Greetings from MY island...

     Yes, it is MY island...I have been coming to Aruba off and on for 10 years now and truly believe that I belong here.  And this week was the most relaxing and battery recharging of them all.  I experienced less rain than any other visit at this time of the year...(in fact, it rained twice during my entire stay).  Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the time it is time to move on from here.  Aruba is an adventure best shared with someone else.  While there is much to do for a single person, it is a romantic and beautiful island that is even more beautiful if you are with someone else...(significant other, life partner, girlfriend, however you want to say it).  So, until that part of my life becomes a reality, I will seek other adventures.  I will return to Aruba when I have someone to share MY island with...(she's probably standing right in front of me, right, Toni?).  In the meantime, I want to thank Bob and Toni for sharing their vacation with me.  Coming down here and seeing them is something I look forward to every year...(so I have about 360 days to find my someone special).

     This is my first international blog, by the way, and it took forever to get down here thanks to US Airways.  I left Phoenix on time and landed in Philadelphia on time Saturday morning (after three schedule changes).  We took off from Philadelphia on time and after an hour and a half turned around and returned to Philly.  The pilot claimed an electrical problem and for our safety we needed to return.  We landed back in Philly at 9:30 and didn't leave again until 3 pm...after sending us to the wrong terminal twice!  But they gave us a $10 meal voucher for our inconvenience...So the flight didn't arrive in Aruba until after 9 pm (local time).  By the time time I reached my lodgings it was after 11 pm, so I was awake for 31 hours and spent 24 of those hours in a plane or airport.  But they gave us a $10 meal voucher for my inconvenience...Not only did I lose a day's vacation, but a night's sleep as well.  But they gave us a $10 meal voucher for my inconvenience...My question is this...I was originally scheduled to fly to Aruba from Charlotte, why not divert there?  Why did we need to fly back to Philly?   Charlotte is another hub of US Airways so what is the deal?  Then they tell us a plane will leave at 1 pm at Gate 25.  At ten minutes to 1 they announced that it would leave from Gate 26 which was across the terminal aisle (no problem).  Then they announced that this wasn't our plane.  Our plane was leaving out of Gate 10 clear across the other side of the terminal and not until 3 pm.  But they gave us a $10 meal voucher for my inconvenience... Needless to say I have a beef with US Airways.  When I arrived in Aruba I checked my email and US Airways had "generously" given me a $50 voucher for a future flight...for my inconvenience.  I am waiting until I return home (hopefully, because I am flying, yes, with US Airways).  If the experience is as "delightful" as it was on the way down here, then I will politely tell them to shove their voucher into their colon. If I make it home safely, then I will pursue a more fair resolution for "my inconvenience."  Stay tuned for further developments.  Bon Bini, (Good day) to everyone.