Trip to the Beach

My boys and I went down to the Houston area to visit some family, so we hooked up the portable DVD player and hit the road from North Texas.   The drive, thank goodness was relatively uneventful.

The next morning we woke up early and headed to Galveston.  I knew we weren't going to be out there that long, so we weren't too picky when it came to which beach we went to.   Stewart Beach is at the crossroads to whatever road I-45 turns into and the Sea Wall.   They charge you an entry fee as you get to the parking lot.  If I remember, it was about $8.00 per car.   Overall we had a good time, but Stewart Beach isn't the place I'd go if I were staying all day.  While they do rake the beach every morning, they also use a tractor to put out large lounge chairs with umbrellas.  We happened to get there as they were laying them out.  I believe they're about $12 a set to use for the day which since we were only there for a few hours, we were not going to do.  They were not friendly and expected everyone to move for them.  That part irritated me.

Anyway, the boys and I built sand castles and played in the waves.  Although, a little piece of advice.....don't let a 4 year old put sunblock on your back. 

After we cleaned up from the beach, we headed over to Moody's Gardens in Galveston.  They were having a Dinosaur exhibit.  The boys were very excited about that.  We waited in line to get the tickets and then headed over to the exhibit.  It was ok.  The boys had a good time going around the trail and seeing the mechanical dinosaurs move.  The only think that cuold have been better is that it could have been inside.    It was pretty hot already and very humid.   At least it was in a covered tent.

When we got our fill of the dinosaurs, we headed back to the house to visit with the family. 

The next morning we said our "goodbyes" and headed toward home.  On the way, we wanted to stop by the San Jacinto Battleground State Park.  I think they charged us $1.00 to get in, which was pleasently suprising.  We headed over to the San Jacinto Monument to take some pictures.  We tried to go up on the elevator, but apparently it was "Close for Routine Maintenance".  I wish I would have known that...but oh well.  We drove around the different landmarks at the park.  I'll spend more time here when the boys get a little older.