Houston's summer has not been as hot as normal, so Gene suggested we get out and do some exploring on Saturday. This fit in perfectly with Will's plan to get a head start on his Cub Scout Bear requirements. One of the requirements is to find out about historical places nearby and go visit one, so Will chose the Battleship Texas and that's where we headed first thing on Saturday morning.
Unfortunately, this was all we got to see of the battleship! It was struck by lightning on the Fourth and lost all power, so it was closed when we got there on Saturday.
Not ones to be deterred by a lack of power, we walked around the nearby graveyard until the aggressive salt marsh mosquitoes, who are not repelled by DEET, drove us away.
We drove to the San Jacinto Battleground, and walked on some of the trails there.
As I said, it was not blazing hot!
When the boys had had enough hiking, we took the elevator to the top of the monument.
View from the top.
And then it was time for our picnic lunch! We realized very quickly that we couldn't eat at the battleground due to the mosquitoes, so a quick map search took us to nearby Sylvan Beach Park. This place was jam-packed with families frolicking in the water, fishing off the pier, and enjoying picnic lunches. It turned out to be the perfect spot for our picnic.
As we drove up to the park, we noticed the La Porte Heritage Society right across the street from Sylvan Beach. We popped in for a quick visit after lunch. The museum is housed in the old Sylvan Beach Depot. Back in the 20s and 30s, Sylvan Beach was a very popular tourist destination and many people rode the "Midnight Express" train down to La Porte from Houston. Sometime in the 30s, the beach was filled in and was only reopened about 6 years ago. It is clearly a very popular beach once again!
We toured the museum and the rail car.
The museum complex also houses La Porte's very first library, which opened in 1921 with just 110 books. The museum wasn't on our radar at all, but it was definitely a fun place to visit!
For a day that did not go exactly to plan, we managed to have a wonderful time exploring and discovering new places in our community.
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