A Riley Adventure
I had a Saturday off of work (which is such a rare occasion) and I thought this week of what we should do. So many of my coworkers go to the beach each weekend that I decided we should try it. Disclaimer: I am aware that Texas beaches are different, I know its not the same as home.. I know I know. Anyway, I thought.. if its good enough for all these people here, it'll do in a pinch right?
I researched and researched what beach we should go to. There are several choices. The main 2 being East End and Stewart Beach in Galveston. Those are pretty much the top 2 beaches to go too. I did a little research about the others but just decided on one of those. I was really excited for this trip. We head out pretty early on Saturday because I wanted to try and beat some of the traffic coming in on 45. On the way, Justin is asking about the beaches and I am explaining that they get really crowded. I mentioned that there was one beach that you could get to by ferry but that would take a lot longer and I couldn't find how much was built back. Justin thought the ferry sounded like a good idea.. so I said sure, why not. I know at this point, I should have stuck to the original plan.
We pull into Galveston and head to the ferry dock. There are tons of cars!!! We pull into the line and we have to wait quite awhile. We took this opportunity to feed the boys and let them out of their seats to stretch. Eli had a great time playing on the steering wheel. If he bumped his body against it, he could make the horn go off and he thought that was great. I assure you the ladies in the car in front of us did not :-)
Once we were rolling, we pulled onto the ship. This was the first time that I can remember taking a car ferry. Beckett had such a good time that I almost had forgotten how long we sat waiting to get on it. It was so so hot. But the boys loved the boat, the birds, the water, etc. So a nice trip.
We pull onto Boliver Island which is across the bay and start looking for the beach. The first thing we notice is the traffic backed up for miles and miles and miles trying to get on the ferry going the other way. Apparently headed to the beaches we just passed up. And I am hungry. The beaches on Galveston are umbrella service only. So I mention to Justin that we are now going to these beaches over here, let's stop and find out the deal. We pull into a surf shop and they sell us a beach pass ($10) and 2 umbrellas ($25) that I swear we will never use again. We find out that you just drive onto the beach. Cars are allowed on the beach. We thought that was kinda cool. Now I am starving. We see one restaurant but it looks kinda deserted so we continue on. The only thing we can find is a grocery store. I head in and wait 45 minutes on fried chicken because its the only thing to eat. Finally, we are headed out to the beach. I am hot & hungry at this point. We drive out on the beach, find a spot, and hop out of the car. I am overwhelmed by the smell and the large large piles of seaweed. Not like Destin green sea weed but like huge brown piles of dirty seaweed. About a foot thick and 4 to 5 feet wide and smelled like death. Dead fish. Ugh. I was ready for the not so white sand and thought kinda dirty water but I was not ready for the smell, seaweed and dirty water combo. To make a long story short I didn't even get the kids out the car. Now let me say, when we drove by the beaches in Galveston, I did not see the seaweed. I do think they are cleaned and that would help with the smell so we may need a redo on this one.
Now to make this story even better, we start heading back out and get stuck. Really. Like the tires started digging around in the sand. Justin and I get out to investigate. Hmm. Not good. Fortunately my man is good in situations like this. He did a rocking reverse forward action and got us out. He didn't stop once he got going and I was running after the car like crazy!!
We stopped at the restaurant to let the boys out to regroup. We have to head back to Houston but not sitting in the traffic for the ferry for hours in the heat. We do the only sensible thing. We go all the way out the other side and finally find 1-10. The sign says Houston 62 miles. (not including the additional 40 to my house from Houston). Oh Well! The boys and I took a great opportunity to nap.
As I was rocking my sweet babies tonight, I couldn't help but thinking... it doesn't matter where we go or what we do as long as we are together its always an adventure and beautiful memories.
What a day. What a life. What a crazy wonderful life!
Love, The Riley's
I researched and researched what beach we should go to. There are several choices. The main 2 being East End and Stewart Beach in Galveston. Those are pretty much the top 2 beaches to go too. I did a little research about the others but just decided on one of those. I was really excited for this trip. We head out pretty early on Saturday because I wanted to try and beat some of the traffic coming in on 45. On the way, Justin is asking about the beaches and I am explaining that they get really crowded. I mentioned that there was one beach that you could get to by ferry but that would take a lot longer and I couldn't find how much was built back. Justin thought the ferry sounded like a good idea.. so I said sure, why not. I know at this point, I should have stuck to the original plan.
We pull into Galveston and head to the ferry dock. There are tons of cars!!! We pull into the line and we have to wait quite awhile. We took this opportunity to feed the boys and let them out of their seats to stretch. Eli had a great time playing on the steering wheel. If he bumped his body against it, he could make the horn go off and he thought that was great. I assure you the ladies in the car in front of us did not :-)
Once we were rolling, we pulled onto the ship. This was the first time that I can remember taking a car ferry. Beckett had such a good time that I almost had forgotten how long we sat waiting to get on it. It was so so hot. But the boys loved the boat, the birds, the water, etc. So a nice trip.
We pull onto Boliver Island which is across the bay and start looking for the beach. The first thing we notice is the traffic backed up for miles and miles and miles trying to get on the ferry going the other way. Apparently headed to the beaches we just passed up. And I am hungry. The beaches on Galveston are umbrella service only. So I mention to Justin that we are now going to these beaches over here, let's stop and find out the deal. We pull into a surf shop and they sell us a beach pass ($10) and 2 umbrellas ($25) that I swear we will never use again. We find out that you just drive onto the beach. Cars are allowed on the beach. We thought that was kinda cool. Now I am starving. We see one restaurant but it looks kinda deserted so we continue on. The only thing we can find is a grocery store. I head in and wait 45 minutes on fried chicken because its the only thing to eat. Finally, we are headed out to the beach. I am hot & hungry at this point. We drive out on the beach, find a spot, and hop out of the car. I am overwhelmed by the smell and the large large piles of seaweed. Not like Destin green sea weed but like huge brown piles of dirty seaweed. About a foot thick and 4 to 5 feet wide and smelled like death. Dead fish. Ugh. I was ready for the not so white sand and thought kinda dirty water but I was not ready for the smell, seaweed and dirty water combo. To make a long story short I didn't even get the kids out the car. Now let me say, when we drove by the beaches in Galveston, I did not see the seaweed. I do think they are cleaned and that would help with the smell so we may need a redo on this one. Now to make this story even better, we start heading back out and get stuck. Really. Like the tires started digging around in the sand. Justin and I get out to investigate. Hmm. Not good. Fortunately my man is good in situations like this. He did a rocking reverse forward action and got us out. He didn't stop once he got going and I was running after the car like crazy!!
We stopped at the restaurant to let the boys out to regroup. We have to head back to Houston but not sitting in the traffic for the ferry for hours in the heat. We do the only sensible thing. We go all the way out the other side and finally find 1-10. The sign says Houston 62 miles. (not including the additional 40 to my house from Houston). Oh Well! The boys and I took a great opportunity to nap.
We totally redeemed the day by coming back to the Y. Justin and I joined a few weeks ago and it has been awesome! They have the coolest kiddie pool and they even have indoor pools too. The nanny and I took them last week but this was the first opportunity Justin had to go with them. They loved showing off their splashing moves and swimming for their dad. Even after such a long day the boys were troopers.
What a day. What a life. What a crazy wonderful life!
Love, The Riley's