Day 2 - Sunday - First Full Day in Aruba

Day two in Aruba started off pretty amazing! I got up and had a great breakfast at the hotel and then went down to wait for the water taxi to take me to the private island. Here is the cool little stop under the hotel where you wait for the taxi…

 And here I am on the boat with the other people headed over to the private island.  This island is free and included when you stay at the Renaissance Aruba. 

 Here is the first person I met when I got off the boat.  They really do have flamingos on what they call flamingo island. I feel bad for the flamingos because people just chase them around and want to get selfie's all day.  They really are beautiful creatures!  

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 Here is me in my spot for the morning. I found a great spot off by myself to leave peacefully and a hammock.  Hammocks here in Aruba are great because there's always a breeze and your hammock just gently sways you to sleep!  

Here is my awesome spot!!!   

Here is another picture of the flamingos… See the people constantly following them around. I guess they are well cared for though. 

Flamingo island also has iguanas… Cute and big iguanas  everywhere!   

One more... 

The second half of my day I had the Afternoon Delight cruise booked with DePalm Tours.   The tour company picked me up on this big bus to take me to the pier to get on the catamaran.    

Here is the boat that we took for the catamaran tour. It was me and about 30 other people… Everybody was really fun! 

  Here is me taking a selfie while I snorkeled! It was so much fun there were so many fish! I have a video later to take you snorkling with me!     

Here is a picture I took of the boat while I was snorkeling next to it.

Click  HERE  if you want to snorkel with me!!! 

 After snorkeling we all got back on the bus to ride back to our hotel. On the way we saw this… Someone had way too much to drink and swerved off the road. They missed a bunch of bushes but they hit a fire hydrant. It's a really bad day for somebody but thank goodness no pedestrian was hit!

I got back to my room, showered and headed out for dinner. One of the guys that drove the bus today recommended this restaurant so I thought I would try it out.  He actually recommended the pizza and the pasta… So I started with the pizza tonight. I got the meat lovers and it was phenomenal. I ate half and  brought half back to my room for dinner tomorrow night! If you're in the area you should  check out Casa Tua!!

 On the walk back from the restaurant to my hotel I saw this beautiful lite Christmas tree. Even though  there's no snow it's still Christmas here in Aruba! 

I got back to my room after dinner and they left me chocolate!  Could the night get any better?

Here is a close-up… Yum chocolate! And to answer my last question; yes, the night got better… Look why… 

 Here's why! I decided since I won last night I would take $20 and play in my same slot machine. I put my 20 bucks in and lost. Once I got to my last $2.50 I won! As you see I won and I cashed out! I'm running while I'm ahead again! 

  Well guys… It's off to bed now but I promise to bring you along on the adventures tomorrow! Tomorrow is an early breakfast and then off to the private island to my hammock - hopefully! Fingers crossed it will be empty. I'm going to spend the morning there and then go swap out my rental cars in the afternoon. I had two free days with national that I needed to use so tomorrow I will switch to Hertz.  Hopefully they will give me a car that I don't have to worry if it's going to run or not. I also plan on making a complaint to National because the car they gave me was ridiculously crappy! 

 No excursions or tours planned for tomorrow. Just a nice day of chill and relax! 

 I really really hope you guys are having an amazing week as well.  

 Everyone ready for Christmas? Ever won at the casino? Ever won the lottery? 

Friday Favorites / Five on Friday

Hi ya'll!!! Welcome to my blog! I am so happy to write this post today!!

Here it is...Friday again!

Yippee!!! 

Friday this week means that I am off work for the rest of the year!!! What?!?!? Yup!!! You read that right...the rest of the year!!! Wowsa - I am so thankful for this MUCH NEEDED break! I will not return to work until after the new year! Yippee me!

I am starting out my off time right by heading to Aruba for a long awaited vacation with MYSELF!!! Yes, you read that right too! Myself! I will be traveling alone and I am sooo happy about it! I take a family vacation every year and that is always awesome and I took a Hawaii vacation this year with my Mom and that was awesome! But now, I am truly looking forward to having no one to answer to except me!! I get to do whatever I want, whenever I want!! SO EXCITING!!! Then I will return home and spend Christmas eve and day with my family!

