Karen and Lee Duquette flew to Aruba
November 10, 1992 to celebrate their engagement anniversary of 27 years.
(Yes, they got married long before this date but they still celebrate engagement time.)

Below: Big, weird shaped rocks outside of the hotel. Does the shape remind you of something that cannot be mentioned here?

Below: Views of the Windmill Restaurant and surroundings as seen from the hotel balcony on the 6th floor.

Below: Goats roamed wild throughout the island of Aruba. Everywhere Karen and Lee Duquette went, they had to wait for the goats to cross the road.

Below: While touring Aruba, Karen and Lee Duquette came across The Marina Pirata Restaurant. At first they thought the restaurant was no longer in existence because all they saw was the sign shown below. Then, to the side of the sign, they saw stairs which formed a bridge across some water. Each side of the bridge had lots of mangroves in the water. They crossed the bridge and walked up some stairs.

Below: At the top of the stairs Karen and Lee Duquette came to the restaurant which was closed until later that evening. However, the Chef saw them and brought them inside the restaurant to look around. He even took them into the kitchen and showed them the fish which had been caught that day. He said, "This is tonight's dinner." Karen and Lee told the chef that they would return in the evening and thanked him for the tour of the restaurant.

Below: Near the Marina Pirata Restaurant, Karen Duquette loved the scenery. Lee Duquette was surprised that wherever they were on this side of the island, they were the only people in sight, except in the above restaurant, of course.

Below: The view behind the restaurant

Karen and Lee Duquette returned that evening for a delicious and delightful meal and the chef personally greeted them. Their table was on the dock behind the restaurant and provided them with a nice view of the sunset, even though it was a cloudy evening.

AMAZING Note: Before going to Aruba, Karen Duquette was having major back problems. Yet, Lee Duquette decided to rent a jeep to go into areas that could only be driven with a 4-wheel drive vehicle. The terrain was rough and Karen's back was hurting, so after a short bit, she took off her seat belt, and let her body relax.

A MIRACLE: By the end of the second day of rough jeep rides, Karen's back did not hurt her anymore. (Note: When she returned to the USA and told her doctor, the doctor thought Karen was crazy. Well, Karen might be crazy, but the jeep tour taking away her back pain is a true event).

Below: At the very end of the island stood the "California Lighthouse", which was closed. It was surrounded by huge boulders that looked like extraterrestrial monsters. In this stark landscape, Karen and Lee Duquette often felt like they just landed on the moon.

Below: Behind the lighthouse, a strip of hotels could barely be seen in the background.

Below: Lee Duquette stood in an area surrounding the lighthouse which will soon become a golf course. Karen and Lee are so happy that they got to experience this area and the jeep ride before that happens.

Below: A small portion of a big area of sand mounds which Lee Duquette enjoyed driving the jeep through.

Below: Four of the most prevalent items Lee and Karen Duquette saw in Aruba - The Divi Divi trees, cacti, sand and ocean.

Below: Roads were line with cacti, sometimes just on one side of the road, but often on both sides of the road. The cacti formed a barrier between roads and houses.

Below: As Lee Duquette drove the jeep through very rocky terrain, he decided to take a photo of Karen and him together. So he put the camera on the hood of the jeep, set the self-timer on the camera, and hurried down to join her. There was nobody else around.

Below: Closer views of the cliffs shown in the previous photos.

Below: Other areas that Lee Duquette drove the jeep through that did not have dirt paths or dirt roads. It was bumpy and fun, despite pain in Karen's back from time to time. (which eventually stopped hurting forever)

Below: Lee Duquette could not resist climbing down various cliffs. He always wanted a closer view of the pounding surf.

Suddenly it began to rain. Although it was just a brief rain storm, Karen and Lee Duquette rushed back to the jeep. The jeep did not have a cover, so Lee drove quickly out of the area. The clouds were concentrated over just this small area of the island, so the rain did not last very long.

Below: Back on main street, Lee and Karen Duquette came to Charlie's Bar and Restaurant. The outside of the building had interesting reading material painted on it.

Below: Inside Charlie's Bar and Restaurant, there was lots of reading material on the walls that were interesting.

Below: The bartender said that the baseball caps, hats, shoes and even the bras which were hanging from the ceiling were either left behind at the restaurant or given or mailed to them to hang on the ceiling.

Photos have been put on multiple pages to allow faster viewing.
Continue on to the next page for the jeep tour and more.