Scotts Brats on Palm Beach, Aruba

Meet Scott and Leslie.  Scott and Leslie formerly of Wisconsin here in the United States now make their home in Aruba, One Happy Island.  After vacationing in Aruba for a good number of years, they got married on the beach, and the rest if history.  Scott and Leslie serve up an awesome breakfast, and lunch right on the beach in Aruba on Palm Beach.

They're located at the Playa Linda Resort, a very popular spot on the beach.

You can have a quick bite without breaking the bank.  The food is good, the service is fantastic, the  people are friendly, and the prices are reasonable.

You can walk right up and order and take it with you, to the beach, or the pool area.

You can eat while you're walking on the beach.

For breakfast and or brunch, you can enjoy the Bloody Mary Bar

I highly recommend Scotts Brats and Leslie Bunz (take another look at the pictures), for breakfast and or lunch.  We would have eaten here more then twice, but only found it on our last 2 days...this trip.  We will be back, and we will visit with Scott and Leslie and enjoy both breakfast and lunch with them.

AND as a bonus, folks they play great music.  Check it out and tell them Sandy and Ernie (Buckeye's) sent you.

Pop in Often, remember Menu Mondays for dining tips, Traveling Tips on Thursday, and any day for vacation destinations.

Sunrise on Board Air Tran

 It's time for Travel Tip Thursday.  When you take an early morning flight...don't go sleep as soon as you get on the plane.  If you do.........you'll miss this.

 Don't pack your camera where you can't get to it.  I keep my small point and shoot nothing fancy camera in my purse, in my purse under the seat so I knab it quickly.

Not pictures you could put in a contest, but was happy not much of a reflection.  Held the camera close to the window, took the first picture with the flash, the other 2 without the flash.    This sunrise was taken out the window of my Air Tran flight heading from Columbus to Atlanta on my way to Aruba.  Do pop back in for photo's and information about Aruba, one of my favorite places to travel.

Pop in Often, remember Menu Mondays for dining tips, Traveling Tips on Thursday, and any day for vacation destinations.

Barefoot in Aruba

Take off your shoes and feel the beautiful sand under your feet as you dine at the waters edge.

Sorry for grainy picture, our waiter from The Netherlands was having a hard time getting a good photo.  This was very dark, I lighten as much as I could to try and show you the setting.  The name of the restaurant is actually "Barefoot".  It's located on Palm Beech near the airport in Aruba.  There are tables in the sand at the waters edge.  Behind us you see a bit of deck area for those who don't wish to be right in the sand, and beyond is an inside area with floors to walk around; but where the tables are you can still take off your shoes and enjoy the sand.  Perhaps on a really hot night people like one of the indoor areas with fans better.

Truly an elegant night out.  Yes the couple you see, just got married and she is wearing her wedding dress with her toes in the sand.  Though they were "next" to us, you can see no one is crowded in, there's lots of room between the tables.  It's very private really, you don't hear others conversations.  A definite go to back to location. 

 Our waiter tried several times to get a better picture.  He was very sweet.  See the cute foil left over basket?  Everything about the meal, the service, the ambiance is truly perfect. 

If you can afford one really nice evening out, this is The One! 
This is the only night we didn't walk to and from dinner.  We were staying a The Marriott's Surf Club and could have taken a bus there and taxi back, but it was the one day we had rented a car.  Public transportation is reliable and affordable, but doesn't run late enough for a return trip, thus the taxi back was an option. 
***This is most definitely NOT a family restaurant so please leave the kids home.  It's a place for love to bloom. 

I had some fabulous tenderloin, hubby had some delicious seafood meal.  Sorry, was too long ago to remember what we actually had, plus the menu is every changing.  Just rest assured it was good, and we will be going back.

 *Heads up all who use google+, many of you may not be aware and wonder why folks aren't returning your visits and comments.  Google+ has a setting now that does not allow others to comment, in some cases your blog isn't even visible unless people register with google+.  You are losing people without knowing why, as many of you don't have means of contact.  I've been able to alert several, who did not of the problem and change in settings; some have been able to fix the problem.  If you're one who's fixed the problem, please leave the instructions on the fix so that we can pass along the information to help others.  Please leave it here the comments and or email me directly at sandycrochet at gmail.com*


Pop in Often, remember Menu Mondays for dining tips, Traveling Tips on Thursday, and any day for vacation destinations.

