Our plan for Aruba was to head to Palm Beach for a "beach day." We grabbed a taxi and headed to the beach. We were taken to Palm Beach, which was in the midst of some amazing resorts. Of course the kids were interested in water sports more than laying around. But, we had the day so there was plenty of time for both. While the kids relaxed, Kristi and I took a nice walk down the beach and waded in the warm water. It was a very beautiful and relaxing. After settling in, we went to the water sport station and set up a jet ski rental for Alex and a para-sailing experience for Adri. Of course, as minors, I had to accompany them!
We had to take a short boat ride to the jet ski site. This ride provided a great view of the shoreline and many of the resorts. Alex and I got our briefing and headed out. Alex is a good driver. I didn't have any problems until he wanted to turn a little too sharply and at a little too fast of speed. I went flying off and the jet ski tipped over. All I could think about was not being able to get it upright and having to pay for the damaged jet ski. It flipped back over quickly and we awkwardly climbed back on trying to keep the balance so it didn't flip again. We were able to get righted and took back off for more fun. In the midst of the all of the fun, we did another big turn and went flying off a second time. This time the jet ski shot out from underneath us, It went quit a long way away from us. We were quite a ways out at this point. The waves were pretty strong. We tried to swim to the jet ski but it seemed the harder we swam the farther we were from the jet ski. The waves made it very difficult to close the distance, I knew if we took any break at all the jet ski would be farther away so I kicked it into gear and swam as hard as I could. We eventually made it back after a workout that didn't hurt either of us but one that we were not ready for. We settled back in and used up the rest of our time in a little more relaxed fashion. We really didn't think the price was too bad compared to other places we have checked.
Adri had to wait;4 a little and hung out on a swing until she had the chance to do her adventure!
Adri and I headed out when our time came up. We were hanging out on the beach to the white resort pictured. It was pretty amazing. We went out and waited our turn. We had to get on a life jacket and then were harnessed to the shoot. The shoot was attached to a cable that once full of the wind was slowly released. We started to slowly float out on our peaceful ride. It was the first time that either of us had para-sailed. It was a very enjoyable experience. It was peaceful and the scenery was beautiful.
The best of all of these adventures was doing them with my family. Whether it was walking on the beach with Kristi, jet skiing with Alex, or para-sailing with Adri, the memories are more important than the adventures themselves. It is meaningful to be able to say, "Do you remember when we saw that? Or, do you remember when we did that?" Our travel has provided us with so many great memories.
