and into some shorts! We have a nice cab driver, I take out my handy blue folder w/ the trip details. We give him the address for the Buffman's...smart MP has their phone number as well. We eventually make it to their place. They may has well rolled out the red carpet. They upgraded us to a 2 bed apartment/villa. We had a kitchen and bathroom as well as a couch and cabel TV. They took us to the patio and offered us a drink. First things first though, I was in shorts and flip flops right away. They offered to walk us to the beach. This was a CRAZY walk. Drivers in Aruba drive...because they can. We made it over to Eagle Beach, chit chatting along the way. The Buffman's are from Mass. They chucked it all and moved to Aruba and opened a business. NICE!!

Easter is a HUGE holiday for the Arubans. A majority of folks camp out in tents on the beaches around the Island. There was families, music, partying... We walked along the beach but we had one thing on our mind, FOOD! The Buffman's recommended Tulip. What a cute place, it was owned by a Dutch family. The kitchen didn't open for a half hour so we chit chatted and I emailed Bess to have her call mom to tell her I was OK. Mom likes to know when the planes land safe.

Dinner was excellent. Jeremy and I split a shrimp appetizer, then he got the salmon and I had tuna. The vegetable medley of sorts had South American Carrots which are now my new favorite vegetable. I had an awesome glass of Sangria too. We left there and spotted the Key Largo Casino..it was air conditioned. We didn't do very well but we had fun. We met some nice people..well everyone was nice actually..on the whole flipping Island. We left for the walk back to Buffman's. I wasn't looking forward to this. It was a bit like Frogger hopping accross the road. I was in flip flops too. We made it over to the gas station, I wanted ice cream, J needed a coke. We have our bag of goodies and navigate through the dark. Cross the street, head behind the Taxi Stand, over the parking lot, down the curb, onto the street...6 houses down on the right. Sounds easy, right? WRONG...that "down the curb" part...that really messed me up. In flip flops holding my shopping bag and nylon pack...I ROLL off the curb...thinking as I am falling..."do NOT break your ankle"...so I have ALL of my weight dispursed mainly to my right elbow..and my right knee. Jeremy turns to me and says, "What the Hell? Oh My God!"....followed by "What did you do?"..right after was "Are you OK?"....I was NOT moving...the PAIN...I tried brushing myself off and reaching out for J to help me up. If he said "Oh My God" once..he said it a million times. I had gravel stuck into the palm of my right hand w/ skin falling off...wait, lemme look..yep..there is STILL gravel in there. My knee...blood..just like when I fell off my bike..when I was a kid. My elbow..that is an entire paragraph which includes words like blood, clotted mess, bloody mess, raw, bloody raw, oozing..get the picture. The next morning I looked, there was a blood trail from the scene of the incident all the way to the door of our place. I stripped off my clothes and got into the shower. Luckily Buffman's supplied each room with a first aid kit. I actually put the alcohol pad on first followed by gauze and then wrapped and taped it. Remember the story about how seriously Aruban's take Easter? Well the next day was Good Friday...everything will be closed. Hopefully those alcohol pads will do what they are supposed to. I took 2 Tylenol PM's and passed out...knee, hand and elbow throbbing. I didn't care..I was in Aruba.
**Image from Buffman's. That is where we sat and talked, and ate breakfast. We watched Iguanas and enjoyed the company and the wonderful breeze.

Day Two coming soon.

Rainy Days and Tuesdays

Wow, nice storm.

I'm home now, Chuck E Cheese was fun...the boys played, I read Readers Digest and ate salad from the salad bar.

Dad is totally thrilled, when I get back from Aruba Dad gets to have surgery, he thinks I'm going to "get him out of it". He has to have both eyes operated on,

cataracts...see above the cute little man that doesn't even wear glasses. He's going to be VERY pissed at me when he realized I'm not going to let him get by with letting his eyes go to caca and become blind. He keeps thinking he's going to die soon anyway. Oh well, he gets a week thinking he doesn't have to do it, then he'll get my lecture when I get home.

We decided to stay near the airport tomorrow night so we can be there at 5am.

Well I better get moving, more laundry and packing to do!

Quick Tuesday Update....

Quick update.

Major storms today, high of 78...38 by the time I wake up tomorrow...this is AWESOME, why?? Because I'll be in Aruba in 2 days!!

Computer is still possessed...can't type too long or it will bomb.

Tornado touched down by my house Saturday..dad and I were at church. First one in St Louis City since 1983.

Horshack from the Sweathogs turned 58 this week. WOW.

Opening Day at the ballpark... National Anthem by REO Speedwagon. There are so many things wrong w/ that.

tick tock tick tock..80% packed, crazy I know. Get me the F on the Beach!!