What to do With the Kids

 (A-Z challenge K post)
Bon Bini to Aruba
Not all resorts or vacation destination are a good spot to bring the kids.  When you travel as a family, vs a couple, or adult group; you really need to think about what the kids are going to do when you want to relax and read by the pool or ocean ..or go out in the evening.  It's ok that not everywhere is kid friendly, we adults like our time too.  But, you do yourself, your children and everyone around you a disservice not to know the answer to the question, "What do the Kids Do?"........BEFORE you plan your trip.  This fun picture was taken poolside at Marriott's Surb Club Time Share in Aruba.  Knowing the cost of flights out of the country, I'm always surprised by the number of families with small children doing the beach thing here vs a place closer to home, and cheaper. 

 However, the resort does offer fun activities for kids.  These native type dancers kept the kids entertained for close to hour.  Parents and adults enjoyed watching and taking pictures.  AND...the music was fun too.  However, this isn't a baby sitting service giving adults an hour free and most of the activities scheduled at Marriott Time Shares aren't either.  Most offer choices of indoor and outdoor activities, but parents need to be present.  It does give you an excuse to get them out of the sun for awhile if you sign them up for an activity at The Maze, which all Marriott Time Shares have.  There's face painting, jewelry making, tie-dye shirts, balloon animals, and other craft type projects.  Some activities are free, some require a fee.  The only activity that gives you, the adult time would be movie night.  Most time shares offer a movie night where the kids get popcorn, pizza and watch movies; but check the age for this activity as it's not for the wee ones.

Please also check and be aware that your children can not be in the pool without your supervision at most resorts; so don't plan on sending them out while you read your book on the balcony.  Some resorts have adult only pools, quiet pools, or pools with restricted hours for children.  Don't assume the pool closest to your room/condo/villa will be the one you'll use with your children.  Read the signs at the pool, and or the book available in every room. 

Kids want to have a good time, and so do adults.  Everyone can if they know what's what.  Always give thought to who wants to do what during vacation before hand, a bit of pre-planning make the whole trip so much more enjoyable.

Pop in Often, remember Menu Mondays for dining tips, Traveling Tips on Thursday, and any day for vacation destinations.

(9 start with 1300)

Aruba

I've gotten into this A-Z April Blog Challenge late in the game with this blog, thus this post will be brief in order to meet the deadline.  This is Claudia, cutest, friendliest, best known bar tender on the whole island.  We've enjoyed happy hours with her 2 years running and are looking forward to our next trip in the fall.  If you look at the sidebar, in the cloud area you'll see I've posted about Aruba 6 previous times.  I still have plenty to say and will be posting more.

No, happy hour isn't the reason to go to Aruba, but it's always the highlight of our days there.  It's an easy international location to visit.  They like Americans, everyone is friendly, it's easy to get around, you do not need to transfer monies or speak the language.  They all speak Enlish among multiple other languages.  Claudia here is from Columbia, so she speak 3 or 4 languages.

Sun, Surf, Beach, and being barefoot...............all day long.  Heck, there's a few places you're encouraged to kick off your shoes if you have them on for dinner even.  We love it there, are anxious to return.  In the meantime....take a virtual trip and click on the above link.

Tomorrow will venture somewhere with a B

Pop in Often, remember Menu Mondays for dining tips, Traveling Tips on Thursday, and any day for vacation destinations.

(17, 1888-1902)

ARUBA

Me in a bathing suit! When in Aruba you just don't know what you might see. Actually, we were waiting on the city bus to go to the grocery store....fun is everywhere in Aruba, even at the bus stop. You don't need a car to get around. The public transporation is quick, easy, and very affordable.


It truly is One Happy Island, where else would you see these 2 teams cuddled up? lol

It's cold in so many places now, with everyone rushing around trying to get things done for Christmas...thought you needed a little hint of warmer weather.........think Aruba. Which reminds me, I need to schedule our next trip there.

The ABC's of Travel

Summer will soon be here and the kids will be out of school, if they're not already. No doubt you'll be thinking about where to take a family vacation...OR, if you're without children at home where to take a non family oriented vacation.

