or a time out, or something…I’ve been so bad at keeping up with my blog, especially with the end of the school year activities: graduation for my Kindergarten class, designing my students’ storyboards, plus the end of the year slideshow organized and burned to 19 dvds, and I *think* I shot a wedding in there somewhere, too… Pure craziness here, but it all came and went with a bang and my husband and I jetted off to Aruba for a week. It was beyond wonderful. Our kids were still in school, Scott was off, I was out of school so we went – and enjoyed some much needed time TOGETHER. Braden asked why we always went to “fancy” places without him. I quickly reminded him that he was with us when we went on a Caribbean cruise (+ Disney World) last year. The one where all he wanted to do was go back to the stateroom to play with his Legos and check out the towel animals that awaited him each evening. Besides, he and his sister still had school for 2 more weeks, so sorry! Not to mention, Scott and I have only done a weekend trip here and there away from the kids, for maybe one or two nights, never for a week – out of the country – in almost 17 years of marriage. So that justifies a vacation, right? The first thing I thought of when we booked our trip was all the great photo opportunities that awaited me. While we were in Aruba, we never went anywhere without at least my point and shoot camera tucked in my purse. I took my big camera most of the time, too, and managed to collect 1729 photos. I’m rather proud to say I’ve mastered photography on horseback and ATV. On horseback, I strapped the camera around my neck (which I NEVER do) and snapped away while we rode around the trails and galloped on the sand dunes. I got creative, put down the reins and snapped some behind me, to the side, over , under, above…VERY fun, even if my camera beat me in the chest and tummy and I lost my lens cap somewhere along the way. I decided to use the point and shoot for ATV’ing, even though Scott was driving. It turned out to be a wise decision because we both got filthy on the dirt trails. It was just as fun snapping away at different angles. It’s hard to share only a few of my favorite shots because I took so many that I truly love…
Our horseback riding adventure
Abandoned goldmine/fortress.
Our ATV adventure, which was just that, an adventure. Our 4 wheeler broke down. Twice. The first time just happened to be at a picturesque chapel, the oldest church in the Caribbean. So quaint and tranquil. Our guide, Pancho, got so annoyed, he cussed and fussed a bit (well, a little may be an understatement. He cussed A LOT). He did get a new battery for us and we were on our way.
Pancho was one of the funniest Arubans we met. We collected several Pancho-isms along the way, with his thick accent, broken English. Here are a few:
Dominate the bike.
I coming.
Vaminos!
You lean back, you flip.
The volcano went BOOM, and then there’s rocks, see? (although our horseback riding guide told us Aruba was 90% coral…)
We finally made it to the Natural Pool after the second break down, and Pancho and crew left us in the desert as we waited for a new bike. We got a shiny yellow one, that worked. The Natural Pool was amazing. Luckily we could swim in it this day. Some days the weather doesn’t permit swimming if it’s too windy and the waves come in too strong. I wish we had brought snorkeling gear because it was crystal clear and there were fish and crabs everywhere.
Our next adventure, renewing our wedding vows. On a pirate ship. The taxi driver recommended the Jolly Pirate snorkeling cruise. What a great time! We snorkeled at the Antilla shipwreck, Catalina and Malmok Beach. We saw parrot fish, squid, starfish, sea urchins, and some other fish we couldn’t identify. We didn’t see any barracudas though. Bummer!
My hunky husband, on the rope swing. 
Other random things we enjoyed.
One of our favorite cab drivers. His name was, and I quote, “Dry Bread, like without the butter” He was adorable!
Boca Grandi Beach
Gorgeous Arashi Beach
California Lighthouse
Candle lit, sunset dinner on Eagle Beach.
A friend mentioned she’d love to take me on vacation with her family which I found coincidental because that’s EXACTLY what I’ve joked about wanting to do – be a vacation photographer, go with families on vacation, do candid and portrait work so moms and dads can enjoy the moments and not have to worry about taking photos. Anyone game? I LOVE warm tropical places…
by Natasha
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