If you are a robber and are reading this and thinking..."yippee"...don't try it! Or, I guess you could it just wont end well for you! HA!

I have a cat sitter/house sitter, I live in a secured condo building on the second floor and I have cameras! So, try it! LOL! Also, I have the worlds best neighbors and I am sure they will stop you if if the cats, cat sitter or cameras don't. Just one of the bonuses of owning a condo I suppose!

So, onto my five this week!!!

Here are my five top things I will be doing in Aruba next week...

I have booked this half day Jeep Safari tour. The tour company website says "Ideal for those who want to discover the wild side of the island without spending a full day on tour. Be your own driver in a 4X4 Jeep that will show you some of the most beautiful sights on the island. Fantastic guides will keep you entertained all the way in this off-road adventure."

Next I booked this Beach Hopping / Snorkling Tour.  The company website says A new snorkeling adventure with an  open air bus. Visiting the hidden secret Mangel Halto for a snorkeling stop, afterwards moving towards the famous Baby Beach for another snorkeling stop.

Then I booked this Snorkel Adventure with a different company. The website says See Aruba from a new perspective, aboard the spacious Palm Pleasure, a 70-foot-long and 40-foot-wide catamaran. You'll get treated to 3 snorkel stops, open bar, lunch and beautiful views.

Another thing I cannot wait to do is attend this Aruba Fashion Week!! It just happens to be there during my stay so I am planning to definitely check it out!!

And lastly, I will do more of this next activity than anything else!! I am planning to RUN to my favorite local beach and run to set myself up at my favorite little pagoda!!! Fingers crossed - it is still there and waiting for my arrival...Arashi Beach here I come!!! Oh how I have missed you Aruba!

I promise to blog about the adventures as much as possible so that it will almost be like you are there with me! Happy Holidays to you all! I am so very grateful for each and every one of you that takes time out of your day to read my blog and show interest in my life! Hugs to you all!!!!

I will also spend my time on the beaches reading your blogs so please keep posting I need all the reading material I can get!!!!

I missed you all and videos were duds?!?!?!?

Happy Tuesday morning everyone!!!

I hope everyone is doing well this week. I know I am now!!!

I got home late Sunday night and had to be in work on Monday morning to run a workshop at 7am!  So last night, I went home after work and went directly to bed and slept until 8 this am!

I feel amazing and recharged and happy! I had such a great week in Hawaii visiting my friend and spending time with her BF and my mother and her friend!

But...in the end...it is always nice to get home! I really missed my babies and I think they missed me too!!! I have been getting lots of loving and snuggles since I returned!!

I went back this morning to look over my posts from last week and realized that none of my videos worked! WHAT!?!?!?! That was the best part! I wanted to make sure you guys felt like you were along for the ride!!!

So, I just went back through and added the videos for all the events...

Also, I will add them here in order so if you don't feel like going back through the old posts...you can watch them all now!! How's that?!?!?

I hope you all enjoy the video recaps and I am so happy to be home!!!! I will now be catching up on all the blog posts I missed along the way also!!!  Maholo (thanks) for following me! Hugs to you all and you really are so important to me!




Backcountry adventures in Kauai - tubing 1 from ann wolfe on Vimeo.


Backcountry adventures tubing in Kauai from ann wolfe on Vimeo.


Backcountry adventures in Kauai-tubing 2 from ann wolfe on Vimeo.


Tunnel of trees Kauai from ann wolfe on Vimeo.


Kauai Heritage Trail hike from ann wolfe on Vimeo.


Captain Andy’s Napali Cruise and Snorkel from ann wolfe on Vimeo.


Captain Andy’s Napali Cruise and Snorkel 2 from ann wolfe on Vimeo.


Captain Andy’s Napali Cruise and Snorkel from ann wolfe on Vimeo.


Spouting Horn -Kauai Hawaii from ann wolfe on Vimeo.


Sunset off Kauai from ann wolfe on Vimeo.


Zip line #1 from ann wolfe on Vimeo.


Zipline #2 from ann wolfe on Vimeo.