Day 6 - Lots of Museums

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!

A Change In Scenery - Day 13

We woke up this morning to a bit of a surprise.  The drywall tape from the ceiling in Sammy's room was hanging down and the drywall itself had started to sag.  So after several phone calls and visits from the maintenance and cleaning departments, we found out that there was a water leak on the 17th floor that had made its way down the wall and was pooling above Sammy's bed.  Because the water was still dripping, they weren't planning to start repairs anytime soon.  Hmm...

Then we also found the water above the toilet on the kids bathroom.

When the morning's action died down a bit, we decided to get out of the condo and headed to AppleBees for lunch.  Then we gave in to my persistent little astronaut and headed to Michaels to buy the supplies for her first space ship... which led to her brother's desire to build a race car.  Yup, it happened - but I'll come back to that later.

Once we got home, we decided to take a break out on the beach.  Its just so relaxing and today, I needed it!  After that it was up to the pool and hot tub.

While we were there, the manager of our condo called and offered us to stay in another unit, so Tyler and I dried off and headed up to check it out.  It was a great option... that didn't have a sagging ceiling, and had four functioning bedrooms.  So at 5:30 pm we decided to pack everything up and make the move to the 17th floor.

It took 30 minutes to pack up all our clothes, bath stuff, and toys.  A bit longer to back the groceries and large cardboard house that the kids made.  After 3 trips up and 1 1/2 hours, we were in!

Then Katie and I headed to Olive Garden for dinner while the kids started their space ship and race car with Uncle Roger and Aunt Gretchen.  We came home around 9:00 pm to see their inventions...

At this point, we got the kids settled into their new rooms and tucked into bed.

I'll take some pics of the new place tomorrow; but for now, its time to unpack!

Finally, the Beach! - Day 7

We spent the morning doing school work and cleaning up around the condo.  Then after a break in the rain, we headed out to the beach for a while.  Scott took the kids out first while I finished on the computer.  This first pic is the view from our patio as Scott and Tyler walked to the water to swim.  

This picture is quite amazing in and of itself.  Notice the kids in the center... some distance away.  They played like that the entire time we were on the beach.  We have NEVER allowed Sammy to be that far away while on the beach... we just couldn't trust that she wouldn't run into the water.  But not anymore!  She has come so far in the few years we have visited Myrtle Beach!  Love that we finally made it to this point.

After the beach, we had a late lunch at McDonalds (the kids were thrilled) and then headed to Target to do a little shopping.  Here is a pic of Tyler and Daddy being silly!

After Target, Scott and I got cleaned up for a date night!  It was so fun to go to Ruth's Chris to talk through our time here on vacation and plans for when we get home.  I sure love that man!  It was a fabulous meal and great service... Scott said actually uttered "Wow!" four times while eating.

The kids weren't disappointed with their evening plans either.  Uncle Roger and Aunt Gretchen babysat and their adventure included a trip up to their condo, several rounds of Uno, and building the coolest cardboard box home ever!  It was complete with a door (with handle), a pitched roof and a covered porch.  It was so fun to hear their giggles as they explained what they had done.  I'm so glad that they have people like Uncle Roger and Aunt Gretchen in their lives that love having fun with them!