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Divi Phoenix...10/18 - 11/03...2014
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explorer21
Aruba Lover


Joined: 20 Apr 2009
Posts: 71
Location: Hershey, PA

PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 6:51 am    Post subject: Divi Phoenix...10/18 - 11/03...2014 Reply with quote

Hello everybody from our beautiful Happy Island. I'm trying to not be so repetitive from my last two years so I'll just post a link from last year if you want to know anything about me and my crew.

http://www.aruba-travelguide.com/bulletinboard/viewtopic.php?t=12044&highlight=

Sorry, I wasn't able to get this started on time, but I'll try to keep daily reports coming now. Our flights on Saturday from Harrisburg to Charlotte and Charlotte to Aruba were both smooth and on time. Arrived in airport about 1:30. After reading some posts I was expecting some long lines at Immigration but much to my delight they had about 8 lines open with no more than 3 deep. The longest wait was for our luggage. I heard from some friends that got in at 2:30 the lines were back down the escalators. I heard a bunch of flights came in at the same time. Met one of Hans guys from Tropic for our car(brand new with 1000 mi. on it) and off we went to Mulligans for our yearly first meal in Aruba. Such a good place for lunch. Got to the Phoenix, checked in right away and headed straight to the penthouse. Love walking in the door of our home away from home. Settled in, walked down to see our friends we've made over the years, then headed out for groceries. Went to both Ling's and Super Foods since what one lacks the other one has. Just snacked on leftovers and junk food that night and went to bed early after a long day.
Woke up early Sunday morning from the excitement to get my real vacation started. Lay on the beach and soak up the sun. It was a very nice day with a good bit of clouds but nice breeze and enough sun for the first day on the beach. Wife and I walked up the beach to Bugaloe for lunch. She had a hot dog and I got the chicken wrap. Both good but that may be one place I would go to just for their hot dogs. Enjoyed catching up with friends on the beach and absorbing the scenery. We try to mix in new eating places with our old favorites each year. We've eaten breakfast at Carambola but never dinner so we put that on the list this year. Very nice place, warm and welcoming, with good service. SIL had snapper(very good), BIL had onion soup and salad(I'll explain late), DW had Shrimp tempura(6 very large, very good shrimp), and I had a fantastic cheese stuffed chicken breast. We walked out of there very pleased with our meals and will definitely go back.
Woke up Monday morning with the sound of rain on the tin roof outside our bedroom window. Not the sound I want to wake up to. Not happy about that but VERY excited to get my first dutch pancake at Linda's. The meal I was most looking forward to since last November. They did not disappoint. Walnuts, bananas, mango, and whipped cream. Headed back to the room hoping the sun would reappear but could tell that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. We have to take at least a day to go downtown to shop so this was a good as any while it was ugly out. Got a lot of that out of the way, now I'm sure it will be sunny the next two weeks to stay on the beach. We've gone the last couple years to J H Yees for some Asian food. Once again, they were very good and will go back again next year. SIL had sushi, BIL had Veg stir fry, DW had some kind of fried noodles with beef and shrimp stuff on it, and I had Mongolian Beef. Another very satisfying dinner. Walked around a few of the shops there and back to the room. Hopefully, up early and bask in the sun all day tomorrow.
Sorry to be so vague since I had to catch up on my report. I did this real late last night. I promise more detail in upcoming posts.
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~Amy~®
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Joined: 12 Jul 2002
Posts: 1348
Location: Minneapolis, MN

PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 7:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi! Love your daily reports....even though you make me hungry with all of the restaurant talk. Laughing

Happy to hear that you didn't keep Linda's waiting either. Yum!

