Texas

A little something for everyone!

by Ingrid

Texas Gulf CoastOur month in Galveston has come to an end and we’ve moved four hours down the Texas Gulf Coast to Mustang Island.

Normally by week four in one location I’m more than ready to move on.  Such was not the case regarding Galveston Island.

I was actually a little sad to say good-bye.  There really is a lot to see and do on the Island ….. a little something for everyone you could say.

I think it’s safe to say, most folks come to Galveston for the Beach.  There are miles and miles of beach with public access for all to enjoy.  I assure you, Al and I took full advantage of that beach access with regular walks.

But there’s so much more to Galveston Island than the beach.  From that first day as we crossed the bridge onto the island, I knew I had to explore and discover all that she had to offer starting with the three pyramids that I couldn’t help but notice glistening across the bay.  Needless to say, it didn’t take me long to figure out what exactly were those pyramids.things to do in Galveston

things to do in GalvestonMoody Gardens is an educational tourist destination featuring three main pyramid attractions: an Aquarium, a Rainforest, and a Discovery pyramid.  Also onsite: Zip Line and Ropes Course, Water Park, Golf Course, IMAX Theater, Paddlewheel Boat.

Although I didn’t indulge personally in taking in these attractions, I did stroll around Moody Gardens out of curiosity. There is a separate fee for each attraction.

Each year for the holiday season they feature a Festival of Lights.  This mile long trail boasts over one million lights themed to holiday music.

Festival of Lights
It was a cool misty late afternoon, thus I didn’t stay for dark to see all the lights in their glory

Moody Gardens huge event this year was being held in a large commercial tent; Ice Land.  Thirty-one internationally-acclaimed professional ice carvers from China transformed 900 tons of ice into a holiday wonderland with a Sponge Bob Square Pants theme.  To maintain this work of art, the tent is kept at a balmy 9 degrees Fahrenheit.  For obvious reasons, I took a pass on the experience.Sponge Bob Square Pants

Besides I got to see Sponge Bob Square Pants at the Dickens on the Strand parade.Bikini Bottom and Sponge Bob

Pleasure PierAnd then there’s Galveston’s Pleasure Pier.  This amusement park is relatively new having opened in 2012.  However, this isn’t Galveston’s first Pleasure Pier.  Ah, more hurricanes and history.  If interested, you can read about it here.

The Lone Star Flight Museum was on our radar but we never did make it there.  Although hubby doesn’t miss his aviation career, he still drools over the possibility of going up in a by-plane.  His face lights up whenever there’s talk about open cockpits or acrobatic flying.

Hurricane Ike damageOn one of our last days in the area, we took a quick drive over to Pelican Island to visit Seawolf Park.  Before Hurricane Ike hit in 2008, this was known as a premier park to visit complete with restaurant.

The building was destroyed by the hurricane and remains in a state of disrepair.  For an additional fee, there’s a WWII submarine and destroyer that can be toured. These days the park is pretty much frequented by fishermen and pelicans, but there are plans for renovation and even putting in a RV park.

Not only is fishing popular around Galveston Island, but so is kayaking.  The state park even has paddling trails outlined in their trail guide; land and water trails.

Great Blue HeronThe weather wasn’t always agreeable during our thirty day stay.  We did get our fare share of rain, cold, and wind but I won’t complain because during those most inclement weather day’s places to the north were getting buried in snow. So on the bad weather days we would run errands, go Christmas shopping, or do daily chores.

There are plenty of places to shop within 25 miles of Galveston…. from an outlet mall to regular malls and everything in between.  I found myself visiting Best Buy and Kohl’s a couple of times.

We also discovered a great RV Center called Ron Hoover RV.  It’s a small place with a parts department, service department, and onsite RV Park.   We thought the parts prices were very reasonable and before heading out of town, we picked up a few additional items.

Makers Mark Bourbon
Steve, Ingrid, Mona Liza, Al

I think it’s obvious, we loved our time on Galveston Island and were never at a loss of things to see or do but our favorite pastime was running into fellow bloggers.  We had a blast sharing a special bottle of bourbon with Mona Liza and Steve in addition to a couple of other get togethers with these two energetic RVer’s.

RV get together
I’m sampling the Makers Mark Bourbon as Mona Liza gets ready to slice into their homemade bread!

blogging buddiesI also had the pleasure of meeting Russ from Russ on the Road.  Russ is a solo RVer who shares my interest in photography.  He and I met for lunch and the conversation flowed freely for nearly three hours.

