Last year when MS and I went to Mexico, we each received a $400 airfare voucher to use on another flight. We had to book something by early August. With the craziness of MS' move and summer, time was dwindling fast for booking something. Needless to say, I tend to be more of a last minute vacationer anyway! MS had two weeks off of work, but only one of the weeks was T going to be with his dad. T was also finally completing his driver's training, so I wasn't able to leave any sooner.
Many years ago, I set a personal weight loss goal. If I reached my goal, my reward was to go to Aruba. I never did reach that goal. I came within five pounds and I can honestly say I am over 30 pounds from it now. But the desire to travel to Aruba has always remained. It helps that I have access to a timeshare there as well! I had some timeshare availability and surprisingly Aruba had condos available; however, by the time MS agreed and I picked up his passport and airline voucher to book, the condo was gone! I was devastated. I figured it must have been meant to be, some bigger reason which made the vacation impossible.
I searched other vacations, even considering a cruise again! The next day, another condo was available and I booked it! With our airfare vouchers we only paid $200 each for the flight. I had been anticipating that our vacation would be a deal breaker in the relationship. Either we would stay together or we wouldn't. Of course there was my guilt and I finally resolved to let the relationship stress go and enjoy the moments. No pressure.
While our vacation was definitely less expensive than an all-inclusive, MS and I do better when there are less choices and decisions to make. I feel like we often do not make choices as we can't decide. MS did book an ABC Jeep Tour all day excursion around Aruba which we enjoyed. We didn't bother to rent a car and used the bus to get both up and downtown. Neither of us found anything worth purchasing - other than some alcohol to make drinks in the condo!
On our final day, we went parasailing. One of the things on my imaginary bucket list! Due to our combined weight, we were unable to fly tandem. I went first. I went last. While I didn't know better, I guess it is uncommon to have the parasail suddenly jerk to and fro. I tried to take deep breaths and will any potential motion sickness away. I enjoyed the sailing and overlooking the various depths of the water below. Unfortunately, my ride was cut very short due to the weather. MS told me that they were unable to manage the boat safely with the rough waters and the wind. We received a full refund and I can cross it off my list!
As for MS and I, I didn't have any fears that there would be a proposal this vacation. Our relationship just seems to have simmered. Obviously he could have completely blindsided me and I can admit I wondered how I would respond and how it would have affected the rest of the vacation. MS did in his casual, flat affect way say to me a few days in, "Just because I wanted to say thank you for all of your help with my move and the house, here's a little something." He handed me a large jewelry box. He had purchased a beautiful necklace for me.
I have to say that overall, I wasn't impressed with Aruba. Having been to Grenada, Trinidad, Mexico, Hawaii and the Bahamas, I wouldn't return back to Aruba. There was nothing that I found memorable or worthy of a second vacation. So another destination crossed off my list...where to next? Mount Rushmore!!!!
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