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Thursday, June 14, 2012

Happy Birthday Trip Ted

It's that time of year once again. Ted's birthday falls on the "almost last day of May". We wait until school is over for the year (usually safe if we wait until the first days of June) and we head for Galveston for three days.

Our goal? The big water park called The Schlitterbahn. I hang out with Carrie while April and Ted hit the big slides. Each year Carrie is one year older of course so she can participate in more of the slides that Ted and April favor. Today Carrie and I will spend most of our time floating the river in the inner tubes. It's not a "lazy river"...you can choose which branches of it you want to ride and of course Carrie and I select the "white water" runs and scream and squeal as we watch over our shoulder the huge wave approaching that will lift our inner tube out of the water and slam us forward along with all the other wave riders in the river. We squeal and laugh and hang on to our inner tubes as we bump against the other inner tubes with their passengers who are also squealing and laughing. Great fun ..this water park and the family always looks forward to this yearly trip. It's about 215 miles from Lafayette and a pleasant drive.

The weather is humid here as in Lafayette but at least there is a breeze blowing in from the Gulf.

Yesterday we checked into the room and then walked across the street and down the stairs to the beach. Galvestons' beach leaves a lot to be desired. The beach is not groomed; the sand is not white and the water is not clear. The water is usually full of sand if there is any storm activity in the Gulf. Carrie thinks it is just fine though so we pack our blankets and towels and hang out with her so she can play in the water and build her sandcastles and hunt for shells.

I much prefer a pool for my water activity. My imagination leaves me screaming in terror every time sea weed brushes against my legs. I'm screaming in terror and Carrie is screaming in pleasure as the waves hit us. She is clueless about my feelings on playing in the ocean and I let her believe that this is a good time for me. No sense in instilling my feelings about the creatures in the sea. I've never had a desire to scuba dive nor go on a cruise. If I can't see land I get very uncomfortable.

While everyone sleeps the morning away, I did slip out of the room and to the car to drive the seawall and have some quiet time. With my McDonald's cup of coffee in hand, I cruised down Seawall Boulevard. The huge graders and backhoes were out working on the beach. I have no idea what there were doing as it was still dark but I know this beach is NOT groomed. Stewart Beach at the tip of this island is an area that charges admission and allows cars to drive right onto the beach. If April was a beach person and wanted to spend a day there, I would be open to checking it out. April is not real fond of the beach. The sand in her clothes and shoes is unpleasant for her and she feels the same way I do about the critters in the water.

Galveston has changed a lot since my first trip here. The place is cleaner for one thing. The shabbiness got washed away when Hurricane Ike hit and wiped out most of the town. The rebuilding has left this area with refurbished hotels, restaurants and streets. The Seawall Boulevard street now is wider and freshly paved. The city has rebounded and is much improved. There are still a few signs of that disaster left; a few buildings on the seawall that haven't been repaired nor torn down but for the most part Ike cleaned up the tired run down hotels and bars.

I'm waiting on the family to ring my phone and let me know there are out of bed. After breakfast we will drive up the beach to the Pier and let them hang out at the amusement park and later this afternoon we will head for the water park. Friday will find us heading back to Lafayette. 

I'm off to the coffee shop to sip on some brew and wait for a phone call that lets me know everyone is awake and ready to roll.
I'm done..and I'm gone for now! 

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