We flew directly to Aruba.  The flights were uneventful by today's standards with only the routine delays at the Customs counters, which we cleared in Aruba on both legs of our round trip.

Aruba is a very easy place for an American to travel.  Nearly everyone speaks English as a first, second or third, you heard me right a third language.  United States currency and credit cards are accepted everywhere.  The resort TV's channels included CNN, CNN Headline News, TNN, HBO alonw with the networks of NBC, ABC and CBS via satellite.  You will find Wendy's, Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds and other familiar places  on the island.  If your traveling with your kids, this is an advantage.  There are even first-run movies from the states at the local modern theater.  Taxis are easy to find and the drivers are pleasant and the fares are fixed so it's unlikely you'll get cheated.

The main road near our resort was a busy thoroughfare, but the sidewalks are wide to make walking an easy alternative.  Our resort was near the main harbor where the cruise ships dock and there was a steady stream of them during our visit.  There was normally at least 2 ships in port all times, but nothing seemed excessively crowded and we never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a table at the more popular restaurants, once we made up our minds where to eat.  Further on up the coast there are a few different groups of resorts on other beaches, but we never got that far.  There was so much to do and it was all close.

So what makes this island so special?  For one, it's the weather, always a consistent temperature.  Most people can only get to the tropics every once in a long while and I would suspect it's a huge disappointment to wind up stuck in a resort town with lousy weather.  Aruba features, clear skies with a cooling trade wind about 95% of the time.  Being near the Equator and out of the hurricane zone, is another reason for the great weather.  Some people may find the constant breeze annoying, but it encouraged me to lay out in the sun and enjoy the outdoors a lot more than I would have if the wind was not blowing and the sun beating down on you.  Also, beach vending is not allowed on Aruba, so once you find your place in the sun, you don't have a thing to concern yourself with except relaxing.  If you dream of sitting under the sun with a drink in your hand, the bright blue sky above and the bright blue water nearby and the warm sun above and a cooling breeze blowing over your body, then Aruba is your place.

As far as activities go, there seems to be plenty.  As a certified diver, there are at least 20 dive sites noted on a touring map that we saw and there are glass bottom boats and submarines to take you out to the reefs and the wrecks.  There are all sorts of water sports, kayak rentals, and etc.  It is popular to rent a jeep and roam the countryside.  There are two golf course, but I wasn't tempted to play due to the strong winds and also all the water sports.  Again, we travel to relax some and to see as much as we can.

There are numerous good restaurants on the island with every type of food.  We had seafood, sandwiches and steak, there was also sushi, but I don't eat sushi.  I'm a seafood lover and I was surprised that the seafood we had was just so so and nothing special.  The steakhouse have that South American flare and were very good.

If you're into taking more risk on vacation, you might prefer Jamaica, the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico for Caribbean fun, but if you want to know exactly what you're getting into, you want to be sure you can relax and Aruba was hard to beat.