We had long heard negative reviews of Galveston, including that the town itself was ugly and the shoreline was even worse. But our family loves the beach, and bottom line, Galveston is the one we can get to in the shortest amount of time. We thought after more than nine years of Texas living, it was time to give Galveston a try.
We are so glad we did! We loved it and had an absolutely wonderful time! We arrived around lunchtime, so after a quick meal, we went straight to the beach.
We discovered that while it was true that the beach couldn't compare to Navarre or Newport, there was still plenty of sand, surf, and sky. What more did we need? (Oh, wait, maybe a soccer ball for Gavin, and he was prepared with that!)
(Pay close attention to Caden's footware: I had reminded him multiple times to pack his Sunday shoes, which he did. Sadly, he climbed in the car so early in the morning that he forgot to wear or bring his tennies. The Sunday shoes made for an interesting ensemble when we went to ride the ferry and out to eat that night!)
After dinner, we drove down to explore and stroll along the "Strand"--basically the shopping, historic, and tourist district of Galveston. It was worth a visit. One of the things we loved about Galveston was its size...everything we wanted to see was all within a 20-minute radius, just perfect.
I had scoured the Internet for reviews and postings about great restaurants to try while we were in Galveston. I had to set aside my list as the boys were distracted by a few of their favorite restaurants, including the Golden Corral right next to our hotel (yep, you guessed it; that's where we had dinner Friday night!). It actually worked well for our family with everything from a great salad bar to the chocolate fountain.
Saturday it was a bit rainy but that didn't bother us. The guys started their day at the gym, but I couldn't resist an early-morning walk/jog along the seawall--rain, mist, fog, or no. It was almost completely deserted and I loved every minute.
Next stop today: WalMart for some appropriate footwear for Caden!
Next, we went to the Aquarium Pyramid in Moody Gardens.
We were delighted to discover that we didn't need to squeeze in all of Moody Gardens in one day, but that we could pick a different pyramid each time we visited. We loved the aquarium, including the machine right outside that enabled the boys to experience the power of a hurricane without actually experiencing...a hurricane.
That afternoon the rain continued, but it didn't bother us as we went "tree-treasure hunting." Since Galveston has been hit with some ferocious hurricanes, many of the homes in the historic area of town have trees in their yards which have been partially felled in the storms. In many cases, residents have had sculptures created from these tree remnants. Our tour took us from home to home, searching for the sculpted dolphins, mermaids, and much more. Along the way, we got to see some absolutely incredible historic homes, such as Bishop's Palace.
The rain abated and we tried to go to Pleasure Pier (amusement park rides on a pier), but the rain returned. We decided to save Pleasure Pier for our next visit. Instead, we decided to do something that just literally screamed, "TOURISTS!" We rented a bicycle buggy, and rode along in the rain, mind you, laughing, tooting our horn, and, when the boys were in front, far exceeding the bicycle- buggy speed limit, no doubt.
That night, of course, we had to hit the souvenir shop (my LEAST favorite part of every vacation, alas), but then we finally went to one of the restaurants from my research list--and it was delicious!
Sunday morning was my birthday, and I was not surprised that the men in my life managed to pull off a celebration station even in our hotel room!
After a few celebratory moments, we hurriedly checked out of our hotel and headed to church--the thing, above all, which I choose to do when my b-day lands on Sunday! :-) After church I opened my presents in the car as we headed home. It was a quick trip, but it was worth it! Galveston, we'll be back!!!
