you arrive home and unpack. you do that horrid laundry. you continue to smile for at least the first load then reality sets in. but wait! you have this thought that makes you smile. it is the thing that keeps you going until your next trip.

every year you replay this scene. so play it here for us to use in our dreams.

what is that one thought from this trip that keeps you going?

My favorite moments are dining outside, in the warm air with a delicious meal and a good martini. It can be on the beach or not - Moombas (ok, not delicious), Passion, Flying Fishbone, Gasparito, even Bingoes. I love the peace (or maybe some live music), the atmosphere, the good company and friendly waiters to chat with. This year it was Gasparito that makes me want to return. Wonderfully quiet outside, excellent service and food!

I am sorry I cant include MJ's, as it was very loud this year with yelling kids!

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my last trip was quite a few months ago so maybe i will just tell you my very favorite moment out of all trips.

our younger daughter, candace, came with us on the first few trips to aruba and then got busy with college and skipped a few years. on about our 6th visit to aruba she joined us. we were walking into the airport right after landing, since this was in the days before you walked right off of the plane and onto the ramp leading into the airport, and she looks at me and says 'mom, stop embarrassing me!'. i didn't have a clue what she was talking about. so she explained that the grin on my face and the perky hello to everyone was totally embarrassing. she said she had never seen me act like this and i should please stop. i realized that what she meant was that wonderful feeling we return visitors get when we land in aruba. i felt alive and at peace. the world was perfect. i turned to her and said, 'candy, give yourself a few days and see if you are still embarrassed.'

about 48 hours later, we are walking around shopping and i look at her. she is grinning ear to ear and nodding at other people. they are smiling back at her. she doesn't even realize it. she has no clue that she has caught the fever. i said to her 'uhm, candy, you're embarrassing me'. she looked at me with this weird look and then grinned.

that is my most precious moment in aruba. i remember that every time i try to explain aruba to others.

Great story!

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Carol

Is it okay to say I know, but I can't tell!! lol

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no, if you can't tell the truth fake it.

Well, were waiting.. (Ted Knight voice)

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Do you have trouble making up your mind? Well, yes or no?

I just can't tell ya... but, I do do a lot of smiling when I come home, and replay it in my mind. AND it keeps me going until my next trip! End of story!!!

Next.....

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When I hear the dulcet tones of "it's your turn to get the coffee", I know I'm in Aruba. And when I remember to open the sliding glass door to avoid the inevitable glass to face collision I know I didnt do the electric slide the night before.
Life is good on that first day, for most of the people that I may know..or may get to know soon..we all have stories to tell. And most of us with vacation stories on our mind still unwritten. And as I open the glass door, wind blowing, messing up my hair that I worked SO hard on for 30 seconds, I will realize. It just doesn't matter...
Hi rise- low rise we all experience it. That first day is the best. Doesn't matter what you do. You know you have the rest of your vacation ahead of you. And when you wake up on that first morning you think..
I'm in Aruba.. Where else would I rather be.

nowhere.

keith

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Do you have trouble making up your mind? Well, yes or no?

I know I'm on vacation when we sit down to dinner Friday nite about
2 hours after we have arrived. We ALWAYS go to Pelicans nest to have
grilled Mahi-Mahi, several Amstel Brites and watch the sun set for the
first time. I look across the table at my lovely wife Barb and my handsome
son Brad and know I've done it right. Life is good when you visit Aruba.

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ARUBA....One Happy Island

Later,
millertime

It use to be the smells of the island and the feeling of the warm air when we exited the airplane. Now with the new airport I have to wait until we exit the arrivals area.

On my first visit I had been under a lot a stress which is why I think my uncle invited me to go. When we arrived at our resort the room wasn't ready I changed into my bathing suit and slid into the hot tub. All the stress of the previous few months disappeared and I felt at home.

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Aruba for me

The feeling I hold onto is sitting at the light waiting to pull out from the airport. The vacation really hasn't begun until the jeep's off the airport property and heading west, that giddy anticipation is a feeling that is completely unforgettable. Each visit, that wonderful left turn is the start of a new adventure!

Right now, I'm smiling and dreaming...

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It all really hits when our plane makes the turn and you can finally see Aruba. As we are descending the sites become clearer, the lighthouse, the high rise area, the pink Royal Plaza Mall, the marina. Ahhh, I can see it so clearly in my head. Can't wait to see it again, in a couple of days.

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Carol

For us, there is no one memory. Every day is almost the same, with the exception of where we eat dinner. We enjoy coffee in bed, grease up (sun screen application), go to the beach, shower, off to dinner. This year, I took alot more pictures and had fun using the self timer. I have a great shot of my honey and me watching the sun set. I keep that picture as the desktop on my computer. It helps remind me every day of why I work so hard, and why I look forward to vacation time.

