EP88: Aruba Ray Ellin transports an NYC comedy club to paradise

Give it up for one of the most hilarious and genuine guys I know, Aruba Ray Ellin, as we welcome him back for another episode of One Happy Podcast! Ray and I catch up with some things we’ve missed out on and talk about his upcoming shows of Aruba Ray’s Comedy at the Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino.

Here’s the thing – Ray has nothing but excitement and praise for the line-up so anyone who’s planning to attend are in for a real good time. Along with Aruba veteran comedians, Ray will be joined by some new faces who will be making their first trip to the island. One thing’s for sure, they are all on a mission to make Aruba ring with laughter.

Ray discusses all the perks one can get when attending the shows. Good food and drinks? Yeah. Great atmosphere? Sure. A grand time filled with endless laughs? Guaranteed. For each ticket, there will also be free slot cash or match play in the Stellaris Casino.

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EP87: Visiting Aruba for 45 Years with Ginny

Joining me today on One Happy Podcast is an Aruba visitor who has been coming to the island for 45 years. After being introduced to the island by her parents at the age of 4, naturally Ginny Ohl developed an unbreakable bond. That bond which was forged as Ginny was growing up was one she would hope to one day share with her family. Now that the dream is a reality Ginny travels to the island with her family and they now all share that same deep connection with the island.

On this episode of One Happy Podcast, Ginny takes us for a trip down her personal memory lane that encompasses countless Aruba trips spanning four and a half decades. This is an awesome episode for you long time visitors with memories of the Aruba from yesteryear. However, short-timers will also appreciate Ginny’s love for Aruba and everyone will be able to appreciate the family aspect of this podcast.

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EP86 – The Ins and Outs of Aruba Vacation Rentals with Liz Ginocchio

Episode 86 of One Happy Podcast is one in which we tackle the subject of renting a vacation home in Aruba. As you already know I’m a bit of a veteran when it comes to vacation rentals, but to make certain I got the absolute best info for you guys I went out to get professional help. So, I reached out to Liz Ginocchio of myarubadreamvilla.com to provide her expertise in Aruba vacation rentals.

Although private vacation rentals have been around forever, with the explosion of AirBnB over the last few years, they are finally coming to the forefront. People are seeing the value and personalization that comes along when you decide to explore what’s out there and they are getting curious. Anytime I am asked where I stay (and answer “in a private home”) it kicks off a conversation about what it’s like renting a home in Aruba. Those questions and conversations were the inspiration for this episode of the show.

My Aruba Dream Villa is one of the top property management and vacation rental agencies on the island. During this interview, we talk to Liz about not only her rental agency but about renting in general. This episode isn’t about trying to sway anyone’s opinion as to which is the better vacation option. Episode 86 is all about providing information so you as the consumer are informed about all of your options.

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EP85 – Exploring Aruba with Donna Dubrink

Joining me for Episode 85 of One Happy Podcast is long time Aruba visitor Donna Dubrink. How long has Donna been visiting Aruba? She has been visiting for 24 years and still loves the island just as much as she did the first time.

Recently Donna was in Aruba staying at her beloved Playa Linda Timeshare and was nice enough to stop by to talk about it. Now, just because Donna stays at a resort on a prime location on Palm Beach don’t think she only stays around the resort. Donna is an explorer at heart. This love for exploration has led her to discover countless nooks and crannies around the island.

So, on this episode of the show Donna takes us back 24 years to when she first stepped off the plane onto the tarmac of the airport. Over that time she has experienced many different accommodations but the Playa Linda is home, and also the place where her most recent trip is centered. We talk about that trip and how someone who has been visiting Aruba for more than 2 decades still finds a way to enjoy the island and discover new aspects of it.

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Michelle K Yoga in Aruba

Joining me on Episode 84 of One Happy Podcast is Michelle Kalina.  Michelle is a yoga instructor, health and wellness coach and a fellow Aruba lover.  Last month Michelle had the unique opportunity of teaching a sunset yoga class at the Aruba Renaissance, a class that some of you may have had the opportunity of…

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EP82: 6 Weeks in Aruba with Gae and Charlie Bailey

On Episode 82 of One Happy Podcast, I am fortunate enough to be joined by two guests, Gae and Charlie Bailey. The Bailey’s have been traveling to Aruba for 14 years and are absolutely in love with the island. You could call their introduction to the island and act of divine intervention but you’ll have to listen to know what I mean. Over time they have increased their time spent on Aruba with each visit. This last trip the Bailey’s were able to stay for a total of six weeks, which is an absolute dream for most of us.

In this interview, Gae and Charlie take us on a trip to their Aruba, which is filled with friends, fun, and adventure. Six weeks on Aruba is a long time and needs to be treated differently from your standard vacation. Gae and Charlie clue us in on how it’s possible to vacation for that long without breaking the budget. Over the course of their trip, they stayed at 5 different properties and tell us about each of them. Additionally, Gae and Charlie tell us about their incredible Carnival experience, some excellent and budget friendly Aruba restaurants and how they like to spend their days on the island.