Here's some ideas for you in Alphabetical Style, there's something here for everyone. (all bolded and or colored type are live links, just click to get where you're going)
A
Aruba
Eating and Drinking and Being Happy in Aruba Iguana's in Aruba (the kids will love them)
Claudia's Bar in Aruba (for the adults)
General Information about Aruba

Arizona
Golf in the desert
Marriott's Canyon Villas, great place to stay for adults and or families
Sedona AriZona (teens and adults, not well suited for young children)
Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright (teens or adults best)
Montezuma's Castle (not for young children with the hiking and climbing)
Grand Canyons (can see lots from the car and on over looks so can be family geared if you stay away from the difficult trails)
Desert Botanical Gardens (ok for all in terms of walking, though the kids maybe bored)
Carefree Arizona (can be family oriented, as the beauty can be seen without doing difficult hiking; though the later certainly exists)
Apache Trail Arizona nice for all

B
Breckenridge, Colorado
Historic Main Street Area (appropriate for everyone)

Things for the Girls in Breckenridge (teens and adults)
The Softer side of Breckenridge (for all who appreciate the arts)
Going to the Dogs (for the animal lovers)

Baltimore, Maryland
Ryan's Daughter (cool Pub)
Inner Harbor (fun for all)
Westminster Hall Burial Grounds (adults and teens)

Boston, Mass
Bunker Hill (depends on the age of the child, great history)

Beaufort, South Carolina
What a place for a bathroom break! (all ages)
Historic Episcopal Church and Graveyard (teens and adults)
Luthers best place for lunch and or dinner, and entertainment (day ok for families, later on best for older kids,teens and adults

Brisbane Australia

California
There are 15 posts for California
covering Joshua Tree National Park
Pigeon Point Light House
Alcatraz
Santa Barbara
Muir Woods
San Francisco
Palm Springs Area
Seals on the Beach
Mission San Carolos Borromeo-o de Carmel
Sausalito
Cayucos
Peeble Beach
Big Sur
Golden Gate Bridge
Temecula
General posts about wine country and beaches

Cape Cod, Mass
Cape Cod Lighthouse

Chillicothe, Ohio
Lots of post covering the first capital of the state,
Historic Carlisle Building and Fire,
Knole Log House and Adena,
Masonic Lodge-Haunted Magestic Theatre,
Adena Indian Mound,
Haunted Cross Keys Tavern,
A general overview of Chillicothe.

There's so much more, check the cloud area to see the full listings, I'm sure you'll find something there of interest whether you want a quick day trip or a longer vacation away. Don't find what you think you're interested in, leave me a note and I'll see if I have something on it for you.

AND don't for get the always popular travels of Flat Stanley. Click here for a full listing of his Travels to date. There are 28 adventures, with ideas of things you can do in your day to day with the kids. Learning can and is fun.

Aruba, Eat, Drink be Happy

Eating in Aruba can be quite expensive. Everything on the Island must be brought in which up's the price. We had a one bedroom condo with a kitchen and cooked most of our meals; but did go out a few times while there. One day for lunch after being on a tour of The Island we stopped and got pizza. Not just any pizza...probably the best pizza we've ever had. You must put Tomato Charlies on your list of place to go.
Look how yummy it looks. The crust was nice and thin and crisp, love it that way. We got the veggie pizza, and as you can see it's loaded, not skimpy at all. Nice big pieces of fresh veggies. It was so good, we considered going back a 2nd time; but didn't as we wanted to try a few other places. We will though return here on our next trip to Aruba. I do recommend it, HIGHLY. This location is on the main drag across from the beach, so it's easy to throw a wrap on and walk up from the beach for lunch. Inside and outside eating is available.

Whether you dine in or out, drink Aruba's Beer, Balashi. Hubby says it's quite good. I'm allergic to beer, but did taste it and agree. Balashi, beer made right there in Aruba, not brought in like everything else is highly recommended.
We love Italian food, and so found Azzurro's right on the beach. We had reservations, and did dress for dinner; though I did see some folks in shorts, I had a summer skirt. Nice atmosphere. You eat outside, but under a Palopa . Service wasn't particularly good, in that it was slow; but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. Food was good, not great. The best part is it's on the beach, carry your shoes and walk down the beach in the moonlight; stop at one of the many water stations to rinse the sand off your feet, slip your shoes back on........then go to dinner.
Here it is during the day where you can see The Palapa. It's great...you're outside but in shade during the day, covered at night with fans if it's too warm. Truly the best of both worlds and you're right on the beach. It's located at Playa Linda's Resort, right next to our favorite place for Happy Hour, Claudia's.
Carrots! Don't rub your eyes, you are seeing correctly. They are HUGE. One day shopping at a local groceries, I spotted them and felt the need to take a picture. These carrots, the largest I've ever seen were several inches in diameter.

