In this episode of One Happy Podcast, I am being joined by Maggie.  I know it has been a long time since we have spoken but after this episode, you will understand why.  

Over the last several months my life has been completely turned upside down, but now that things are starting to normalize, its time to get back to recording.  

In this first episode, you not only learn the story of why the podcast has been dormant but also we talk about the fact that we are returning to Aruba at the end of the month.

Some preparations have already been made for our next visit to the island including booking an Airbnb rental, pre-flight hotel, and rental car.  So on this episode of One Happy Podcast, we talk about all of that.  I hope you enjoy.  

onehappypodcast.com The Officially Unofficial Podcast of the Island of Aruba

Today I bringing you the second part of my March 2019 Aruba trip report.  This was actually recorded a while ago, but due to technical difficulties was not released until just now.  

On this episode, we talk about some of the restaurants we visited during the second part of our trip, including a couple of new ones.  We also talk about adopting our kittens from the Aruba animal shelter and the process of securing a flight home for those kittens.  Also, we talk about the Airbnb we used for the second half of our trip to the island.  So if any of this sounds interesting to you, please do enjoy episode 122 part B, of One Happy Podcast... the Officially Unofficial Podcast of the island of Aruba.

Hey all! Maggie and I are down in Aruba as of this moment for our first vacation trip in the island for 2019 and we’re here to give you a blow by blow report of our experience so far.

Upon departing, we left Delaware on Friday night to fly out of BWI. We stayed at the Sheridan this time around which was great and ate some really good crab cakes which are Maryland’s specialty. After that, it was an early start the next morning for a 4 ½ flight to Aruba.

1ST DAY

We chose Amigo for our car rental and saddled into our Kia Picanto. It’s a great little car that’s ideal for parking anywhere. Our plan for accommodations on this trip is to stay at our usual rental in Palm for the 1st half and then at an Airbnb in Noord for the 2nd half.

Dinner was spent at The Lazy Turtle, which was becoming a 1st-day tradition. The French Onion Soup they had was notably excellent. We planned to watch the Lighting Parade which was supposed to start at 8 pm until around midnight but we ended up coming too early and missed it.

2ND DAY

The next morning, we had a lovely brunch with our friend Ann at Windows Restaurant and later in the day got the chance to head to the beach. Meltaway Cafe was the destination for dinner. It’s a cool place with a unique concept which is serving cheese-based food.

3RD DAY

Today we opted to go to the beach early and spent almost the entire day at Palm while grabbing some food at Eduardo’s and Scott’s Brats in between. We didn't leave the beach until 5:30 pm, then headed to dinner with Ann again at this new place called Opus Restaurant. We definitely recommend this place. Their food was awesome and they had an excellent staff. This was followed by a short trip to Marriott Stellaris for some gelato which in our opinion is the best on the island.

4TH DAY

This day was filled with excitement as we headed over to the animal shelter, and ended up choosing 2 kittens to adopt. We named our two new bundles of joy Kiki and Koko. We still need time to work out the adoption process so we can fly them back with us to the U.S. but we’re very looking forward to welcoming them in our family!

That’s it for our trip report for part 1, stay tuned for the remaining parts!

ON THIS EPISODE ON ONE HAPPY PODCAST, YOU WILL:

Hear about my story of...

- almost losing my credit card

- our flight attendant showing her bartending skills

- the waiter at The Lazy Turtle being unintentionally funny

RESTAURANTS AND SERVICES MENTIONED:

- The Lazy Turtle

- Amigo Car Rental

- Windows Restaurant

- Meltaway Cafe

- Eduardo's Beach Shack

- Scott's Brats

Grand Children's Parade

When: February 17 (Sun) / 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Route: Aruba Entertainment Center - EX DOW, Oranjestad

• The biggest children’s parade includes all of the island’s different Carnival groups to form Aruba’s Grand Children’s Carnival parade.
• Hundreds of children enjoy the opportunity to show off their dancing skills and colorful costumes.
• Held in downtown Oranjestad.

