Day 8 - Galveston

Today was filled with difficult questions like,…do we go to the beach or do we go to the pool? Rough, isn’t it? We started the morning off at the beach to make sure Emma didn’t develop a fear of the gulf. (I was stung by a jellyfish when I was in Costa Rica and haven’t really loved open water since). We made sure she was back to jumping waves in no time. 

This is how Mark starts each morning...nothing like a good book on the deck listening to the waves crash.

I started my morning with a run along the beach...only 94 degrees by 9am,..so ready for the water.

Red flagged again today...not much swimming, but good wave jumping.

Richmonds 2017

Sand castle builder extraordinaire.  

We splashed and shelled all morning and then took a needed break for lunch to shelter our skin from the sun for a bit. In the afternoon we headed to the pools as we once again had them all to ourselves for a while. Once people started showing up we decided to clean up for dinner and find a good local place that offered more fresh seafood…the best part of staying at the beach in my opinion. 

White sunscreen-y faces, ready to head back to the pool!

The "mushroom" pool was Norah's favorite as she could touch in the majority of it!

We headed to a restaurant off the beaten path that was voted best seafood on the island this year. This cute no-name “shrimp n stuff” restaurant offered a shady outdoor patio and some delicious food that was obviously a hit with the locals. 

Full bellies, and smiling faces...

We indulged and then decided to ride the ferry over to Bolivar Peninsula and watch the dolphins. This *free* ferry ride is a must if in Galveston as we probably saw 35-40 dolphins jumping alongside the ferry as we rode past Pelican Island. We also got to see the SS Selma, a concrete tanker that was built when there was a steel shortage during WWI. She ran into a jetty near Mexico and got a 60 foot hole so they towed her to Galveston for repairs, but no one knew how to repair a concrete ship, and couldn’t sell her so they decided to skuttle her and dug a 25 foot deep, 1500 foot long trench and laid her to rest. 

SS Selma didn't quite get buried deep enough...

Riding the DeWitt C Greer Ferry over to Bolivar.

It was a windy ride, but so worth it for all of the dolphins!

Land-ho! This girl and I get a little seasick sometimes, so we were happy for the smooth ride.

Photographer Grace testing out her skills.

It was a windy ride, but a beautiful night and so much fun. And since its our last night in Galveston, we capped off our trip in the pool once more diving for rings, playing games and enjoying the night. A little ice cream on the deck once it got too dark to swim listening to the waves crash was the perfect way to end our time in Galveston. 

Ice cream cookie at 10pm? Umm...yes. It's still 90 degrees and we're on vacation, right?!