For our special night out (we do that once a trip), we ate at Gianni's. Excellant food, better service than Azzurro's, though they owned by the same folks. Gianni's is known for being "real" Italian from everyone we came in contact with. What I didn't like though was it's very loud and large. Normally, good Italian Restaurants are small cozy and romantic. We had so so Martini's and would not recommend them. We probably will return here on the next trip as the food was excellent. We ate outside, but perhaps indoors would be less hectic. We were here on a Sat evening, and probably would have enjoyed it more had we gone through the week. The night we were there was day 1 of Spring Break for folks from Venezuela. We understand that week is crowded everywhere on The Island. I wasn't able to get any photo's there, sorry folks.

We at dinner our first night The Pelican Bar and Grill on the beach, but do not recommend it, and will not go back there on our next trip to The Island of Aruba. Service was slow, drinks lousy (we only had Vodka and Tonic and Gin and Tonic which are pretty hard to mess up), food wasn't good.

We recommend Link and Sons Grocery, but be sure you get good directions as it's not on the main drag and is behind 2 other grocery stores.

Iguana's in Aruba

Look at this beautiful bright aqua blue Iguana. I can't imagine you could miss this one as it slithers quickly across the hot bricks pool side. You know how hot cement and bricks are on your barefeet? These creatures love heat, in fact if you watch them you'll see they hunker down while resting so their belly touches the pavement. They get as close as they can to the hot surface to absorb as much of the heat at they can. I spotted this one coming towards my chair. Once I got the photo, I moved the chair a bit which caused it to go elsewhere. Thank you very much. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not a big animal lover. In fact, I'm afraid of lots and lots of animals and creatures. this one was about 18 inches long.
This big green Iguana was over 2 foot long and apparently likes to have it's picture taken. This is a male, I don't know the gender of the above blue one. You can see this one isn't spotted like the blue one, has a striped tail and thorny spikes along it's back and head. The pouch beneath it's neck area inflates and get's quite large and as I understand it, that's a mark of a male. We saw lots of these creatures in Aruba. Some say they are harmless, and are more afraid of us then we are of them. However, the hotel had a large sign asking people to please not feed them as they do bite. Saw several with their mouths open and they do not look harmless. They look quite intimidating.
This picture while blurred shows you the motion and yet a different color of green. Very bright.
Remember dinosaurs? Surely this one looks prehistoric. This was around 3 feet or so, though not the largest I saw. The largest one was around 4 or more feet; but I didn't have my camera when I saw it. This one is a grayish green, also male.
Two together on the bolders at the edge of the pool. Notice the blue in the upper right corner, those are the umbrellas at the pool. Iguana's are common to Central and South America and The Caribbean. They are, or have been food. Served in stews and soup primarily, but apparently also french fried. Several years back Aruba passed a law prohibited them being on menu's as they were becoming extinct with the huge increase in population in Aruba along with the tourists. And of course the joke always is...it tastes like chicken. Isn't that what everyone always says about unusual food? Legend, folklore whatever you want to call it says eating Iguana Soup gave one strength and virility. It's believed that stems from people thinking The Iguana had 2 penis's. When in fact they have one, that is split...presumably it looked like two.

The colors vary quite a bit and have to do with the age of the Iguana as well as the specific species. Some research indicates there are 7 species in Aruba, the bright green ones are younger then the grayish green ones. They do change color when they feel threatened and camouflage themselves. They eat green leaves and certain fruits. The Marriott, where we stayed had a preserve area for The Iguana's between several buildings, but we found them at the pool as well as there. Periodically, some are trapped and taken to the desert areas so they learn how to fend for themselves and find food. We noticed this practice at a couple of the hotels, so please please please....if you go to Aruba (and I highly recommend you do), DON'T FEED THEM. Well meaning people often want to feed wild creatures and that isn't in their best interest. They then loose their ability to do what comes naturally.

There are also signs that ask people not to chase them, or try to touch them. There are always people who think that sign applies to everyone but them. Saw some of that pool side with 2 young boys...bout 8. I warned them about the sign, parents told me they had told them too, but they weren't listening. One did get scratched, and after that left them alone. If you do come in contact with them, you're instructed to wash your hands very thoroughly as they carry high levels of harmful Salmonella. I kept my beach bag zipped when it was between our chairs, making sure one didn't slither in. We heard several stories about them falling out of trees scaring people near.

