Here is the group that traveled from Boise, Idaho all the way to the little island of Aruba. Will and I went to scuba, as we were already certified. Jill and Joe, also ready to dive, became certified the summer before. Simonne and Greg went just because.

During the week we went on a sunset sail, where the air was fresh and the drinks were free. :)

During our one night of souvenir shopping, we found these birds in one of the malls in Orangestad (the capital). As you can see, the birds are not very pleased, and were squawking very loudly at this particular moment. Will decided he needed a close up, and the birds thought he was a little too close up!

On our last full day on the island, we decided to go exploring. We rented a van and drove up to the northern tip to visit the lighthouse and on over to the east coast. The east is pretty rough, and an advanced certification is required to scuba. Since I will always be just a recreational diver, I decided to stay on the west coast with the divemaster. What surprised us is that most of the island is desert, as you can see from this picture. There was even a camel to be found!

A catholic church we found centrally located on the island.

And on the last night before we left, we took the Tattoo Party Cruise. It requires a shuttle to the boat, and then they provide a trip along the coastline, dinner and dollar drinks. Simonne was very good as requested some very interesting yet very tasty concoctions. She even had the opportunity to name a drink, but I think we were too busy drinking and dancing. I even did the Macarena; luckily nobody was there to actually see it...

And to top off the night, we got to swing off the back of the boat and Tarzan into the ocean for some much needed cooling off.