ARUBA - THE BUTTERFLY FARM ...

Just 79 miles from Willemstad, Curacao, we docked in Oranjestad, Aruba by 7:00 the next morning.  We would only be in port eight hours,but since everyone had to be back on board thirty minutes before we left AND wanting to eat breakfast before we left the ship, we had less than that. 

We (especially my husband) wanted to spend some time at the beach so that was on our "to-do" list. We were also interested in seeing a lighthouse and The Butterfly Farm. We planned to buy a day-pass for the local bus service ($10 for the day versus $5 for a one-stop pass) and headed straight there as we got off the ship. 

Sounded like a good idea. The only problem was our bus driver didn't announce the stops and we didn't have a map. We ended up missing our stop for The Butterfly Farm. The bus driver wasn't having a very good day and only got angry with me when I told him what had happened. He told me I should have told him when we got on the bus where we wanted to get off. When I told him we would just stay on the bus and get off when he drove by it again(assuming he had a route that he drove all day), he claimed he wouldn't be coming back by there for the rest of the day. He sorta gave us the impression he would turn around, but then didn't stop when he drove by the farm. So we got off at a beach at least a mile from it. After waiting about 20 minutes on the other side of the road for the next bus going back in that direction, we decided to just go to the beach since that was on our list. 

The beach was pretty ...

and not too crowded since it was "early" in the morning. 

We did have a few showers to try to avoid. My husband thought it was funny to see people in bathing suits running from rain (water). 

We enjoyed the beach for a while, but knew we would need to leave since the buses didn't seem to be on a "set-schedule" and we didn't know how long it would take us to get the next one. (If no one wants to get off or no one is at a stop to get on, the bus doesn't stop.)

A bus finally came along and I told the bus driver where we wanted to get off. I asked him if I needed to remind him or say anything or would he remember. He assured me he would remember. It didn't take too long to get there and we saw the sign for the farm in the window as we went by. All of a sudden the bus stops and the driver starts apologizing about forgetting to stop. He was so much nicer than the other driver and just get saying he was sorry. We told him it was fine and we didn't have too far to walk back. As we got off the bus, Friend Carol and I both told him he was so much nicer than the other bus driver we had. 

At The Butterfly Farm you can observe the life cycle from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. It was so fascinating and so informative. I wish I could remember all I learned. Our guide was so knowledgeable. I should have written this post a lot sooner. The link above gives a lot of information about butterflies that I highly recommend your checking out. I spent an hour or more trying to find the names of the butterflies I took pictures of but didn't name for you, but didn't have any luck. Sorry. (The teacher in me just hates that. 😉) And there were so many I didn't get pictures of because they wouldn't cooperate with me and land long enough for me to get a picture. You will just have to go to Aruba and The Butterfly Farm and see them all.

Owl butterflies drinking/feeding...

eggs...

caterpillar...

Cocoon of the moth... (Did you know butterflies do not form cocoons?) 

Pupa of various varieties...  (Chrysalis...This is what butterflies form)

butterfly...

The Malachite butterfly...

Our guide told us that if a butterfly lands on you to make a wish; it is good luck. 

There are three butterflies on my husband...one on his hat, one on his sleeve even with his backpack, and the one on his hand. I told him I hoped he made three good wishes.

Another butterfly feasting...(Our guide told us they would be "drunk" by the afternoon.)

The Owl butterfly...

The next two pictures go together as they are the same butterfly. The first picture shows the underside of the wings when the wings are closed.

Hard to believe it is the colorful butterfly we kept seeing flying around.

A monarch butterfly...

Back to our ship, The Rotterdam...

This concludes my posts for our cruise. After a day at sea, we docked at Georgetown, Grand Cayman at eight o'clock in the morning. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling great and decided to stay on the ship. (It was another early departure at three o'clock and I was feeling fine by then.) I wanted to take some pictures as we left, but couldn't find anything to really take. The Cayman Islands are so different from all of the other islands. (At least the Grand Cayman; there are three islands - Grand Cayman, the largest, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman.) After seeing all of the mountainous/volcanic islands, the Grand Cayman just looked like a sandbar, to me. I don't have any memory of what the dock area looked like. (My husband had taken my phone ashore so he could take some pictures for me. When he turned it on, I had a text message from our son in CO to call when I got the message. Our DIL who was expecting their fifth baby had miscarried. That news certainly was not what I wanted to hear from my husband when he came back on the ship.)