*Claudia's Bar in Aruba, best place for Happy Hour
***Aruba, general background

Claudia's Bar in Aruba

**Friday is usually the day for Flat Stanley, but he's out and about for a couple of weeks, he asked that you keep checking in, when he returns...he'll have a special announcement to make**

Walking down the public beach (all beaches in Aruba are open and free to the public), this sign caught our attention. After all, it was time for Happy Hour. Normally we spend happy hour either at a pool bar where we're staying or on our balcony for a break out of the sun as we make dinner plans. But, we decided to take a walk on the beach and stopped here. These prices are the best on The Beach (Palm Beach). Balashi Beer is Aruba's beer, made right there. So, when in Aruba, don't drink Bud, you can do that at home; drink Balashi. It's made with their world famous water. Water in Aruba comes from the desalination plant. Notice the horseshoe pit behind the sign. It was a busy area each and everyday with lots of activity. Playing horseshoes right on the beach much like here you'd see Corn Hole being played here in The States.
This is no ordinary bar along the beach. This is CLAUDIA's BAR. There are many bars up and down the beach associated with hotels, and time shares; but everyone knows Claudia's. It's not large, it's not fancy. In fact, it's funky and full of fun friendly people. This photo was taken one morning before opening time.
To help you find you way to Claudia's Bar, this is a side view of Playa Linda's. Notice the blue horseshoe pit again? Claudia's is to the left of the horseshoe pit. This is one of bars associated with Playa Linda's. We weren't staying at Playa Linda's, but met many people who were staying there, some have come 16+ years! Click on the link to check it out, you can see why people return year after year.

And here's Claudia hard at work. A sweet tiny little gal from Columbia. She's worked here for 6 years, prior to being in the bar she waitressed on the beach. You can see some of what makes this bar so special, so unique. Look at the walls!
Pick a state, a country, a sports team and you'll find a hat someone's left Claudia or mailed to her through the hotel after arriving back home. There are hats, badges, business cards, licenses plates and personal pictures on every available piece of wall in the bar. But, it doesn't stop there. Be sure and click to enlarge the picture to see the variety of locations among the memorabilia.

Everyone enjoys getting their picture taken with Claudia. This was our last night enjoying happy hour at Claudia's. She said Friday and Sat are sad days, everyone says goodbye. Then on Sunday (the typical check in for Playa Linda's), all friends return. She remembers them, and they remember her. See all the signatures on the bar? A black marker gives everyone the opportunity to sign the bar, inside or outside; wherever they can find a spot.

I had to stand on tip toes on the bar stool to add our names to Claudia's. Sandy H & Ernie OSU, that's us! Claudia says if you sign the bar you have to come back and make sure it's still there. No problem. We're already planning when to go again.

This was one of several OSU hats we found at Claudia's. AND....turn on your sound and click HERE, for a cute u-tube video someone made during their fun visit to Claudia's. She's famous!

Previous Aruba post is HERE, if you missed it.

Aruba

One of almost 300 pictures I recently took while in Aruba. Aruba is a fabulous place to vacation and there will many blog posts about it. So Bon bini (Welcome) to Aruba.

Bon bini means welcome in Papiamento, the official language of Aruba. Though it is the official language of Aruba, most residents speak 3 or 4 languages, fluently. You maybe in foreign country a long way from home, but everyone speaks excellent English, so communicating is not a chore. Papiamento is creole derived from Portuguese, African, Arawak native languages and English, accordingly to Wikipedia. However, when we asked it about while in Aruba we were told it's mostly Spanish and it sounds mostly Spanish when you hear it spoken.

Oranjestad is the capital of Aruba and where the airport is. It's also where the famous Palm Beach, and Eagle Beach is. If you've ever watched shows on TV that list the best beaches in world, you've seen Palm and Eagle Beach in Aruba. There are beautiful! White white sand, aqua blue water that's clear and gorgeous.

Locals in Aruba have Dutch passports. Aruba is located 15 miles north of Venezuela, 12 degrees north of the equator and is 69 square miles, measuring 20 miles long and 6 miles wide. Unlike other Caribbean Islands it is a dry climate, arid with cactus strewn about the landscape. In some areas you might feel like you were in Southwestern part of The US.

We spent 8 wonderful nights in Aruba, and are anxious to plan another trip there. Please keep checking in for information and pictures about the beaches, hotels, restaurants, historical landmarks, casinos, and more.

**Flat Stanley will be away for a couple of weeks, and then..............drum roll please. There will be a very special announcement about his very special contest, so do keep checking in. You don't want to miss it.**