Bobbie

The thoughts I have all year long before returning for our two weeks in Aruba:

When my 20 year old daughter drives me crazy: My thought: In Aruba we had fun and our talks on the beach and how she actually laughs with me, listens and takes my advise instead of rolling her eyes as she walks away.

When my husband and I kiss quickly before he and I leave for work or off to a meeting: My thought: I long for those long never ending embraces we share so often in Aruba.

Best of all when all things seem to weigh me down: and the meeting is bad, the balance sheet actually does not balance: My thought: my feet in the sand with my wonderful husband and daughter. As soon as we land it is like we are three diffrent people, that the armour comes off and we have time to be a family again, and not have to limit our time together due to proir commentments

Aruba is my piece of mind when my mind is going to pieces.......

Well said, Karen! I feel the same!

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This is the one that does it for me, too. That first glimpse out of the airplane window always gives me a rush.

Actually, I can tell when the plane starts to descend and I know we're less than half an hour from being on the ground. I start to get stupid at that point. The camera comes out and I start hogging the window in anticipation of that first glimpse.

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Once in a while you can get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

For me it's the clear aqua blue water that is so mesmorizing. I could stay there forever, it's just so calming to the soul. There's absolutely nothing like it, except for the feeling that you get on the plane when you first see it. I have to wait 9 months til my next trip but I can dream until then -it will get me through our miserably cold winter here in the Northeast.

When I wait at the luggage belt at AUA airport and can't wait to see & hug the man of my dreams who is waiting for me on the other side ... to spend another beautiful time together

I Do The Exact Same Thing Every Time And I'll Probably Always Be That Way.

I Must Be Half Asleep This Morning; When The Plane Begins To Decend A Plaster My Face To The Window And Pretty Much Don't Budge Until We Land

Awwww.... I like that!

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We just got back yesterday and the thing that makes me smile and instantly relax is that moment that I first come out of the airport's sliding doors and go from the air-conditioned airport to the soul-warming sun of Aruba. I am sure you all know what I am talking about, it's a warmth that goes right through you to your bones, not like the sun in any other place. The sun can heat you up, but the Aruban sun warms you and welcomes you...

Hi all. My first post here. I am the other half of Mzade (or more precisely, she is my other half). And as she so eloquently pointed out, every time we leave Aruba for the last 7 years, it has rained on our day of departure. She said "Aruba sheds a tear when we leave".

What Always gives me my best memories of Aruba is laying on Eagle Beach under a palapa with a beer or drink in my hand My walkman playing some Good music and feeling totally relaxed .That memory I never forget no matter hows many times I go to aruba. Or what else I do there Just the Peace and tranquility of the beach.

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Born to raise Hell and enjoy every minute of it. Hawklords

My anticipation starts weeks before....and then my anxiety starts the moment we get on the plane (I hate to fly). I worry about the leaving the kids, but know they are fine in my mother's care.

When we exit the airport and that humidity just hits me in the face, hubby and I stand there and look up at the sun and say "ahhhhh". I don't feel fully relaxed, however, until that next morning when we wake up and get on the beach. That's when I know I'm in paradise. From then on, I make a mental note of every minute of our time spent there, and know how blessed we are to be able to afford such a luxury.

I may have told this story before but it is worth repeating.

We're here now and have been coming to Aruba at this time of year every year since 1988.
So we were here only about 10 days after 9/11/01.

The warmth and concern of the Aruban people was genuine and deep. Many people expressed their sorrow about the World Trade Center.

We went to El Gaucho's for dinner. Our friend/traveling companion was wearing an American flag pin in his lapel. One of the server ladies saw the pin and said it was so beautiful. She was so sorry for what happened to our country. My friend took the pin off and handed it to her. With tears streaming down her face, the server said a sincere thanks....she would treasure it forever.

This is still the same kind of people we encounter today. The people of Aruba are its biggest asset. It is a pleasure to be here every year.

Beautiful, JohnJT -- made me shed a tear....

That's exactly how I feel.
Bobbie

It is hard to select a moment or an experience that captures the feeling of being in Aruba. I do remember two specific memories. During my first visit to Aruba six years ago, someone recommended El Gaucho. My wife and I were given general directions how to walk there from the Rennaissance formerly the Sonesta. It was after sunset and we walked down the dark streets in the local neighborhood, not knowing much about the Aruban people my wife was a bit nervous. I was not sure if we were heading in the right direction and we stopped to turn back. Out of a dark alley a voice coem out. "Where are you going?" This man approached us and I told him we were looking for El Gaucho. He said let me show you as he walked us down a short block to point us in the right direction. We thnaks him and he sadi "Welcome to Aruba". In another island in another place I would have been apprehensive about walking with this man. From that moment on I knew we would always be "Welcomed in Aruba".

