A Summer Adventure: Corpus Christi (Part One)

With Will off in France for three weeks, Gene suggested that Henry and I head off on our own adventure for a few days.  We decided to go to Corpus Christi because of Henry's love for baseball and turtles.  Unfortunately, we weren't there during a sea turtle release, but we had an amazing time.  Here's part one of our adventures!

Buc-ee's is our must stop on the way for snacks and coffee. Henry enjoys mochas -- we just mix hot chocolate and coffee together for him. 

After a long drive, Henry was collapsed in the hotel lobby.

We arrived in Corpus on Monday night and the only thing on our agenda was a visit to Whataburger Field to see the Corpus Christi Hooks play.  

Minor league baseball is awesome.  We had perfect seats right behind home plate.  Much of the field is shaded, so we were very comfortable.  

The freebies at a minor league game are also pretty phenomenal. We were there on dollar dog night, so dinner was inexpensive and then Henry got a Sammy the Seagull bobblehead toothbrush holder

and a free t-shirt!  We also got another free shirt for Gene.  

New caps from the gift shop.

The view of the harbor bridge in the background is beautiful.  And best of all, the Hooks won!  

At breakfast the next morning, Henry was sporting his new shirt and cap.  

We headed to the USS Lexington, also known as the "Blue Ghost."  The Lexington is an Essex-class aircraft carrier that was build in 1943.  

 

It was hot on the flight deck but it's always amazing to see these massive ships and planes. We were in awe.  

After our visit to the Lexington, we toured the Texas State Aquarium, which is located right next door.  

The highlight for us was seeing the sea turtles, of course.  We learned that when a turtle's shell cracks (because it was hit by a boat, for example), microscopic air bubbles get trapped and this causes the turtle to float.  Floating turtles can't dive for food and so they are not considered releaseable into the wild.   

There were beautiful mosaics everywhere.  

We also caught part of a dolphin show, which was incredible.  

The rest of the aquarium was pretty spectacular too.  

We took one last photo at the otter sculpture.

We were pretty tired after a very full morning so had some down time at our hotel before a late lunch at a Thai restaurant. We tried Thai iced teas for the first time.

Our afternoon was fairly lazy -- just a swim at the hotel pool, dinner and plenty of time for our audiobook.  

A Sunday Adventure: Galveston

With a three-day weekend ahead of us, we decided to spend Sunday down in Galveston. We hadn't been since last June, and January is always a nice, quiet time for a visit to the island. We left home shortly after 9am and arrived at Moody Gardens just after opening.  

The boys get in free to one attraction with their good grades, so we chose to visit the newly renovated aquarium.  The aquarium doesn't disappoint. We saw penguins, sea lions, sharks, and fish galore.  The penguins are a highlight and we were there in time for the 11am feeding.

Yep, Henry is taller than a penguin!  

We took advantage of all the touch ponds.  We even got to touch the moon jellies, which are much firmer than I would have expected.  Touching the bat rays is always fun too.

The aquarium was fun, but next time, we'll go back to the Rainforest Pyramid, as it's been years since we've been there. 

After visiting the aquarium, we headed to our new favorite restaurant, the Mosquito Cafe. The food is so good there!  Then we hit our favorite local shops -- Galveston Coffee Roasters, Galveston Bookshop, and LaKing's Confectionery.  We came home with pounds of coffee, four new books and a couple of bags of taffy.

We were there in time for the 1pm taffy pull.

Galveston is one of our favorite spots for a quick getaway and we can't wait to get back!

A Sunday Adventure: Galveston

Our Saturday was busy with work around the house (farmers market, cooking and baking, Pinewood Derby cars, and yardwork) but we worked hard in order to treat ourselves to a day in Galveston on Sunday! After a long string of chilly, rainy days, we were all itching to get out and explore.

We started at the Aquarium at Moody Gardens, which we hadn't visited in almost four years. The boys got in free because of their good grades.

The boys loved the shark scavenger hunt through the aquarium and we stopped and read about all kinds of fish, sharks and anemones. Our favorites were the seals and seal lions, Kemp's ridley sea turtles, and penguins, of course!

 

We arrived at the penguin enclosure right at feeding time. We learned so much from the biologist on duty.

You know we can't skip these cut-outs!

After visiting the aquarium, we ate an early lunch at the Garden Restaurant. The boys love the buffet! We walked around a bit outside. Goofy boys! 

It was a gorgeous day to be outside -- in the 50s and sunny!

Our next stop was Galveston Island State Park. We had never been before and hiking was was exactly what we needed after a big buffet lunch. 

Some of the trails were muddy after the recent rains, and there had been a prescribed burn a couple months back, but it was still absolutely beautiful! We saw a crab and a great blue heron and found many oyster shells.

After our hike, we hopped in the car and drove to the opposite end of Galveston, onto Pelican Island to visit Seawolf Park. Seawolf Park is home to the USS Cavalla (submarine) and the USS Stewart (destroyer escort). Seawolf Park is named after the USS Seawolf, one of the 52 submarines lost during World War II.

We had a guided tour of the Cavalla and learned so much about the submarine. During wartime, 80 men would have been on board. Beds were everywhere, including over the torpedoes!

Henry found a backgammon board in the crew's mess.

After touring the Cavalla, we visited the USS Stewart, a destroyer escort. An anti-submarine ship, the USS Stewart is one of only three remaining destroyer escorts in the country.

 

We wandered around Seawolf Park for a bit afterwards.

And then we ended our day at Fisherman's Wharf with dinner and a view of the Elissa and the boats in the harbor. Our favorite ice cream shop, La King's, was closed but we treated the boys to caramel apples from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. 

What a perfect day in Galveston! The boys had so much fun that they are already asking me to plan our next adventure...