Josh made it home from his month long training on May 1st . We were all very happy to see him. We decided to take a small family vacation. Unfortunately, Jared was not able to go with us. His other parents were concerned about the amount of school he had missed to date and with the fact that he was bordering on truancy. That was very disappointing that he couldn't go. I did explain to Jared that the family vacation next spring was mandatory.
That is Miss Betty, Memaw and Papaw respectively. Of course, there is Josh's shoulder as well.We loved the beach, but had to leave after a few hours to check into the hotel and eat. Poor Memaw and Papaw had to drive the hour + back to Houston in Sunday night traffic. We were so glad that they were able to visit with us.
So, we checked into the awesome Moody Gardens Hotel and Conference Center.
Here is a shot of Josh, Skye and Jax. It was so green and lush in this pyramid. There were also some really cool free roaming animals. Lots of different Macaws, birds and 4 Sloths. It was such an awesome place to visit. I could have stayed in that pyramid for hours. Just sitting and looking.After that experience, we headed over to the 3-D movie, Sea Monsters. It was the most realistic 3-D movie I have ever seen. All of us jumped several times during the scary parts of the movie. After the movie, we headed to the aquarium. 
They had several station where you could touch different types of sea life as well as a cool shark tunnel,some very agile sea lions and even a penguin enclosure. We spent a good amount of time in that pyramid and then headed over to the discovery pyramid. There was a Titanic exhibit. It was really educational and had over 150 actual artifacts from the ship. the kids weren't all that interested though so we didn't spend a lot of time there. The next day we headed to the beach. We went to the state park close to Jamaica Beach TX. Let me tell you, we had quite the sand castle contest going on. I think Skye's was the best.
She, with the help of Jax, had a deep moat and 2 lochs. She also took a lot of time to decorate with shells and seaweed. A masterpiece! We ate dinner that night at Fisherman's wharf. There was a great view of the 1887 Steel Braque, Elissa. As a side note, I remember visiting that ship with my brother and parental set -- Kitty and Harry when I was in my teens. It was so cool to share it with my kids. More about the Elissa later. Here is a shot on the wharf of the restaurant.
We did a little shelling on the sea wall that night before heading back to the hotel for a swim. It was a relaxing day/evening. While enjoying Moody Gardens, we took a ride on the paddle wheeler. I will say, maybe because we are old, the highlight of the cruise was watching the pelicans. It is amazing the way they circle in the air and dive bomb the water to catch fish.
Ok and maybe this picture was the highlight. Can't you feel the deep and abiding love?So after the paddle wheeler, we needed to eat, so we ran over to The Rain Forest Cafe. I know what you're thinking! You've been to one, you've been to them all. The one in Galveston is a little different. First, it is very small! Second, it has a ride in it. You get into a little round boat and there are all types of animals and sounds and temples. There was even a giant snake that lunged at Josh. All of us were laughing and teasing him for that one. It caught him off guard.
We had to head home the next day, but before we did, we went to two places I visited as a kid. First was a tall ship "The Elisia". She is a steel Braque That was refurbished in the 80's. Along with the tall ship was a museum on the shipping industry in Galveston. There was a section on immigration to the United States. You could put in your last name and see if any relatives pooped up. SO.....we found Josh's great-great-grandfather and his family.
They came over in 1897 (I think). The screen lists the entire family, ages,occupation and everything. There is also another page with 3 more children. Not for nothin', the original spelling was there too. "TOMCZYSZYN" nifty!!!!! After touring the Ship......
We headed to La Kings candy Shop. The reason I love this place, other than the chocolate, is the decor. It is tricked out like a 1920's candy shop. They still make all the candy by hand and the "soda jerks" really still mix the syrup and soda. It was so neat to take the kids there. I loved going there as a kid myself and it was cool to make new memories with my family.
We had a wonderful time marred only by the fact that Jared couldn't be with us. I hope you enjoy the pictures and expect many more to come from all the adventures we had while Dad/Josh was home for a month!