We spent the night in Tampa, Florida when we got back to the states before flying out the next day. While there we drove around and saw the beaches near Clearwater... This beach wasn't as crowded as most.

COCONUT KEY LIME CREAM PIE

After spending 21 of the 29 days of February in Florida and the Caribbean, I had more than one piece of Key Lime pie. After getting back home, I couldn't help but want to make my own version. I have made a version of this recipe before, but decided to make some major changes to it, thus the new name for it.

My husband and I enjoyed a "small" (1/8 of the pie size) piece the night before I was having my quilting canasta friends over for an afternoon of canasta. It was so good, I decided to just serve the rest of it to the ladies and I told my husband I would make us another one. (I haven't yet, but it's because I need to go back to Aldi and get the yogurts I used.)

COCONUT KEY LIME CREAM PIE

1       (4-serving size) package of lime jello (I used a sugar-free package)
1/4    cup boiling water
2       (6 - oz) containers key lime pie Greek yogurt
1       (6 - oz) container toasted coconut Greek yogurt
1       pint French vanilla ice cream, softened
1       (9 - inch) graham cracker pie crust

Mix the lime jello with the boiling water. Stir til jello is completely dissolved.

Add yogurts 

and ice cream to jello mixture.

Stir until all ingredients are well blended.

Pour in pie crust.

Cover and refrigerate several hours til set. (I made mine the afternoon before and cut it at dinner the next night.)

Serves 8

PEANUT BUTTER GOOEY CAKE

I have so much fun trying to find a new recipe to make and take to Hillcrest Thrift Shop to share with the other volunteers. Even though it seems they like everything I take, I sometimes feel some are better received than others. Last week's "treat" was one of those - Paula Dean's Peanut Butter Gooey Cake.

It was definitely a winner. One volunteered came by the register and told me she wanted the recipe. When my "shift" was over, there were only a few crumbs in the pan. (I'm glad I had taken out two pieces and left them at home. My husband was a little disappointed that I didn't bring any back home.)

In Paula's cookbook, The Lady & Sons Just Desserts, she has a two-page spread covering the basic recipe for Butter Gooey Cake with nine other varieties. This Peanut Butter was just one of them.

I tried to let my piece at home last as long as I could by just taking a single bite every time I walked by the covered cake plate where I had it "hiding". Since my covered cake plate is in the corner in my kitchen, usually I had to go out of my way to "walk by it", if you get my drift. Oh well, I didn't feel so guilty eating it slowly that way. I can't wait to try one of the other varieties.

PEANUT BUTTER GOOEY CAKE

Cake:
1       18.25 ounce chocolate cake mix (I used a slightly smaller Devil's Food cake mix)
1        egg
1        stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

Filling:
1       8 - ounce package cream cheese, softened (I used fat-free cream cheese)
3       eggs
1       teaspoon vanilla extract
1       cup creamy peanut butter
1       16 - ounce box confectioners' sugar (3-1/2 cups)
1       stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

1       cup chopped peanuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 - inch baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well.

Pat the batter into the bottom of pan and set aside.

(Whenever I do this I always drop clumps around the pan leaving a little bit in the bowl. 

As you press the batter to cover the bottom,

you can use what you left in the bowl, to fill in the holes.)

Beat the cream cheese until smooth with an electric mixer.

Add eggs and vanilla. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Add the peanut butter.

Dump all of the powdered sugar in at once and

stir slowly with mixer until nice and smooth. (Once you have most of it mixed, you can increase the speed.) 

Add melted butter and mix well.

Pour filling evenly over the chocolate cake mixture.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes.

You don't want to over-bake it, but I did bake it the full 50 minutes in my oven.

Cool completely before you cut it into squares. (I made mine the night before, covered and stored it in the refrigerator overnight.

I cut it into 24 squares before I took it to the thrift shop.)