Aruba!

So we left for our honeymoon the Monday after the wedding and went to Aruba.  We were originally thinking Barbados, but it was so difficult to fly in and out of from the airport closest to Lake George.  Also, summer is hurricane season in the Caribbean, but Aruba lies just outside that area so we wouldn't have to worry about a hurricane blowing up on us.  The fact that we could skip all-inclusive and get some culture in Aruba, while also being able to drink water from the tap also aided in our decision to choose Aruba instead.

The view that greeted us from our balcony

We landed in Aruba in the afternoon so we had enough time to kind of wander around the hotel and the beach area to check it out before heading to dinner.  We found a tapas place for a pretty good first dinner.  After we finished eating we walked through the rest of the shops and restaurants to scout out where the rest of our meals would come from.

We spent the first two full days in Aruba just laying out by the water.  It was so nice to finally not have anything to do, that I wasn't in a rush to do much exploring.  We did learn pretty quickly that it's windy in Aruba.  Not sure if that's the case all the time, but I had read that there could be some pop up weather due to it being hurricane season in most of the Caribbean, so maybe the wind was a product of that.

The first day we chose to lay on the beach, and that wasn't the best idea we've ever had.  Every time a wind gust picked up we would just get railed with sand which hurt like a bitch.  We learned our lesson and spent the rest of the time claiming chairs by the pool where the hotel blocked some of the wind, there was no sand, and the ocean was still next to us when we needed to cool down.

The only other thing I noticed and thought was a little strange was the complete lack of waves, even with the wind.  Seriously, waves were just non-existent.  The water was definitely a little colder than I was expecting considering we were almost in South America while in Aruba, but not cold enough to keep me out.  In fact, it felt nice to hop into the water while the sun was beating down on us all day.

See?  No waves.

 On Thursday Mike and I decided to take a trip out to De Palm Island for an all-inclusive 8 hour all you can eat, drink, and snorkel trip.  We hopped on the bus, took the ferry, and spent all morning and afternoon laying on the beach on the island and snorkeling.  I had only been snorkeling once in Mexico, and it was horrible, so I was really looking forward to seeing what Aruba had to offer.  It was amazing.  Mike and I were in the water three different times for at least half an hour each time.  The place even offered food you could buy for the fish.  We didn't buy any, but enough people did that we got to experience the swarm of fish suddenly surrounding us.

Hellos!

Loved our underwater camera

There was also a small water park on the island so we spent some time hanging out there.  I'm not a big water slide person, so I just sat in the shallow end catching some sun while staying cool while Mike did work alongside the rest of the 8 year old kids there, haha!  We also found a ping pong table going unused, and went to town.  I'd never really played before, and Mike is a master at the game, so we were just playing for fun.....until I realized that I was pretty good for a first timer.  I'm pretty dead set on buying a ping pong table for our place now.

At the water park

Friday we decided to explore the downtown area of Aruba.  We hopped in a cab which dropped us off and grabbed lunch at a place he suggested.  That was where we discovered papaya hot sauce.  I've got to admit, I'm not a big fan of spicy things, but holy cow is this stuff good.  Mike hightailed it to a grocery store to buy a bottle to bring home immediately.  We picked up a couple of souvenirs before heading back to the hotel.

Saturday was our last day so we spent that sitting by the pool and hanging out in the ocean enjoying our last day of zero responsibility.  By Sunday afternoon we were on a plane headed back to NY with a 17 hour drive from there to St. Louis looming ahead of us.  As much fun as the honeymoon was (and relaxing), it was good to be back in the states, and especially to see Bauer again!  He however was much less excited to see us.  While Mike got some attention he literally refused to come see me the entire night after we got back.  Guess he was kind of pissed, haha.  By the next day he was back to giving me hugs and cuddling up after getting over his anger at being ditched, even if he got to spend the entire week with his best friend Nash.

I would definitely recommend Aruba, and not going all-inclusive (um, liquor is so cheap at Duty Free there!) so you can experience everything the island has to offer.  As long as you can tolerate the wind unlike one woman we heard saying she would never go back.  Here's some more pictures from the honeymoon.....

There were lizards all over the place down there. I think they're so cute!

In downtown

So sad that places like this need Pizza Huts to please tourists - Branch out people!

Not terribly afraid of people

Saw these guys all over the rocky areas

Sunset from the balcony