This episode is awesome because it gives you a different perspective on how to do Aruba. For many of us, an Aruba vacation ends up being days on the beach, dinner in an expensive restaurant and then the casino at night. That’s style of vacation isn’t sustainable for most of us over a long period of time. This podcast episode is about an alternative method of Aruba vacation that emphasizes the island’s natural charm, incredible people and a sense of adventure, all of which are free. If you are someone who has wondered what it would be like to stay on the island for an extended period of time you are definitely going to want to listen to episode 82 of One Happy Podcast – 6 weeks in Aruba with Gae and Charlie Bailey.

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EP81: Kristina Tisellano and Aruba Carnival

Joining me for Episode 81 of One Happy Podcast is Kristina Tisellano. Kristina is a repeat guest on the show (Episode 33) where we learned that she has been visiting Aruba since she was 4 years old. Kristina is an owner at the Playa Linda but her timeshare weeks are in the summer. This time around Kristina was on the island for Carnival. However, unlike most of us, Kristina wasn’t on Aruba to watch Carnival, she was there to participate.

In this interview, Kristina shares the story of her latest adventure which took place this February. The main focus of this trip to Aruba was to participate in Carnival but the two of us discuss so much more. Kristina shares with us, this awesome apartment she rented for the week. Also, Kristina and I talk about a couple of topics I receive inquiries about on a weekly basis; healthy eating and nightlife. Having basically grown up on the island Kristina is thoroughly in tune with the after dark festivities that go on around the island and as a self-described pescatarian, she can speak to that a lot better than my meat loving ass.

This episode of One Happy Podcast was a lot of fun to record and also pretty inspirational if you are someone that has some trepidation about doing something on the island. Kristina had a dream of wanting to be in Carnival, and she set out to make it happen. During that same timeframe, I was also on the island and went skydiving, making a dream of mine happen. I’m sure you dream about something, we all do, go out and make yours happen.

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EP80: Bev and Bill Flood and their 13th Trip to Aruba

Today on Episode 80 of One Happy Podcast, I am being joined by a couple of Aruba-lovers who just returned from their 13th trip to the island.  Bev and Bill Flood first visited the island via cruise ship but very quickly they stopped window shopping.  The couple’s second visit to Aruba would be a full…

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EP79 – Alfie’s in Aruba with Peter and Amal

On episode 79 of One Happy Podcast, I am lucky enough to be joined by Canadians Peter and Amal Kasouf, the proprietors of Alfie’s in Aruba. Peter and Amal discovered Aruba thanks to his father who had been a visitor for many years. After visiting Aruba for a few years, the couple decided that maybe it was time for a change. So, after booking an appointment to see a bar that was for sale, there live’s would be forever changed.

If you, like many visitors, don’t visit the downtown area very often, you may not be familiar with Alfie’s. Alfie’s is a new-ish bar in the downtown area that in my opinion is going to be a destination. Alfie’s isn’t the easiest place to find, but once you do turns out to be a real treasure. Known for their juicy burgers and delicious poutine, to me the personalities of the owners is the real star of the show. This is the realization of a dream by two crazy Canucks who relocated and brought a bit of Canada to One Happy Island.

Not only is this episode of One Happy Podcast full of personality, there is also plenty of wisdom. It’s not often you get to sit down and talk to someone who actually made the move from conventional four season life to 365 days of Summer. If you’ve ever thought about purchasing a business and relocating to Aruba, you will want to listen to this latest episode of One Happy Podcast.

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EP78 – Aruba Curt and Maggie’s February 2017 Trip Recap

On this “Super-sized” episode of Aruba’s number one podcast, “One Happy Podcast”, I am being joined by my partner in crime Maggie. We will be going over our most recent trip to Aruba which took place from February 25th through March 6th. If you haven’t heard any of these recap episodes before, we basically go over everything we did on our visit. We start from departing our home all the way through boarding the plane to return home.

During this hour-plus long episode of the show, we go over several activities we participated in down on the island. Some of these activities include Aruba Ray’s Comedy at the Marriott Stellaris Hotel and Casino, the brand new Kukoo Kunuku Wine and Tapas tour, watching the Grand Carnival Parade, beach hopping, bar hopping and skydiving. We also talk about the restaurants we visited during the vacation. Among the restaurants we discussed are some of our old favorites like Quinta Del Carmen and Azzurro as well as places we visited for the first time like Legend’s and Aflie’s. All together I think we talk about more than 20 different eateries. I’m not sure how you eat at more than 20 different places in 10 days, especially since we repeated a couple and packed lunches at times.

While ten days is a nice length of time to be in Aruba, for some reason it still was not enough. The need you feel for wanting to get back into your Aruba routine directly clashes with wanting to try new things. For an island that is so darn small, no matter how many times or how often you visit there is always something new to discover. Maybe that’s just one more reason why we all keep coming back.

Maggie and I had a lot of fun on the trip and continued that fun during this podcast episode. We opened a bottle of wine, turned on the microphones and this is what happened. Thank you so much for supporting the show. Also, please excuse my congestion going from Aruba to Baltimore clogged me up for a couple of days so I do sound a bit more nasally than normal.

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