Riding the rails

I visited family in New Jersey this weekend and I took the train! It was my first time making the trip and it was a nice scenic ride. It sort of made up for the interesting folk that hang out at the Trenton New Jersey train station at 5 a.m.

Aruba

We're back from our honeymoon! We may be a little burnt and a few pounds heavier but we had a great time. We stayed at Divi Aruba Phoenix Beach and really enjoyed the resort. The pool and beach were fantastic as was the food. We were also in walking distance of a ton of other resorts and restaurants so the location was perfect.

Some of our favorite spots:

• Pure Ocean (fine dining on the beach)
• Bugaloe Beach Bar and Grill (drinks and food on a pier over the ocean)
• MooMba Beach (great nightlife and open late)
• Azzurro (Italian fine dining)

We didn't have any activities planned except for a sunset boat cruise which my cousin and her husband booked for us as a gift. We also had drinks with a former co-worker of mine who happened to be in Aruba staying nearby. Otherwise, we lounged on the beach and in the pool and drank a ton of Balashi beer and daiquiris.

We only stayed five days which may not seem long enough for some people but for us it was perfect. We both start to get a little antsy to get home if we vacation for too long. There's only so much lounging one can do. It was the perfect amount of time for us.

Back from Florida

It was a great trip. It was a HOT trip. I'm glad to be home but also miss my brother and his family.

I almost missed my flight down to Florida. My alarm did not go off and so I woke up a half hour after the cab was scheduled to pick me up. Full on Home Alone "WE SLEPT IN!" panic ensued and I finished packing in record time. 

Luckily I live in a city so it's pretty easy to call for another cab. My mother was freaking out at the airport waiting for me. We made the flight though and I didn't leave a child behind so it's all good.

Auntie Ginny introduced the kids to snapchat. Hunter and Caroline were both big fans.

I'm surprised Caroline didn't freak out. She's not a fan of masks, as in if anyone is wearing a mask she will yell "Noooooooooooo!" and run and hide, but apparently snapchat filters are ok.

Once the kids went to bed we'd watch movies. We watched Zootopia (pretty good for a kids movie), 10 Cloverfield Lane (my favorite movie of the trip), The Witch (meh, it was ok), Deadpool (already saw it but love it). I got my sister-in-law hooked on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix.

My brother and I may have had a little fun with the kid's toys once we got a few drinks in us. This was after the kids went to bed of course.

The heat was pretty brutal. I don't do well in really hot weather. Thank God for central air and AC.

Derek stayed home and I missed him when I was gone. I know, barf barf. It's nice to be home and sleep in my own bed again.

Let's go to Florida in July

My mom and I just booked our flights to visit my brother in July. It's cheaper to fly down in the summer but it's still an expensive flight due to having to fly into a teeny tiny airport. Luckily I was able to use points to cover a good chunk of the flight. Derek will stay home in Boston with Bosco and hold down the fort. 

All I can say is thank God my brother has central air. I'm a delicate flower in the heat, well that's if flowers got heat exhaustion easily.

Iguana eating on the beach in St. Thomas. I didn't run away this time.

I only took one video in St. Thomas. I wish I took more. I was too busy taking pictures and sipping on drinks I guess. Vacationing is very time consuming you know.

Here's the video I took of an iguana snacking on the beach at Bolongo.

St. Thomas trip and the loooooong way home

I made it home from St. Thomas at midnight. I was supposed to be back Sunday and have a day to relax and do laundry and such but US Airways decided to screw us over big time with the flight home. More on that later. Let's get to the good stuff. The pictures.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and right when you get off the plane you are offered a shot of rum. Derek and I passed as we are not really into shots but man they want to get the party going the second you get off the plane.

We stayed at Bolongo Bay. By the reviews online I thought it would be a good spot for us and I'm glad we picked Bolongo. Bolongo is a nice small resort with friendly staff and a beautiful beach. Our balcony overlooked the pool and the ocean.

The pool and the beach were amazing. The water was the perfect temperature.

I took a ton of photos of palm trees and the beach. I love palm trees.

Iggiges Beach Bar and the Lobster Grille both had amazing food. We spent more time at Iggies as it was open later and had live music. The Lobster Grille had very good breakfast.

The view of the Lobster Grille from the pool.

There were iguanas everywhere. I went to take a photo of this guy and he started coming towards me so I ran into the ocean.

Here is his smaller friend.

Stalking me from a tree.

We went into town on the last day of carnival. It was so hot. I'm not used to people being able to walk around anywhere they want drinking. Certainly can't do that in Boston.

Our flight was supposed to leave Sunday but we got to the airport and found out that US Airways had cancelled our flight. We were told the next flight out was Wednesday!! We sort of panicked because we both had to get back to work. I was making phone calls to anyone I knew seeing if someone could book us a flight on a different airline. Thankfully Fiona answered and saved the day. The flight was expensive but we could fly out on Monday via Jet Blue. US Airways acted like this was no big deal to have a flight cancelled for three days. We did get to stay in a nice resort for Sunday night

These pictures are from our one day/night in Sugar Bay.

View from our balcony. Seriously amazing.

We met some nice ladies at the bar who were giving us drinks since they were all inclusive and felt bad about our flight. They were having a get away from their husbands and kids and were having a great time. 

Our last day was a long wait in the airport. We arrived at the airport around 11:30 am and got into Boston around 11:30 that night. I then had to go take a cab to a tow lot because my car was towed for street cleaning since I could not get back in time to move it. I think the tow truck messed up the alignment of my car so I'm going through insurance for that. When it rains it pours. There could have been worse places to be stuck that's for sure. It was just so frustrating having US Airways be of no help and provide no information. I had to ask a few times why our flight was cancelled for three days (mechanical problem and no back up plane). For such a major airline I expected more.

Overall though it was a really great trip. The weather was perfect and I wish the water was that blue here in Boston. I also learned iguanas kind of scare me, tequila tastes better on the beach and to never fly US Airways.

I'm a planner

I'm a planner. I don't like flying by the seat of my pants. If I have plans with you I want to know where and when as soon as possible. One of my best friends is not like this at all. She likes to leave things up in the air until the last minute. For example, her birthday party is tonight and she still has not said where we're going. I've known her for a long time so this is nothing new but it still drives me crazy.

When I got shingles two years ago it was from stress over my bathroom being renovated. Nothing was going as planned and I was freaking out. I was told it would take 2-3 days and it took 5 days and I had no running water and a giant hole in the floor where you could see into the basement. Basically nothing went how it was supposed to and my body was like nope nope NOPE. Here's some shingles for you.

I blame my mother for having to plan everything. She is the same way. It works out well when we travel together because we both over pack and have everything you could possible need. We have printed itineraries and show up to the air port hours early. That's just how I like it.

Derek and I are flying together for the first time to St. Thomas in May. I've already looked up things we can do in St. Thomas, info about using your cell phone (phone calls cost more but data does not) and how to take a taxi (there are no meters, you ask them how much it is person). Derek probably thinks I'm nuts but he let's me do all my crazy planning so it works out perfectly.

Planning is winning at life! (Ok, planning is so I don't have an anxiety attack or get shingles)