For our 2012 summer vacation, the boys had been wanting to see the ocean. They are fascinated with ocean animals and sea shells, and since we have a beach just a few hours away we took advantage of it. We got a great rate on a condo rental, and we packed up the car and headed to Galveston.
And of course... it rained. Every day. But that's okay! It only rained enough that it brought the temperature down to a manageable temperature. We still had a blast, and we still had beach time.
First things first, we got cozy in the condo.
After we got settled into the condo, the boys (and I mean ALL THREE boys) could hardly wait to get down to the water. They visited the pool first, which was ridiculously cold. I froze. I kid you not, we all ended up in the hot tub... in the afternoon... in JULY... in TEXAS!
Of course the kids didn't mind, and Aden said, "Hey mommy, watch me swim under water!"
Not to be outdone of course, Ethan said, "Mommy! Watch ME swim under water."
And then he did this.
I could not stop laughing, that ham.
We also hit up the beach just for a bit before dinner. The boys got their feet wet and looked for seashells. Their very first time in the ocean!
We came upon a group who had caught a small jelly fish in a bucket. The boys were mesmerized - especially Ethan.
Afterwards, we cleaned up and we went exploring a little around town. We ate a terrible place on the beach, and then grabbed a fun little bike-cart for a tour up the sea wall.
This was actually a spur of the moment thing, since it was the last hour of their shift and the guy gave me a great deal, but it turned out to be my favorite part of the day.
Also fun for the boys this vacation was their camp out. We pitched a tent for them and they got to sleep together in a tent for the first time. So many firsts!
They did surprisingly well except that Ethan went to sleep and woke up talking.
This was our view from our condo...
Mornings were special. We had coffee on the patio and watched the sun warm the ocean. The rain brought a nice breeze and it was just truly relaxing.
On the first morning, after a buffet of breakfast rolls in the condo, we headed to the dolphin tour boat. The weather was perfect! Ethan had woken up before the sun and spent all morning playing on the patio and checking out the game room, so by the time the boat tour came along (10am), he was passed out. I can't believe he slept through the whole thing! But we knew he needed some rest, we were planning a long day.
We were worried we'd spend an hour at sea and not see any dolphins, but really, even if that happened it would have been fun just to get to go out on a boat for a while. Pleasantly though, we did see dolphins. Loads of dolphins! Pretty much the whole ride!
Aden LOVED this. It was really fun to see him get so excited every time one jumped out of the water.
These tour boats are smart. They follow the shrimp boats, and so do the dolphins, so we were almost sure to see a few anyway. The shrimp boat was actually really fun to watch too. The tour guide was explaining everything the shrimpers were doing and we got to see them pull in the big net full of shrimp. Aden actually asked if he could go on that boat instead. He really enjoyed watching the fishermen in action.
On our way back in, Ethan woke up. He didn't get to see a single dolphin but he didn't care. He was happy to be on the boat and he kept pointing at cresting waves yelling, "Dolphin! Over there!"
Next time buddy, there will definitely be a next time.
