I had an early morning zoom call so I got up early and headed to the lobby to get my work done. Once the Zoom call was finished, I went back to the room but ended up on our balcony to finish my quiet time. It was a great view.
We grabbed breakfast from the buffet in the hotel lobby and then headed out for the day. We have selected three museums to visit. The first, at Tyler's request, is a railroad museum. The tour started in the lobby / gift shop, set up to look like an old time train depot with white statues on display wearing clothes from the 20s-30s. Then we headed into a building of train displays and models and watched a documentary on the Freedom Train that toured the US for the bicentennial. Then it was outdoors to check out the real trains with various cars - sleeper, mail, kitchen, dining, etc. Tyler was so excited!
Next, we headed to the Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig and Museum. When we arrived, they were closed for a private event, so we headed to lunch at Chick-Fil-A to kill some time.
When we returned, we toured three levels including the outdoor platform to learn more about the oil industry and drilling itself. It was very interesting.
A funny note, on the final floor and end of the tour, is a safety zone and one exhibit highlights the different alarms and what they mean on an oil rig. My sweet girl thought it hilarious to pretend to curse and then use the sirens to BLEEP out the words. We could hear her all over the exhibit floor (luckily we were alone). She had such a good time at that one simple exhibit - literally made her day!
At this point, we decided to head back to the room for a quick rest. The next museum is the Galveston Naval Museum, which includes touring a battleship and submarine. Sammy decided she could sit this one out, so she and I stayed at the hotel while the guys headed out.
Sammy and I relaxed in our room a while. She worked on a LEGO set while I finished my Bible study. Then we put on our suits and headed out to by the ocean. We walked the beach, and sat on the piers watching one particularly skilled bird dive for fish. We had a great conversation and it was just what we needed to wrap up the day.
The boys thoroughly enjoyed their time at the Naval Museum and appreciated the uncrowded access and lowkey atmosphere.
Speaking of battleships, one of our past times on this trip has been to play board games together on our phones, primarily Battleship. Ironically, Sammy has honed in her skills and now consistantly spanks all the rest of us every time she plays. Its equal parts infuriating and laughable to us 80s kids who grew up playing the game thinking we were pretty good.
On their way back to the hotel, they picked up Papa's Pizza, rated best pizza on the island for 8 years straight! Tyler had to work at 6:00 pm tonight so the kids enjoyed a meal in the hotel while Scott and I headed out on a date night. We ate at Landry's Steak and Seafood, just 0.3 miles down the road from the hotel. It was a great meal. Afterwards we took a drive to check out the southern end of the island and then grabbed a coffee on the way home.
Sammy was awaiting our return and met us at the door with her swimsuit on! We quick got changed and headed down to the hottub. It was a great and relaxing end to the night.
After showers, Sammy joined us in our room to snuggle up and read me more of her latest novel. By the time we finished, Scott was done in the shower and Tyler wrapped up work and came over as well.
Then we all hung out on our bed and talked, teased and laughed together. It'll probably last as my best memory of the entire trip. It was getting late and I was starting to drift off so we made a plan for morning and sent the kids back to their rooms. Good night Galveston, its been fun!