I’d love to run into him again somewhere along our travels.  He’s a very accomplished photographer that I’m sure I could learn a thing or two from.

Hmm, have I told you yet where we stayed?  Let’s save that for the next post.Beach sunsets

61 thoughts on “A little something for everyone!”

  1. Awesome! You’re very lucky to have a taste of Mona’s homemade bread. I remember that post sh made about bread making. I knew you two are going to meet.

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    1. Mona Liza and I met the first time 2 years ago and knew we wanted to meet up again. That bread was amazing. We’ll be spending Christmas day together and she’ll be making lumpia.

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    1. Thanks and I’m looking forward to your posts. Perhaps you’ll discover something we didn’t. With a canoe, you’ll be able to do some paddling 🙂

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  3. Glad you enjoyed your time in Galveston. It will definitely be on our list should we find ourselves back in that part of the country. It was wonderful you had so much time to spend with MonaLiza and Steve. Great photos Ingrid! However did you get that spoonbill to stand still for you? 🙂

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    1. I couldn’t believe how close that spoonbill allowed me to get. This was also the first time I heard the soft sound they make. Yesterday I got equally close to a female spoonbill. Photos aren’t as striking because the gals are a pale pink. I’m learning 😉 I’m having a great time in Texas and am very glad we’re here for the winter, but I’ll definitely be ready to return to the desert come February. The humidity is starting to irritate me 🙂

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    1. Ah, and there was plenty of Bourbon to go around. Enjoy your time at Moody Gardens. All the lights are just beautiful and a very Merry Christmas to you as well.

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  5. Such a nice part of the Gulf Coast and how nice that you can spend so much time there, exploring. I’ve only been there once, some 25 years ago, during a record-breaking cold snap. What luck! I promised myself I’d go back, under better circumstances, but soon thereafter I discovered Italy. My travel plans haven’t been the same since. 🙂

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    1. Hmm, let’s see….. Galveston vs. Italy – that’s an easy one! The Texas Coast and Chicago are both crazy weather places. One can never truly predict what the weather will do. That’s why it was nice to spend an entire month.

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  6. Spoonbills are always such fun, but the expression on yours is priceless. I once spent a couple of weeks around this time of year down on the Texas Gulf and thoroughly enjoyed the neighborhood.

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    1. I sure lucked out with this spoonbill. He was so accommodating. I’ll be hanging around the Texas Gulf Coast until the end of January and hope to have a lot of great birding adventures.

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  7. Ahhhh… Bourbon… you are speaking my language. YOU ALL HAVE WAY TOO MUCH FUN! Glad to be back and catch up with you! Great photos!

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  9. Looks like good times were had by all there in Galveston…especially the bourbon part. I’m more a Rum fan, but I could do bourbon and Coke! Have fun on Mustang Island..one of our fav’s …and would love to own a condo in Port Aransas!! Pick up a few starfish and sand dollars…there are plenty!

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    1. None of us are bourbon drinkers but that was a special bottle that they dipped at the factory. Loving Mustang Island and we have no issue with the State Park. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I’ll need to look for those starfish and sand dollars 🙂

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  10. Way back in time (late 70’s, Sea Wolf Park was my favorite wade fishing hole. My wife new I would be bringing home supper.
    Hope you’ve noticed the water is not chocolate brown on Mustang Island. Be sure to venture to Snoopy’s – the place I call best shrimp house with ambiance. Malaquiete Beach (http://www.nps.gov/pais/planyourvisit/map1.htm) has great birding. NPS has great programs out there. And of course please venture into Corpus Christi for the annual Tuba Christmas Concert. That is happening this Friday 12/19. Get there early for good seating. http://www.tubachristmas.com/readtcloc.php?TCState=TX&TCCity=Corpus%20Christi. Stop by Town & Country Cafe on Alameda in Corpus Christi for a great breakfast. Tell Carla hello for the Pearsons. OH GOSH! I could give you tons more but did not want to derail your blog.

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    1. Oh, thank you so much for all these tidbits. Now that you mention it, the water is more blue here and more brown in Galveston. We heard about Snoopy’s. Now we’ll definitely need to check it out. We were at the Malaquiete Visitor center Saturday and took notes. Thanks again for the informative comment…. appreciate 🙂

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  11. Think we’ll have to make a short stop there in April when we start heading east. Looking forward to meeting your friends tomorrow, see you then.

