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We did it! Pete and I took that long awaited couples getaway to Aruba and it was awesome!
With direct flights now to Aruba, Southwest made getting there easy! We flew out from Orlando and then on the way back through Houston and both were great! The only thing we would have changed about this adventure was if the girls could have been there with us (we are those parents.) Oh, and staying longer would have been great too! Forty-eight hours was definitely not enough time to see everything Aruba has to offer!
We landed on Thursday afternoon and immediately checked into our hotel. Aruba has two hotel areas, the high rise, and low rise hotels. They also have boutique hotels if you prefer those.
Then it was off to the beach! We were staying on Palm Beach, and it was beautiful. I highly recommend this area.
Along the beach is a boardwalk…really, it is a sidewalk but boardwalk sounds more romantic. Either way, there are a lot of restaurants, bars, and shopping along the way. There is even a mall behind it.
We made sure to stop along the path and enjoy the flowers too!
We had a packed day for us planned the next day, so we called it a night after enjoying the sunset.
We were awake early the next morning for a tour of the island that we were really looking forward to. Unfortunately, Aruba had a rare day of rain so our tour was cut short. But, we did get to see a few very impressive things, and Pete and I both really love rain, so we considered it a great day regardless!
We saw the south end of the island that has a rocky landscape and powerful waves. Totally different than the northwest side we were staying on.
We also saw “baby” natural bridge. The big one fell down so we were advised not to walk on it, and to enjoy it from afar. We accepted this non-challenge. It was pouring down rain at this point, but I think it just made the whole experience even more exciting!
We also made our way to California Lighthouse. Since we are from California, we felt a kinship to the lighthouse until we learned that it was named after a shipwrecked boat called California and was constructed to hopefully prevent other shipwrecks many moons ago. We would have loved to have climbed to the top, but there wasn’t enough time. That’s okay, it just means we need to come back again soon!
We took ALL THE SELFIES! I mean, we were selfie-taking machines. There are very few pictures of us together since the kids joined our family almost 17 years ago, so we set off to change that. We were very successful. I have no idea when the next time we will be alone like this, so we documented each and every moment. It was awesome!
The tour ended early due to weather, so while we didn’t get to snorkel like planned, we did get to enjoy a fun lunch and drinks beachside, so that was still a win to us!
This was our view during our late lunch/early dinner! So amazing!
We grabbed some coffee later and called it a day with yet another storm rolling through and this beautiful view!
We woke up to slightly bluer skies, and we set off on foot to explore the area more. We only had a few hours before we had to leave for the airport, so we didn’t waste any time!
We strolled down along the ocean and through all the resorts in the area. Each one having their own personal flair for us to enjoy.
We also did some souvenir shopping! The best places to shop are the little street carts. We couldn’t believe how good the prices were for these fun touristy items. We picked up a few things for the girls and we kept on going…
Aruba is very breezy, so we also sat and had coffee and just watched the trees sway back and forth. It was the perfect end of our time on Aruba!
I love winter and we’re just getting started here, but looking at that beach scene has me rethinking my love just a little bit.
This looks like an amazing place to spend a holiday. The beach looks so relaxing and I really love that boardwalk.
Fantastic photos. Looks like a wonderful place to visit and couples only sounds perfect.
48 hours is definitely not enough time but it looks like you both made the most of it! 🙂
Not enough time but it looked amazing! Love the picture of you two! Hopefully you can do it again!
Wow! So many beautiful photos! Now I need to visit Aruba!
Aruba is such a lovely place! I think it’s perfect for couples! It’s nice to see you guys vacationing without the kids, alone time is important.
This looks like it was such a great time. It is awesome to get away sometimes just as a couple.
We’ve been putting off Aruba for some reason! We have a SW companion pass so we really have no excuses! Looks like i was a blast:)
This looks like it was such a great time. Thanks for sharing!
What a fun place to visit! I would love to check out this one day. This looks like a great weekend type of trip!
Getting away alone together rocks! We don’t get to do it nearly enough with eight children, but hopefully that will change as they get older. Lovely pictures.
We are totally those parents, too! We’ve been away a total of 5 nights since becoming parents 19 years ago (only in the last couple of years when the oldest could be left in charge of all the others). I’m not even really worried about them. I just don’t like the kids missing any of the cool stuff.
Me too! I have so much more fun when we are all experiencing it all together!