I am thinking you have had your rain and now it will be sunny going forward! Cool

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~Amy~®

Playa del Carmen, MX - March 2017
34th trip to Aruba - May 2017
Munich, Salzburg, Prague - June/July 2017
35th trip to Aruba: New Years Eve 2017/2018
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dutchdushi
Aruba Fanatic


Joined: 11 Oct 2009
Posts: 132
Location: the Netherlands

PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 3:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Love, love your report. Please keep them coming the next 2 weeks.
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explorer21
Aruba Lover


Joined: 20 Apr 2009
Posts: 71
Location: Hershey, PA

PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 10:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tues 10/21...Woke up this morning at 7:00 and had intentions of taking a long walk up the sidewalk to the Ritz but worked on getting caught up on these reports. When I have a day off at home, I sleep in till at least 9:00. I guess it's the excitement of getting my day started here. Got to the beach about 9:30 ready to work on a golden Aruba tan. What a good day for that! We had a good mix of sun and clouds with a brisk wind. A little more than the typical breeze but still very nice. I knew it didn't disappoint when I felt the shower hit me tonight. I know there are better days ahead but if I get 12 more of these days I would be very happy. My wife and SIL were hungry for another hot dog from Bugaloe Bar so went there for lunch about 2:00. They both had very good dogs while I had a burger. I asked the waitress if I could get bacon on it. No problem. Well...it looked like I ordered a BLT on top of my burger. Had to be at least 6 pieces of bacon on a hand patty burger. What a great, simple lunch. Off the beach for reservations at 7:00 for Waka Waka. Last year, I couldn't say enough good things about the place, but what a 180 for me this year. The service was painfully slow and inattentive. The meals were mixed. SIL got the grouper which like last year was very tasty. Her coconut shrimp was also good. BIL had stir fry veggies that he didn't care for. DW had the mixed grill with BBQ ribs and chicken. She loved the sauce although there wasn't much of it(waiter never checked back with us to get more), and wasn't a very nice piece of chicken. I started with a Caesar salad that was so fishy I couldn't eat it. Next came what was supposed to be a Filet Mignon but was possibly the worst excuse for a filet I've ever had. I didn't send it back because it took an over an hour to get our food. SIL and I ended with a brownie with ice cream. Strange taste that I couldn't explain. How do you mess up a brownie? Table beside us had 5 brownie desserts and none were finished. Total time for dinner..2 hours at a place that has about 10 tables. I won't take this off our list yet. Very disappointed! I'll give it another try but it won't be for a year or two. We went up and did a little shopping around the Paseo Herencia Mall then "home" to watch the World Series. What a difference this year from last year. I can still feel the excitement from watching my Red Sox last year at this time but not in the cards this year. Boring game tonight along with a bad dining experience. What can perk up my night? Yes!!! Linda's tomorrow for my crepe. That's all I could think of since I left the restaurant. Well, I hope everyone has as good a morning as I will. Goodnight!
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~Amy~®
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Joined: 12 Jul 2002
Posts: 1348
Location: Minneapolis, MN

PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 8:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You are probably at Linda's enjoying a crepe as I'm writing this.... Wink

I tend to get up earlier in Aruba, too. I'm not a morning person at all but once I discovered early morning beach walks along Eagle Beach with barely a sole in sight...I was hooked!

I LOVE going to the Bugaloe in the afternoon for lunch and a few cold ones. It is no surprise now that it's where we ran into you last year. Cool

Enjoy the crepe....and the Aruban sun today!

_________________
~Amy~®

Playa del Carmen, MX - March 2017
34th trip to Aruba - May 2017
Munich, Salzburg, Prague - June/July 2017
35th trip to Aruba: New Years Eve 2017/2018
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explorer21
Aruba Lover