OTHER CARNIVAL EVENTS:

La Ora Loca Jump Up

When: February 15 (Fri) / 8:00 pm - 1:00 am

Where: Santa Cruz

• La Ora Loca (“the crazy hour” in Spanish) a popular tradition involving dancing and partying complete with colorful and festive props and clothing
• Entertainers will put on a spectacular show and will perform as drummers, dancers, stilt walkers and more
• Everybody dons a mask and beads, and revels like the end is nigh

Transfer of Command

When: February 17 (Sun) / 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Where: Bestuurskantoor, Oranjestad

Yoga + Full Moon Circle

When: February 20 (Wed) / 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Where: Cirkel (Caya G.F. Betico Croes 97-1, Oranjestad)

Hosted by Tribuluna

Source: https://www.facebook.com/events/2188440891404521/

• Full Moons are a great time to gather, share & connect, to harness the potent energy of the bright Moon and get clarity and insight on where you are right now and what you wish to release or grow more of in your life.
• This evening will consist of:
• • a Tribu Yoga session (actively moving along with your breath to release any stagnant energy and come back to a state of balance)
  • a short guided meditation & relaxation
  • chakra balancing exercise
  • self reflection/stream of consciousness writing exercise
  • a chance to share and connect at the end.
• Please bring your favorite fragrant flower, herb, crystals, or essential oil, or any items you wish to share and/or charge in this sacred space.
• Carina @tribuluna is the creator of @cirkelaruba and @mommamoontribe, doula, prenatal coach & yoga instructor, and has been hosting Moon Circles since 2013.
• Sign up required - spaces are limited!
• $15 ✨Package deals available ✨
• For more info or reservations send us a PM or w’app 5927127!

Today I have a very special returning guest who hasn’t been around for a while. Master comedian “Aruba” Ray Ellin joins us once again to talk about the return of Aruba Ray Comedy to One Happy Island this coming 4th of February to the 3rd of April.

Aruba Comedy is a New York-style comedy show held at the Marriott-Stellaris featuring a top notch line-up with his fellow master comedians. Trip Advisor rated it as #1 on Tripadvisor in the “Nightlife” Category, the “Fun Activities and Games” Category, and the “Show” Category.

For more information about the line-up and shows, you can visit www.arubacomedy.com. It is encouraged for interested persons to purchase discount tickets online because it’s more guaranteed and can save money. As an added perk, there will be a raffle after the show for a few lucky ticket holders.

The incredibly strong line-up for the upcoming shows consists of the list below. Most are familiar faces in Aruba Ray Comedy but some are first timers.

• Brian Scott McFadden
• Mike Vecchione
• Katie Hannigan
• Pete Lee
• Judy Gold
• Gary Vider
• Tony V
• Dan Naturman
• Brian Scolaro
• Jim Colton
• Chloe Hilliard
• Robert Kelly
• Chuck Nice
• Ricky Velez
• Rachel Feinstein
• Christine Hurley
• Mike Cannon

Ray and I also talk about our mutual interest in football and his show “This Week at the Comedy Cellar”. It’s one of the premiere comedy clubs in the world. So many comedians have passed through there on their journey to fame. To find out more about this show, you can visit: http://www.cc.com/shows/this-week-at-the-comedy-cellar

This week in Aruba is evolving yet again and I hope you enjoy these changes we are making.  On this episode we talk about the following:

• What food items people pack when coming to the island
• Grocery store cost comparisons between Aruba and the United States
• KYSS Bags
• When is it appropriate to pack for Aruba

Additionally there is a new segment called “The Good, the bad and the ugly”.  And of course we talk about a couple of events happening and the cruise ship port schedule for timeshare week 3 of 2019.  

