Aruba and After

I’m writing this at Palm Beach International Airport. 

Aruba was nice. Actually the snorkeling adventure with Sue, Alison, Derek, Julie and Matt was quite fun, especially the first part. Good variety of fish including a black one with yellow markings that I don’t remember ever seeing before. Sue ended up returning to the boat before me and surprised me by taking pictures of me snorkeling. The second part was extremely choppy; I got out of the boat and didn’t see the submerged ship we were there to explore (from above) and decided that 2-foot waves weren’t worth it so I returned after a few minutes. And did I mention that we were able to log a virtual cache from the boat, thus “officially” entering Aruba?

After the snorkeling and requisite shower & lunch a few of us went geocaching. We walked to one, then hired a cab to take us to a nearby webcam (cache) and a traditional. The driver wasn’t happy with us, and we quickly returned to the ship. 

Then 2 days of “fun at sea” before returning to Fort Lauderdale to disembark. I learned that I don’t like bamboo massages, and confirmed that shipboard massages are probably not worth the $....but now I have data so that’s ok. Played more trivia, generally coming in 1-2 points behind the winners. On the 2nd day I decided to be an “icon whore” and earn the icon on my phone pedometer app for 100 flights of stairs. I met Matt & Julie at 0730 and we knocked out over 20 flights before breakfast, then I did another 40 or so before lunch, about 10 after lunch, 20 after trivia, and  few more after that for a total of 105. Kind of fun, and entertaining. Never did make it to the ship’s gym but that’s ok. 

Disembarking was pleasantly uneventful. Alison, Derek, Sue and I shared a taxi to the airport to rent our respective cars and say goodbye. Here’s hoping I get to see my Sister Long Legs (SLL) and Brother-in-law Long Legs (BILL), and Matt & Julie (and others caching friends including Step Brother) soon! Dropped Sue back at the dismal Days Inn after a quick grocery run and meandered my way north to visit relatives. 

Found a couple of caches and had a very tasty lunch of tekkadon and sakedon (tuna and salmon, respectively, over sushi rice) in Stuart, Florida. Then arrived at my aunt & uncle’s home in Port St. Lucie (the uncle is my mother’s little brother) where I spent an enjoyable 3 nights being spoiled with tasty food and fun family stories. Got to see 2 first cousins, my mother’s big sister, and meet various other cousins including a spouse and 3 of the next generation. Also fixed a toilet (a $4 part saved a $$$ plumber’s visit), thus earning my keep and amusing my aunt and uncle by channeling my father who is always fixing small things at his home and the homes of family and friends.

This has been a fantastic trip! Great times with American and Canadian cachers who I never get to spend enough time with, meeting many other Canadian cachers, and hanging out with family I don’t get to see often enough! Looking forward to my next landsharkz cruise and to the next time I see extended family