Aruba - One Happy Island

We're back! Alan and I had a great time on the island of Aruba. As the slogan goes, it is "one happy island!" I actually could have stayed away another day or two (I thought I would miss the kids too much. Nahhhh. Next time we'll stay a little longer).
We did absolutely nothing but lay under our little cabana and eat at really fun (outdoor, of course) restaurants. I read 2 novels while we were there (okay, so I actually laid on the beach and read all day). In the evenings we would walk a couple blocks and spend the last part of the day at the shopping/entertainment/dining areas at Palm Beach. On the last full day we were there we did go on a jeep expedition tour of the island. It was rough, dirty, wild, and a blast! There was 1 tour guide and 3 land-rovers, so our driver was "one of us." Aruba is a desert island. The resorts have palm trees and lush vegetation, but the rest of the island is cacti and dirt. We drove on some rugged terrain, bouncing all over the place. We were filthy dirty, but it was so much fun. We learned quite a bit of history about the island, saw a few interesting monuments (see slide show), and ended the tour snorkeling in a natural pool. It was very relaxing, which is exactly what we were looking for.
People have asked us how we decided to vacation in Aruba. My answer... "The Beach Boys!" When we decided to take a 10 year anniversary trip, we searched the internet and looked at all the islands in the song...you know... "Aruba, Jamaica, (ooh, I wanna take ya) Bermuda, Bahama, (come on pretty mamma),Key Largo, Montego," etc. After going through the song a couple times, and looking at all those places, we settled on Aruba. My kids even sing along to it now. I suppose every time I hear that song now, I'll think back to our trip. And a big thanks to Alan's Mom and Dad for watching the kids for us. Every day since we've been home, Charis asks us when we're going back to Grandpa Gene and Grandma Lou Lou's house. They had a fun "vacation" too.