Children & Youth Carnival Queen Election (January 19, 2019)

• The Children & Youth Carnival Queen election is when Aruba chooses its youngest Carnival Queens.
• Carnival excitement builds as Aruba elects its first queens of the season.
• Contestants in the Children’s Carnival Queen election are 6-9 years of age.
• Youth Carnival Queen contestants are aged 13-17.
• All demonstrate their carnival spirit through dance performances, speeches and carnival shows.
• Venue: Aruba Entertainment Center at 7.00 p.m.

Aruba's Carnival Queen & Mrs. Carnival Elections (January 24, 2019)

• Aruba's Carnival Queen & Mrs. Carnival election and coronation will take place at Aruba Entertainment Center (Oranjestad)
• The central figure of Carnival in Aruba is the Queen.
• The role of the Carnival Queen is to lead all the street parades and to make a public appearance that promotes Carnival. The carnival queen represents the Aruban carnival at home and abroad during her reign.
• The queen is elected during the carnival period and represents one of the many Carnival groups.
• In addition to the Carnival Queen election, there is also a Carnival Youth Queen election, Carnival Children's Queen election and Mrs. Carnival.

Today we invite to the show, Jeremy Patterson, an incredible guest who I met via Instagram. He reached out after having discovered the show and we have been talking back and forth ever since.  Jeremy runs a website called whenisyournexttrip.com.  "When is your next trip" is dedicated to Jeremy's travels and you really should go there to check out some of his photography.

So, Jeremy stumbled upon the podcast while he was looking for Aruba content and was blew away by the fact that it has more than a hundred episodes. I was absolutely thrilled to know that One Happy Podcast usually accompanies him on his daily commute because that's exactly what I envisioned this podcast's purpose — to be able to listen to it while you're doing something else in your daily lives.

On this episode, Jeremy and I will discuss the place he usually stays at in Aruba, his favorite activities and restaurants, and basically his experiences in Aruba.

He is a fellow Pittsburgher who's been to Aruba 9 times over the past 12 years. He first came to Aruba back in 2006 by a family invitation and stayed at Divi Aruba. Everywhere he’s stayed at ever since he started going to Aruba is pretty much around the Divi property.

Fishing is one of the activities that Jeremy is fond of doing on the island. Jeremy also enjoys heading over to the Renaissance Private Island, sunset cruises, relaxing and people watching. Jeremy also happens to take incredible pictures using his iPhone.

The restaurants he enjoyed from his trips include ODB, Hopi Bon, Dutch Pancake House, Casa Tua, Fusion Wine and Piano Bar, Matthew’s, Ricardo’s, Lucy’s, MooMba, Bugaloe, Nos Clubhuis, and Zeerovers.

ON THIS EPISODE OF ONE HAPPY PODCAST, YOU WILL:

• Hear about Jeremy’s thoughts about Divi Aruba
• Restaurants that Jeremy enjoys on the island 
• Hear Jeremy's experience with the crying room

ESTABLISHMENTS AND RESTAURANTS MENTIONED:

• Divi Aruba
• ODB (Old Dirty Bird)
• Hopi Bon Grill
• Dutch Pancake House
• Casa Tua
• Fusion Wine & Piano Bar
• Matthew's Beachside Restaurant
• Ricardo's Restaurant & Bar
• Lucy's Retired Surfers Bar & Restaurant
• MooMba Beach Bar & Restaurant
• Bugaloe Beach Bar & Grill
• Nos Clubhuis
• Zeerovers

Happy New Year! Welcome to the first episode of This Week in Aruba in 2019. We're gonna switch things up a lot this time and flush the format. So last year, TWIA was more events-based, but this year, we'll be focusing more on commentaries for what's happening around Aruba or some topics from the view of the people who love to visit Aruba via the Facebook and forum posts.

We have a couple of topics that we want to go through:

• Who has the best cheeseburger on the island? Some popular opinions are:
• • Alfie’s
  • Local Store
  • Twist of Flavours
  • Chalo Burger
  • Barney’s
  • Dushi Bagel
  • Bingo
  • Matthew’s
  • Champion’s
  • White Modern Cuisine (during lunchtime)
  • Smokey Joe’s

• A subject that’s near and dear to our hearts about adopting pets from Aruba.