Joined: 20 Apr 2009
Posts: 71
Location: Hershey, PA

PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 10:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wed 10/22...Woke up at 5:50 and forced myself back to sleep till 7:00. I guess I was a little excited to get my day started. Got to Linda's about 8:30 and Nina had our usual drinks on the way to our table. I got my regular bananas, walnuts, whipped cream, and added strawberries. DW got her boring plain and SIL changed up a little and got bananas, walnuts, and honey. All were perfect! We were talking this morning how much more business they have now. I'm sure Linda would be proud of what her son has done. I really think that social media has really helped it to take off. Make a great product and word will get around quickly these days. Now on to the day. The weather was absolutely perfect! Bright sunshine with sparse clouds and just the right amount of breeze. What a great day at the beach. Had to waste a 1/2 of my afternoon to attend our owners meeting. No...I am not interested in buying another week at your sale price that only lasts this week. Had reservations at Azzurro for 7:30 with a couple of my inlaws friends who surprised them by flying to Aruba on a whim. This was a first time place for us. We've been hearing good things about it and were glad we went. My DW had gnocchi with vodka sauce(nice portion and very good), SIL had their grouper special(very good), BIL had pasta with red sauce, I had veal parmesan with alfredo sauce(also very good). Very happy with the whole evening and hopefully found our go to Italian restaurant on the island. Ended it with some gelato from Gelatisimo and headed home to catch the end of baseball game. Don't have a thing planned for tomorrow so will plant myself on the beach. Of course, since it's not my breakfast day I will hit someplace for lunch. I want to do lunch at West Deck one of these days but may not want to pull myself away from the beach. Goodnight!
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explorer21
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Joined: 20 Apr 2009
Posts: 71
Location: Hershey, PA

PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 10:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thurs 10/23...What a beautiful sunny day! Just enough clouds to give you a break from the sun beating me up with plenty of wind. Woke up at 6:00 thinking that was it for the day but fell back to sleep till 8:00. Ate a couple of cookies since this wasn't my "Lindas" day. I just planned on a total beach day and that's what it was. Started off with a nice walk up the beach to check out the Ritz. I love the walk because it's so peaceful in the morning. Not much change from last year. On the way back I couldn't pass up a breakfast sandwich at Scott Brats. They are so hot and fresh. Got on the beach at 9:30 and baked till about 2:00 then went for some lunch at our restaurant, Pure Beach. Wife and I split a grouper sandwich(just ok) and fries. Back to the beach where my our friends came down from the Radisson to sit for awhile. Left the beach at 6 to drive up to the lighthouse and catch a sunset for the first time. Beautiful sunset but I like the view from our balcony better. Reservations at 8:00 at Madame Janette. They never disappoint us. DW loves their wedge salad and coconut shrimp, SIL had a mahi special(delicious), BIL salad(yea), I had an old dish that isn't on the menu anymore. I emailed ahead and asked if they could still make the Schwarzenegger schnitzel. They were very happy to make it for me and out came a plate that looked like a volcano. It's a plate full of schnitzel with some kind of sauce then a mound of some kind of noodles topped of with 2 fried eggs. Ridiculous right? If you don't hear from me anymore I'm probably in the heart care unit. Delicious but I really could only eat half of it. Didn't even have room for the brownie and cracker jack ice cream. We're going again next week so I will definitely save room for dessert. I am still stuffed while writing this. You're probably wondering why I haven't mentioned Linda's for tomorrow morning. Our friends lined up a boat trip for the morning so I had to push it back a day. I feel like I'm letting my stomach down. Everyone have a great Friday. Man, this week flew by. Goodnight!
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~Amy~®
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Joined: 12 Jul 2002
Posts: 1348
Location: Minneapolis, MN

PostPosted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 8:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sounds like you're having a great time....beach, sun, food, friends....perfect!

Have fun on your boat trip this morning! Cool

_________________
~Amy~®

Playa del Carmen, MX - March 2017
34th trip to Aruba - May 2017
Munich, Salzburg, Prague - June/July 2017
35th trip to Aruba: New Years Eve 2017/2018
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explorer21
Aruba Lover