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  12. Ingrid, you’ve definitely piqued my interest with your posts about Galveston. I’m with you, the most interesting attractions are the state park, the birding, and the historic downtown. Love the photos of you and ML together. You know how to have a good time! 🙂

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    1. ML is arriving to Mustang Island today so I have a feeling there’s plenty more fun in our future. On your way to FL, I’d say you should definitely stop at Galveston Island SP. The sites themselves aren’t special but it’s a nice place to park while exploring 🙂

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  13. From your post Ingrid I would definitely add Galveston to our list of future destinations. It looks as though you had a marvelous time connecting with friends and making new ones. Your lead photo is stunning. I just love your bird photos!

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    1. That spoonbill was a fun treat at the end of my day. I was heading home and he was in a ditch by the airport. He allowed me to get incredibly close to him. I was so excited that when he finally decided to fly off, I wasn’t ready and thus the photos of him taking off and flying are blurred. I know, how rude of him 😉 The challenge continues!

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  15. Oh my, that is the first photo of Seawolf Park I’ve seen since Ike and I’m so sad to see it. I have photos of the park before Ike hit, and it was so nice. I’m so glad you had a month in Galveston. It is a wonderful place. Moody Gardens is just amazing. I took so many photos in the rainforest when I was there before Ike hit. I hope it has recovered ok.

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    1. Seawolf Park was very disappointing and sad. I’m sure they’ll eventually fix as there’s talk of adding an RV Park. Moody Gardens seemed very interesting. I just was not in the mood to spend the money not knowing if it would be worth it. Perhaps next time 🙂

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  17. I’m going to have to go back to Galveston and spend more time based on your reports of all the things to see and do which I didn’t have time to get to during my few days there, or didn’t even know about.

    Looks like you got the roseate spoonbill shot you wanted and more.

    Thanks for the mention and link to my blog, Ingrid. You da man… Umm, err, wo-man, that is 🙂

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    1. I’m glad we spent the entire month on Galveston Island giving us plenty of opportunity to explore because as you know, the weather was often times iffy. Although, you should be used to that kind of San Francisco kind of weather lol.
      The birding has just begun. I think I finally figured out my camera settings for better results. I’m a work in progress, as you know 🙂

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    1. We had more fun visiting Galveston Island than we ever imagined. Now we’re enjoying Mustang Island near Corpus Christi but I’m already looking forward to returning west to dry out 🙂

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  20. When we are with friends, diets are thrown out of the window and indulge ourselves. Watch out I will bake another bread for you!
    Thank goodness your stay there was a bit longer then we get to see more of what we missed. We don’t have to go back there as you have already shown us with your great photos.

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    1. We found there was enough to hold our interest and although Moody Gardens or Pleasure Island may not be of interest to us, it might for those with children or grandchildren. We loved the historic downtown and enjoyed meandering around the state park in search of birds.

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  23. They updated 1000 places….? Good to know, hummmm maybe I’ll indulge! NICE loaf of bread…you two toasting out some great fun! Love tours of Galveston…so happy it was more than you ever dreamed. Coastal goodness sure can be fine! Merry Christmas!!!

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    1. The book – I have the U.S. Canadian version as personally I have no interest in overseas travel (been there, done that). That bread was so good. Too good for me to pass… took a break that day from my Paleo diet (and paid). Tuesday Dave is firing off the smoker for a BBQ and get together.
      And a very Merry Christmas to you!

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      1. I still have so many Paleo questions. It’s so hard, never restricting my choices, I struggle to follow through from bad picks. I know I’d feel better… one day I’ll get it. Can’t wait to hear about the BBQ!!!

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        1. For me, the health issues are a little more serious making the diet a must vs. a want. When one is made physically ill from eating certain foods, it’s easy to give up. Ah, just another obstacle in life.

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  24. Thanks for showing us some of the sites! One day we may decide to visit TX. This area would be on our list.

    Glad you had some nice visits with the Lowe’s. They are wonderful people.

    Beautiful sunset photo:)

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    1. Thanks Pam. We meet up with the Lowe’s again this week. I love it when our individual plans have us bumping into each other. Come February I’ll be ready to head west and ‘dry’ out 🙂

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  26. Last time I visited the area, I went to the beach and enjoyed a lovely dinner on Seawall Blvd…. there is so much to do.. I remember crawling through the USS Seawolf with my son many years ago… I felt very claustrophobic – he had a blast. I am glad you had a great time, you’ll enjoy Mustang Island – but you’d have a great time (I think) anywhere. I love your attitude – keep making those days count and keeping me warm with your exploits!

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    1. We absolutely loved Galveston and there’s so much to see and do as well as plenty of spots to chill and just hang. And yes, we are now enjoying Mustang Island …. gorgeous beach and weather 🙂

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