My second memory is from last year. I finally had my three grown sons able to take the same vacation and join us in Aruba. For months prior to the trip, I called each of them to talk about the trip, and my plans for the week. After a while they each told me enough already about Aruba. I reluctantly cut back on my commentary. On the third day in Aruba, laying on the beach with a Balashi in our hands..my middle son...the grouchy one...said "Pops...I know why you love this place so much." They all had a great time and are lobbying to return.

This year my two brothers will join us and I think I will have a few more Arubaholics to deal with. One month and three weeks to go.

Sundown.

Our first trip to Aruba in 1986 was the most memorable. I had never been on a plane before so the anxiety was high. As we took off to Aruba (our friends said you have to go there) from Boston Logan Airport I looked out the window and was so excited. My excitement turned to fear as the captain said"Ladies and gentleman I have bad news, we just lost an engine. Not too worry though we will turn around (we were in New York) when this happened and wait for another plane. WHAT!!!!
Our plane finally landed in Aruba 10 p.M instead of noon. Back then the airport was so small and you walked down the plane and onther the tarmack. I remember the smell of the island. As we got to our hotel,Divi, we went right to the BAR and as I looked at the ocean in the dark I forgot all about my experience on that plane/. BUT the next morning was the best part as we walked out onto our patio and saw all the palm trees and birds I KNEW I WA IN PARADISE>

THE ABRUAHOLIC
linny
6 MORE WEEKS TIL PARADISE!!

My most memoorable moment in Aruba happened last year on my 4th trip to Aruba. I awoke earlyAM to secure our hut for the day.I'm not a usual a early riser but Paradise moved me. Actually it was 4:30AM(and yes other crazy ones were also awake). As I walked around the pool in the semi darkness I though for a moment about my saftey. Foreign country alone ,a women? I crossed the steet with no problem of traffic. The most wonderful feeling came over me when I streched out under a lounge and looked up @ the sky and stars above, blue water , gentle waves, and a warm breeze. Of course I watched the sun come up right on my lounge. Now tell me where else but Aruba could this happen? We can not wait till Mar 28 to arrive back in Paradise.

Perfect or not, here is a moment: November 2004. Half an hour before dawn and I had been up all night. I drove to the Southeast end of the island, bleary eyed and on the verge of burning out. I parked on the side of the road. There before me like a wide-screen movie on the window was the anchor. It sat to the right with the darkened beach sprawling to the left. At the edge of the horizon stars faded into the morning. Then came the colors, one by one, until the technicolor dream was fully realized. I couldn't help but think of the great friends I'd met on this island, especially Charlie, who had died only that September. Dawn, like the sunset, doesn't last long, and before I knew it there was nothing but blue sky over crashing surf. Life isn't so short as it is precious. Don't waste a minute.

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Novelist, Pilot
http://www.bentpage.wordpress.com/

That's very beautiful SanNic44, and I agree. The only thing that will last is the memory. Thanks for sharing.

21 years here and i agree. things started changing and progress caught up with aruba in the early 90's. i would love to have seen what you were fortunate enough to see but feel blessed that i got there before it all changed so much. i still love aruba but even in my 21 years it has changed in too many ways.

Yeah, our first trip (oh to go back to that time - sigh) was in 1976, and when we returned in the mid-80s there were already such dramatic changes. But now? I mean, over the years I have truly tried to embrace the fact that some change was inevitable. But it's almost overwhelming now. I will always love my Aruba, but hope the powers that be come to their senses soon. I can't bring myself to say Florida and Aruba in the same sentence, glorified or otherwise.

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My first trip to Aruba was in 2007 to celebrate my 40th birthday and my 12th year cancer-free. Ironically we were planning on going to Mexico and had selected a trip that seemed in our price range. When we went to book the trip the following day it was sold out. My husband saw something about Aruba with a package to stay at the Westin so we booked that as our second option. It is hard for me to say that Aruba was second choice now having fallen madly in love with Aruba.

My love affair with Aruba began the first day I went to the beach. I selected a chair/hut and walked to the water. There is some sort of force that draws me to that water like a magnet. I could feel positive healing energy all around me and I knew this was a place I needed to visit over and over. I have returned to Aruba twice since then and I can't get enough of it. The first visit was 8 days, second visit was 12 days and the last visit was 14 days and I still didn't want to leave. We recently were gifted our first timeshare and I am so glad to have a reason to visit every year. Aruba is in my soul.

I know exactly what you mean - Aruba's in my soul too.

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While I somewhat agree...Aruba is still heaven on earth...