We arrived in Aruba yesterday! And I’m taking advantage of the fact that my handsome husband likes to sleep in to write a post about it. 😉
Before we left I was having major, major anxiety. Can you blame me? Not only is anxiety before travel somewhat normal for me (see Wanderlusting: Pre-Trip Anxiety), it was definitely compounded by the fact that last time I left the country, I ended up experiencing a “government hospital,” a medflight, and an ICU for the first time. Not fun. Not fun at all.
The anxiety would come in waves, and it felt like tidal waves on Tuesday night. I basically only stopped crying long enough to attempt to go to my weekly trivia game, but then I got a voicemail with a “stay safe” message and lost it again. I had to leave to go home and take care of myself before trivia even began.
However, all things considered, my excitement definitely outweighed my anxiety. When I say I’ve been waiting years for this I’m not exaggerating at all. I’ve already mentioned how I didn’t want to host a party, I wanted a honeymoon, and I mean it. My love language is “quality time” so the prospect of spending days with my honey is basically the ultimate for me.
Anyway, my office needed me on Wednesday, so after work we gave our house/catsitter instructions (thank you again Geoff!) and were on our way to Boston.
I’ve never stayed in a hotel the night before a trip before, but let me tell you: I love it. It’s so convenient. We parked our car, checked in, and then our only responsibility was getting to the shuttle in time to make our international flight. No waking up at 3am and praying we get there on time. We stayed at the Courtyard Boston Marriot at Logan Airport. Overall, for what it is (a stopover before a flight) I rate it 5/5. The bed was comfy, the room was clean, the TV worked, and the food, which we ordered to go from the bar and brought it upstairs to our room, wasn’t half bad either. The shuttle service is convenient and dropped us off right outside our terminal. Then we were on our way!
We took a direct JetBlue flight from Boston Logan International Airport to Queen Beatrix International Airport in Oranjestad, Aruba. The flight was about 4 hours and 28 minutes, and it got us to Aruba at 12:30. My husband, E, had never been on a flight that long before, and I could tell he was getting fidgety, but not so bad. He watched movies on his iPad and I took advantage of the personal screens JetBlue provides to everyone. I half watched Me Before You while also reading a Liane Moriarty book, What Alice Forgot, and thank goodness I was only half paying attention because it was definitely a tear jerker.
Once we arrived, we went through immigration and customs. Immigration stamped our passports (the first stamp on my new passport with my new name! Ahhhhh!), but we basically just walked through customs and out the front door. They did have an xray machine, but they were only making some people go through. I suspect it’s because of the volume of people who had arrived at the same time.
We were picked up by our rental car place, More4Less. They brought us to their garage where we signed paperwork, checked out maps, and finally left as the proud week-long renters of a red Jeep Wrangler. Not fire-engine red like my dream Jeep, sadly, but more like a maroon red. Not that I’m complaining!
So we took it to the hotel and parked it. It’s so hot down here. It feels like 108F. But you know? It’s breezy (a warm breeze) thanks to the tradewinds, so the air isn’t still, and it feels good. I’m definitely not complaining about the heat.
Our hotel is the Renaissance Aruba Resort and Casino and we are staying at the Marina hotel. The other side is the Ocean hotel, which is for families, but our side is perfect for our honeymoon: adults only. We’re able to use both hotel’s facilities and the private island the hotel offers, which I can’t wait for!
We got an “island view” room which to be honest is not the best view ever. There’s a big store in front of our window that lights up at night, prompting us to use our blackout curtains so we don’t have a nightlight, but I have to wonder if the “ocean view” rooms would be worse. You see, the “ocean view” rooms are also over the pool, which plays loud thumping music until midnight. I don’t know if that’s a factor in the rooms themselves, it’s just something that makes me wonder.
Today is day two, and I’m not sure what we’ll get up to! Since yesterday was a travel day, we just chilled by the pool for a couple hours, taking advantage of happy hour. We left our phones in our rooms so we completely lost track of time for a while there. It was great and I hope there’s a lot of that this trip.
I think I hear my husband beginning to stir. That means breakfast is soon! Talk to ya later, blogiverse!
*Please note: I have not been compensated for my reviews of these companies. I am simply sharing my experiences with them. If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch!
Stephanie Jean 