Running with the Daug's: Aruba, Jamaica ooo I wanna take ya

As many of you already know, Paul won (me) a trip to Aruba through a performance program at work. Waste Management has over 50,000 employees and out of those employees, only 100 employees were picked to attend. There were several factors involved but the only thing I needed to know is that we got to pack our bags and board a plane to paradise for 5 days/4 nights. It was the first time away from Lilly for more than 24 hours but we all made it. She only gave us a little bit of grief when we got home but that didn't last long.

Once we landed, then was the mode of transportation that took us to our hotel.

The first day we had to hurry and get ready for a meet and greet cocktail/dinner reception. It was good for Paul to finally put a face to all the names he talks and emails with on a daily basis. While Paul was chatting away, I was enjoying the island rum punch and socializing as well. Many of you know, the more I drink, the louder I get! But Paul said that I made good friends with the wife of a very high ranking employee so I guess the rum punch worked.

Everything was "branded" with the Circle of Excellence logo

The second day we were treated to massages in the am and then an afternoon of leisure around the resort. (I.E., hang out at the beach all day and have cabana boys bring you more of the island rum) It was a nice relaxing day but unfortunately, Paul and I both got a little too much sun. Even though we constantly applied and re-applied sunscreen, it didn't help as we were basically sitting on top of the equator. Luckily we had to go in a little early anyway to get ready for that nights catamaran cruise and dinner. It was an early night due to the sun exposure and the next morning’s activities.

On the third day, we signed up to go deep sea fishing. We were paired with another couple on a charted excursion for mahi, tuna, wahoo, etc. It was a slow day of fishing and in the end; the girls were the only ones who reeled anything in! We ended up taking our Mahi over to a restaurant at the dock and they grilled and paired it with some sides for us. Delish! That night we took another catamaran cruise over to a "private island" for dinner and dancing "carnival" party. We ended up partying with all the big wigs on the last boat back to the hotel and hopefully got Paul a new job on executive row...

The Fishing Team - Charlie, Dawn and Daugereau's

Dawn and I at "Carnival"

The fourth and final day was competition day between all the different regions of waste management for bragging rights. You were chosen to play corn hole, volleyball, tug-o-war or three legged race. I was lucky enough to be able to be in the cheering section and hang in the shade. Paul was picked to play "corn hole" and he was paired with the VP of South Sales (or something to that effect). They one the first game and on the second they were in competition against the CEO and his partner. Paul was standing on the same side as the man who signs the checks thru 3 brutal games. He was giddy the whole time and still doesn't stop talking about who he got to stand with that afternoon. In the end, Paul and his partner took 2nd place (after playing for 3 straight hours against 4 team and countless games) and the Southern Region took 2nd overall place as well.