Tuesday, July 24, 2012

I Eventually Made it to Aruba

Yes, I arrived in Aruba a day late. And yes, there was family gossip about why I was a day late (i.e., getting action; kidnapped by Aruban pirates; just plain, old-fashioned irresponsibility). And yes, my parents were a tad bit "perturbed". But, I made it just in time for my cousin's pre-wedding boat cruise--sigh, another boat. After all of these boat rides that I've taken lately, I've come to the conclusion that I'm no longer afraid of boats...I just don't like them very much.

Boat notwithstanding, we had a great time on the cruise. Twice, the master of ceremonies asked us to give three cheers to the bride and groom: "Hip Hip HOORAY!", causing my cousin, Mike, to whisper to me, "Who's going to tell this guy that no one says 'hip hip hooray' anymore?", which of course led me to break into a rousing rendition of "For he's a jolly good fellow." After the boat ride, Mike, my sister, Stacy, and I went to this restaurant that my friends had recommended: Texas de Brazil. Who knew that they had these in the States??? I sure didn't. The closest one to Boston is in Chicago and I'm thinking of flying there just so I can eat there again. It's that delicious. It's a traditional Brazilian steakhouse...all-you-can-eat-meat, a carnivore's wet dream.

So far, I was loving Aruba. And I hadn't even been to the beach yet. I've never been a beach person. I don't like being in the sun all day. I'm not a big fan of sand. It's never really been my thing. I realized, on this vacation, that it's because I've been DOING IT WRONG MY WHOLE LIFE! You are supposed to be at the beach on a comfortable beach lounge chair, under a gigantic umbrella, with a mojito in hand. By the time I left Aruba, I loved the beach!

We did a little sightseeing: saw some ruins, went into a cave, saw a bat and ran like hell out of the cave, went to the Natural Bridge. For most of this, I stayed in the car because I was cranky and wanted to go back to the beach, but my parents and Stacy enjoyed it. Fortunately for my family, I was the sole participant in the "running out of the cave" part which gave them all a good laugh.

My cousin's wedding was on the beach at sunset and was gorgeous. Katie's stunning in sweatpants, so in her wedding dress, she looked amazing! I'm very happy for her and the new member of our family, Kevin.

It was a terrific week. We had a bit of a scare on the way home. The plane took a nasty drop. There are a bunch of things that I'm scared of...boats (maybe), spiders, vomit, failure. I've never been scared of flying. But, this drop was scary. I gasped. Others screamed. It felt like the engine stopped. And for a split second, I thought that this would be end of me and my blog. (Yes, I was worried about not being able to continue my blog.)Luckily, it was just a very very big air pocket. And although there was a bit of turbulence on the way home, there were no more drops like that. I'm sure you, as readers, are all very grateful!

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