Joined: 20 Apr 2009
Posts: 71
Location: Hershey, PA

PostPosted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 10:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fri 10/24...WOW...I don't know how it could be any nicer than today. We met our friends at the pier by the Surf Club and hopped on the Black Pearl. He didn't want to be around others on the boat so he just booked it for the 6 of us. I wish I had that kind of $$$!!! What a nice excursion and fun morning. Got to see a lot of fish but not a whole lot of color. I compare it to snorkeling in the Caymans and really shouldn't. What I was really impressed with was the amount of starfish. It was like a starfish city. They served tomato and cheese sandwiches and grilled gouda cheese sandwiches. First I had a gouda cheese sandwich and boy were they good! Got back to our beach about 1:30 and spent the rest of the day there. Did I say how beautiful it was here today? Caught another beautiful sunset and headed out to Daniels Steakhouse for dinner. This place is climbing fast on our list of favorites. Two of us had fantastic steaks, two had fantastic surf and turf, SIL had a great mixed seafood platter, and BIL had a wonderful spinach salad with pepper as his dressing and a dry baked potato(yum). Went for some Gelato and said goodbye to our friends since they leave tomorrow morning.
So, in case some of you were wondering about my BIL from last year who I named Perdue because of eating mostly chicken and broccoli. Well since last year he has become a vegan(cheats a little bit by eating a bite of dark chocolate but for the most part he drinks vegan protein shakes and eats a ton of spinach salads. Because of that his name has officially been changed to Popeye. Sorry to keep everyone in the dark about him. I'm sure you were concerned. Also, while I finally remembered it, they really did a nice job on the new RIU. I don't know what the did to the inside of the old Westin but sure made the outside beautiful, especially along the walkway. Beautiful pool and swim up bar. Quite a difference! Ok, I hope everyone has a nice weekend and your countdown to Aruba is a short one. I feel very fortunate to be here because I love this island. The only negative is the 10 pounds I will put on over the 16 days I'm here because I have no self control over all these GREAT restaurants. See you all at Linda's in the morning! Goodnight!
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explorer21
Aruba Lover


Joined: 20 Apr 2009
Posts: 71
Location: Hershey, PA

PostPosted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 11:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sat 10/25...Woke up again at 7 to another beautiful morning. Walked down to the beach for a little while. It's so peaceful on Sat morning since a lot of people leave. Went to Linda's for my walnuts, bananas, whipped cream, and added apples and almonds. DW had another plain but may have her talked in to some walnuts next time, and SIL her usual double walnuts, brie, and honey. Of course, all were delicious. Spent the rest of the day working on the tan with another gorgeous day. Boy are we getting spoiled with the weather. Had reservations at Yemanja for 8:00. We haven't eaten there since our first year in our timeshare(2009). Didn't get seated till 8:20 and didn't get our order in till 8:45. We were very patient since it was obvious they were understaffed. My wife had a house salad and scallops(good, nothing great), SIL started with tuna tartar(fantastic) and sea bass(she can't stop talking how great her meal was), Popeye started with onion soup with no cheese(best soup he ever had) and salad with no dressing(great to him), and I had potato truffle soup(very good) and grilled 1/2 chicken(lot of meat with very good seasoning). We were more than satisfied with our food but the service was so slow. We ended up leaving there at 10:30. Decided to chalk it up as a bad night for management and will try it again because the food was so good. We have another couple coming in tomorrow that has been in the last couple years. They stay at the Bucuti but they go out to eat every night with us. I was just looking at the list and looks like a lot of higher end restaurants coming up this week. I can see a more than 10 pound add-on by the end of this trip. It's worth it though. I'll work it off with the Christmas rush coming up at work. Enjoy your football Sunday while I on this Aruban bronze tan. Goodnight!
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explorer21
Aruba Lover