• What do you do when a friend asks you about Aruba? How do you react to that question?

• What’s the best time of year to visit Aruba? The weather is mostly the same all-year round but are their certain factors that will make you go a specific month?

We’d love to hear your opinions on these topics as well! You can contact us via the One Happy Podcast hotline at (302) 635-0815 or send us a message on Facebook or via email to curt@onehappypodcast.com.

So now we’re gonna jump into the events happening this 2nd timeshare week in Aruba from Friday, January 11th to Thursday, January 17th.

Aruba Carnival Season

When: January 5 to March 3, 2019  (all day)

• Carnival means weeks of events that bring you
• • colorfully decorated floats
  • contagiously throbbing music
  • luxuriously designed costumed groups of celebrants of all ages
  • King & Queen elections
  • electrifying Jump Ups
  • Torch Light Parades that wind their way through the streets at night
  • the Jouvert Morning Pajama Parade
  • the Children's Parades
  • and finally the Grand Parade!
• Officially starting in November, the majority of events, celebrations and parades are held in January and February until the Burning of King Momo, marking the end of Carnival Season.
• After the Burning of King Momo the entire island goes on hiatus, known as Carnival Monday (official day of rest).

Prins & Pancho

When: January 12 (Sat) / 7:00 pm - 12:00 am

Where: Carnival Harbour Arena (Oranjestad)

• Prins & Pancho Election and Coronation (Children and Youth)
• The Prince and Pancho are two figures in Aruba's carnival tradition.
• The Prince's main task is to present his Queen to the people upon her election, and to accompany her wherever she appears.
• The Prime Minister opens the reign of the royal court by handing over the keys of the Island to the Prince.
• Pancho is the personal assistant of the Prince. His role is to tell jokes and accompany the Prince in his royal functions.
• The Prince and Pancho are chosen for their royal qualities. The duo is chosen for their comedy, personality, educational content and audience popularity.

In the past, we used to have a long list of events but this time we just want to focus on a main event per week. We will have more events listed in the future, but for now, we just want to keep this episode short and sweet.

Onto the cruise ship schedule for this week:

Before we go, we’re giving a shoutout to Vallon Davis who I recorded a One Happy Podcast episode with. Thank you for being patient with me on your episode despite some technical problems.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of This Week in Aruba! Let us know your thoughts over the new format by contacting us via the One Happy Podcast hotline at (302) 635-0815 or send us a message on Facebook or via email to curt@onehappypodcast.com.

It's a new year, which means it's time for the first podcast of 2019. On this episode, we welcome back Vallon Davis who was a past guest in One Happy Podcast. Vallon is someone who is very passionate about Aruba and it's always a pleasure to have him on the show.

Now, this won't be the usual format of OHP because Vallon and I have done all that before. This podcast episode will simply revolve around our conversation as he recounts his experiences from his latest trip to Aruba last September 14-26, 2018.

Vallon is from Trinidad, so he's a bit different from my usual guests who are mostly from the States. He talked about the flight difficulties that he encountered, which you may not expect, considering that he lives in the same region as Aruba.

We also discussed the different properties that he stayed at. He has a penchant for finding off-the-beaten-path kind of accommodations which is very interesting to hear about.

Other topics that you will come across: how the movie-watching experience is in Aruba for those who haven't tried it yet, the restaurants that Vallon visited, and other small challenges that he faced during his journey down in Aruba.

ON THIS EPISODE OF ONE HAPPY PODCAST, YOU WILL:

• Hear about the mysterious story about the opened lock in his suitcase
• Listen to a story of how he got mistaken as a staff and an Aruba local
• Know why he wants to learn Papiamento for his next Aruba trip
• Hear all about his recommended website for finding flights

ACCOMMODATIONS AND RESTAURANTS MENTIONED:

• Hostel Pista Q
• La Cabana
• Hotel California Aruba
• El Gaucho
• Caribbean Buffet
• Grand Fish Restaurant