We flew American Airlines from Phoenix to Aruba via Miami and Puerto Rico. Arriving late at night, we caught a hotel shuttle to the Aruba Palm Beach Hotel and Casino. Once checked in, we found that the only food available [after midnight] was pizza, and hunger drove us to order a delivery. Initially, the goat cheese didn't go down too badly but after the hunger was satisfied, it was not all that great.

We picked up a rental car and filled the gas tank to see all 19.5 by 5.0 miles of the Island of Aruba. Needless to say, it was enough. We pretty well covered the Island, from the Southern tip near San Nicholas to the Northern tip at California Point and Cudarebe Dunes. The North end is desert like and barren.

The Town of Oranjestad is the Capitol and was very pretty. The buildings were painted different colors, but with a good taste that blends. You can pretty well walk and cover the city in one day. They have a Shopping Mall that was interesting in several ways. There were several shops ranging from average to upscale, there was a Casino located on the 2nd floor, and there was a canal leading to the Ocean for boats to enter, park, and shop. The people are of Dutch descent, their education level is very high, there is no unemployment, and they are extremely nice. They provide service that you normally only dream about. A constant wind out of the East causes the trees to grow with a lean to the West and makes Aruba the Wind Surfer's paradise. Jo's parasailing was accomplished by turning the boat into the wind, dropping anchor and reeling her out until she appeared real small.

The water on the West side of the Island is rough and no beach, however, the East side is calm with the best swimming beach you'll find. A clean, shallow and white sand bottom makes the water ideal and the beaches are wide. Our room overlooked the pool bar and the band was enjoyed by simply opening the balcony door. Of course, on site enjoyment was even better. Aruba is about 15 miles off the coast of Venezuela, declared it's independence from the Netherlands, and imports just about everything from the U.S. They have their own money but American dollars are used in almost all transactions. They use distilled sea water and it is darn good. Since everything was just about perfect, this is one place that we will someday revisit.