When looking for a get away, we have many more choices than the average person has the money to spend on rest and relaxation these days. For a large majority of people the daily grind of working each day is just a means to get away to the land of the rich and leisurely for that well earned vacation we dream of. It helps us get through each dreary day we schlep into work and home again for what turns out to be most of our lives. But the question each year for those few precious weeks we are allotted by the companies we work for is where to spend the savings we have eked out from our monthly expenses. When it comes to a family vacation by far the locations include beaches and warm weather. Hawaii I just read is the first choice for Americans. Why not! Consistently warm weather, no passport required and no hassles with the currency. But the distance for those of us on the East Coast has been a limiting factor. You don't go for a few days? Even a week kills two full days of travel and the jet lag takes away from several more days both going and coming. The Caribbean Islands and Mexico are very popular locations. Recently Mexico is suffering from the bad press of their drug lords. What is an American tourist worth in negotiations to free their captured leaders. And don't forget the water. How many or us have had some degree of the dreaded Montezuma's revenge? How do you avoid salads and other things made with tap water?
So we have a seemingly endless number of islands to choose from dotting the Caribbean for that well-earned time to rejuvenate. I have been to many of them and like to try a new one each time since when you've see them once, you want a new adventure next time. All of this leads to the fact that this year's family choice was Aruba. Of my many years of vacations it is a repeat that took 25 years to go back to. This is mostly due to the fact that it's a big world and so many places to go. Last time to Aruba was all-inclusive and just my wife and I. This time was a family adventure and my sister, daughter and niece were joining us. It is unfortunate that when we hear the word Aruba our association is immediately with Natalee Holloway. If the name has quickly slipped our aging minds, she is the young girl who disappeared on a class graduation trip. Every parent�s worst fear!� But oddly enough of all vacation choices, it may be the safest of all places to go. Even Honolulu has a much higher crime rate. Having been to Jamaica and the Bahamas you don't just walk around everywhere you please. Only Bermuda is as upscale as Aruba when it comes to safety, which usually correlates the amount of poverty on the island. Everybody takes the US dollar so no problems converting currency. And the weather just as in the commercials is consistently 86 degrees in the day and 75 at night. Yes it is a breezy island with the air moving most of the time. Some days are more than others. Why the bad rap? Because this is the last place you would expect the missing teen story. Since the suspect was a local of Dutch extraction with a rich father who happened to be a judge, local authorities mishandled the case. If the crime were committed by a poor native on any of the islands in the Caribbean we would be awaiting their execution for the justice that American's and particularly Nancy Grace are seeking. How many readers with young female daughters would have picked Aruba for their vacation?
Post written by Barry the Boomer.
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