❤️I Left My Heart in Aruba!❤️

Another trip to Aruba, one of our favorites.  We planned to spend 2 weeks at Sunset Beach Studios Ocean #1.

We spent our time exploring, snorkeling, soaking in the hot tub and watching amazing sunsets.

JP and Eef welcomed us with open arms, and we also had the chance to get to know their son, Nick better, a really charming young man. 

The early morning snorkels with green turtles were my favorite, and Dale even joined me one morning when we saw a big eagle ray gracefully swimming along.

We enjoyed a belated anniversary dinner at Barefoot’s on the Beach at sunset, tried a new place called Marina Pirata at Mangel Halto, 

and had our traditional first night rib dinner at Smokey Joe’s …..and of course had to enjoy Zeerovers twice.  We spent a morning walking around San Nicolas to check out the murals.

As usual we enjoyed meeting folks from Holland and the United States. Dale even enjoyed fellowship with three young NYPD officers. 

As always our stay in Aruba was fun and relaxing!

Fulton Oyster Fest 2024

Headed South down to the coast for the Fulton Oyster Fest. Sun was shining, but the wind was blowing like crazy.  After arriving we found a spot to catch the parade, Americana on display….marching bands, fire trucks, politicians, and floats.  Good old small town Texas celebration!

Later we explored the Rockport Cemetery which always has a spectacular wildflower display. Beautiful setting with all the graves blanketed with wildflowers…..perfect for all the souls that rest there.

Oysters were served raw or fried….but inflation at hit and 2 raw oysters were $4!  Fried oysters were about the same price! Dale tried both oysters and shrimp!  I liked the raw with a cold beer to wash them down.

After eating we decided to enjoy the music and even got in a dance or two to some good old country music.  Little did we know a reporter and photographer for a Corpus newspaper took our picture. They found me……. got our names and hometown for the newspaper.  That was a surprise and I wondered if it would be printed.  Sure enough we were famous!  A pretty cute picture too!

 

Happy 16th Anniversary

We decided to celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary at a lovely cabin (Ruby) around Wimberley, Texas.  The cabin was comfortable and made us feel right at home.  Dinner reservations on February 14 at Trattoria Lisina at Driftwood was a great choice as usual.  Food and service was impeccable!

Lunch one day was at the Salt Lick for some good old Texas BBQ.

Pura Vida!

 

Two weeks in Costs Rica for Christmas, New Years, and my 76th birthday…..And another visit to  one of our favorites, Ay Bonita-Palm apartment at Playa Bejuco. 

   

We enjoyed sand, sun, and the salt water of the Pacific Ocean. We spent time in the pool, had long walks on the beach, went boogie boarding, and had a regular date for sunset on the beach each evening. Dinner at Don Toros was delicious as usual, one evening with a sloth above our heads in the tree. Managed to get a Monkey Kiss on the cheek on the Mangrove Monkey Tour and attempted a selfie with a Capuchin monkey.

 A new discovery was a tempting Danish bakery with cinnamon rolls to die for.  It was a pretty relaxing trip with no issues, and some interesting folks we met along the way. 

Pura Vida!

Caravan National Park Tour

 

It was time to take another Caravan Tour, so we booked  the National Park Tour out West.  Flying into Phoenix we joined the group for a week of 

natural beauty.The first day included a lunch stop in Sedona before arriving at the Grand Canyon.  

Our room was in the Thunderbird Lodge a great location only a few feet from the rim. Dinner that night was at the Arizona steakhouse with our new friends, Jeff and Bev, where we enjoyed a delicious meal. The next day we took full advantage of the park bus system to enjoy many of the trails and scenic overlooks. A giant pizza at the Maswick Lodge was our dinner stop.

Off the next morning we headed to Monument Valley Navajo Park for a jeep tour, with Henry a member of the Navajo nation behind the wheel. This valley is home to sandstone masterpieces that tower at heights of 400 to 1,000 feet, framed by clear blue skies.

Lake Powell and the Lake Powell Resort was our stop for the next two nights.  Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River. It is a huge lake surrounded by breathtaking scenery. Each morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast buffet in the Rainbow Room overlooking the lake.  The highlight of this location was a guided boat trip on the lake with views of the Glen Canyon Dam and the Navajo Canyon.  A great tour, plus we had picture perfect weather to enjoy the scenery from the top deck of our boat.

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On the road again we headed to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah home to the largest concentration of hoodoos on Earth.  Hoodoos are geological structures formed by frost weathering and stream erosion of the sedimentary rock.  There are red, orange, and white colors provide spectacular views.

Our final stop was Zion National Park in Utah with its steep Navajo sandstone red cliffs. Mother Nature

painted a gorgeous landscape with the fall foliage in full display.  We enjoyed a private tour of the park after lunch at the park lodge.  The drive into the park passes through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel.  Our bus had to drive down the middle of the narrow tunnel road to pass.  Our tour guide, took a photo of our group for us to remember our new friends in Zion.

Caravan treated us to a delicious farewell dinner at a local restaurant on our final night. 

Our tour ended in Las Vegas where we all headed back home!  The beauty of Mother Nature was on full display all week!