Joined: 20 Apr 2009
Posts: 71
Location: Hershey, PA

PostPosted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 10:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sun 10/26...I know, same ole broken record. Beautiful sunny day with nice breeze, blah blah blah. I am so knocking on wood and I am not taking this for granted. Up early and down to the beach for a day of sun, sand, and water. Ran into some old friends from years past. Soaked up some sun then headed up to Bugaloe for some lunch. It has obviously become our favorite lunch spot. Just a short walk and such good food. We still want to get down to West Deck but are having a hard time pulling away from the beach. They started a new palapa system here at the Phoenix in the spring. You needed to get in line and pick a palapa number for the day. The hut opened at 6:30am so people would start lining up about 5:45am with sleepy eyes. Worked for me because BIL was up then anyway so he would go wait in line and get our same hut every morning. Now, starting yesterday they changed the time to 4:00pm because people were complaining about needing to get up so early. Since it was in the afternoon I said I would take the turn of waiting in line. People start lining up about 3:20 but now the line, of course, has to have a hand full of belligerent drunk guys complaining about the new system. What a bunch of ignorant foul mouth idiots without any regard of the women in line. I'm talking men my age(50's) who should know better. I hope they wake up with major hangovers tomorrow that they can't even make it to the beach. Ok, there is my vent. Took and older couple from the beach to Matthews for dinner where we also met our friends from back home who just came in today. They have been here the last couple years and stay at the Bucuti. The food at Matthews is better than average and we love the atmosphere so we always end up there at some point during our trip. One more week left so we have to make the best of it. We have quite the restaurant list lined up this week so really looking forward to our evenings. I hope everyone's work week goes fast while my happy island week goes slow. Have a happy Monday morning! You know where I'll be! Goodnight!
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~Amy~®
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Joined: 12 Jul 2002
Posts: 1348
Location: Minneapolis, MN

PostPosted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 7:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sounds wonderful as always! (Except for the stupid drunk guys in line who seem to need a lesson or two on how to conduct themselves like civil human beings. Sheesh!)

Bugaloe has always been a favorite lunch spot of ours. I remember when it first opened (called the Kokoa Bar at the time) back when we used to stay at the Aruba Grand. We would just roll off our lounge chairs and head over there (just a few steps away) for lunch or drinks at any time. It was so convenient back then. But we still make time to go there a couple of times each trip.

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~Amy~®

Playa del Carmen, MX - March 2017
34th trip to Aruba - May 2017
Munich, Salzburg, Prague - June/July 2017
35th trip to Aruba: New Years Eve 2017/2018
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dutchdushi
Aruba Fanatic


Joined: 11 Oct 2009
Posts: 132
Location: the Netherlands

PostPosted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 4:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sounds you are having a horrible, boring holiday Laughing
Please keep those reports coming.
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explorer21
Aruba Lover


Joined: 20 Apr 2009
Posts: 71
Location: Hershey, PA

PostPosted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 9:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mon 10/27...Got up at 7:30, decided I wasn't hungry for a Linda's pancake so I stayed in bed. Ha! Did I fool anybody? Added some blueberries this morning. So good!!! Got to the beach about 10:30 and the sky was starting to get dark. Started to rain around noon then stopped right away but then the big black clouds rolled in. As I sat under my palapa in the pouring rain I kept thinking how I jinxed the weather by saying how nice it's been. What looked to be like an all day rain broke loose about 45 mins later and the sun broke through with no wind at all. Wow, you don't realize how much that breeze is needed until it isn't there. The rest of the day was great and the palapa line was very civil. The idiots from the previous day were drinking water. I guess my wish came true that they would have terrific hangovers today. Got off the beach early because we had 6:15 reservations at Barefoot. I had asked for opinions on which place to eat, Barefoot or Flying Fishbone, since we never ate at either. Most said Barefoot by a slim margin and I was perfectly happy with that choice. Arrived in time to get a photo op with a beautiful sunset, then sat down to a great meal. My wife had a greek salad and chicken and pineapple(very good), SIL had the Caribbean Grouper(great), BIL, yep salad, our friends had same grouper and seafood trio(both great), and I had filet with a truffle mushroom sauce which was delicious. Very tender cut of meat and sauce was so flavorful. Ended with a great brownie and ice cream. We will definitely go back again. Just so many fantastic restaurants on the island. I need to stay here a month to get them all in. Stopped at the Alhambra mall and did a little shopping then came back to room to watch the football game. Gotta get up and run the girls to Nafanny Spa for their massages tomorrow morning then planting myself at the beach for the day. Goodnight!
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NH Mark
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Joined: 22 Jun 2007
Posts: 3
Location: New Hampshire

PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for your daily reports. I've found them to be entertaining and informative!
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