ARUBA

If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times, we are so thankful to be partnered with CFA.  Last year, we discovered that we won this trip to Aruba, and we were a bit shocked and very excited.  Because we didn't plan every detail (as I usually do), it sort of snuck up on us, and last Sunday found us winging our way to the island, ready for relaxation but not really sure what all awaited us.



We arrived at the Ritz Carlton, dazzled by the beauty of our surroundings and the hospitality that both the Ritz and CFA put into our welcome.






I'll just stop right here and say that even though John and I are working towards less stress in our life, the difference between vacation and our norm is very stark.  There was a certain amount of detox required when we arrived to be able to transition, and this included getting a few last work things done and me breaking down crying. (#cutthedramacarol ) Once we worked through that, we were much more able to enjoy our time, and we were only an hour late to our first event. 😳😜

(of course I went straight from crying to a sunset photo session.  my eyes match my dress...)

We had very little on our schedule and a gorgeous view at every turn.  Our first couple of days were spent on the beach, with a little time away from the beach to get a massage or to wander into the hospitality lounge where CFA had a continual supply of drinks and snacks at the ready.  Ahhh, vacation life.

(this pic is just the cold drinks side of the buffet of fun treats for us!)

I read two full books from my phone's Kindle app while John had his always-present-on-vacations, tiny book, Team of Rivals.

We enjoyed watching the iguanas that were everywhere and seeing the trails their tails left behind in the sand.  John also got close enough to get bitten by an iguana, but he does seem to have survived the flesh wound. 😜





As always, eating out was one of our favorite activities, and Aruba had a lot to offer as far as restaurants go.  The first night, we ate at Barefoot where we took in the sunset with delicious and unique food.

We also asked several of the staff members of the Ritz where their favorite place to eat was, and we constantly heard "Zeerovers." So, we paid an exorbitant taxi fee to get to the other side of the tiny island, but it ended up being all worth it for the experience.  Zeerovers serves whatever fish was caught that day, shrimp and a few sides, all fried up fresh for you after you choose.  They pull it out of a cooler and weigh it for you, and then the throw it into the oil right next to the sea.

We loved taking it all in, as it clearly was full of locals and a smattering of other tourists like us, who had found their way there.  We got to see another gorgeous sunset, and as we were finishing up, a boat pulled up to unload more fresh fish, which was a sight to behold.

In other spare pockets of time. we walked through downtown to take in what seemed to be the regular island fare, but it's always nice to see someplace new, and Aruba was truly a beautiful, though extremely windy, place to visit.



I'll do another vacation post with pics from our excursions! Thanks to CFA for such an amazing trip.