So, it's time for the final stop on our Texas Vacation flashback. I never thought this day would come! You've now seen
Austin,
San Antonio, and
Corpus Christi...now it's time for Houston (after a short jaunt to Galveston, of course).
So after our wonderful couple of days in Corpus Christi where Trent proposed, it was time to head off on the road again to Galveston. We were still kind of on a high from the night before, and my head was just a little bit in the clouds the whole day. I mean, I didn't look at my ring every two minutes or anything.
The drive to Galveston was pretty. Palm trees, water, and it was a beautiful, sunny day.
Trent was really looking forward to going to the Pleasure Pier in Galveston. Unfortunately, when we got there, it was closed for the day. The summer hours hadn't started yet, so it closed at 4:00 I think, which is right after we got there.
The Bubba Gump Shrimp Restaurant was still open though, so we decided to eat there for dinner. We had never been to a Bubba Gump before!
It was nice. I'm a big fan of Forrest Gump, so I loved the little touches, like the signs at the table - "Run Forrest Run" is for when you want the waiter to just keep walking past. But then there's also a sign that says "Stop Forrest Stop," for when you want the waiter to stop at your table. Awesomesauce.
We also shared a Corona-rita at the end which was another first for me. Very yummy, I must say.
This was the view from our table:
Galveston was definitely a pretty coastal town. It was a little windy when we were there though, and I wish we would have had more time to spend there.
Since Trent was bummed about not being able to hang out at the Pleasure Pier, I convinced him that we needed to go to the Kemah Boardwalk in Kemah, Texas. It was right on our way to Houston, where we were staying for the next couple of nights. I am SO glad we did! It was a blast and a fun way to celebrate being engaged.
The wooden roller coaster was crazy! Super fast. And we rode a couple of taller rides where we got an amazing view of the Boardwalk:
These photos were from a relaxing tower ride that slowly rotated around as it moved to the top. We were actually the only ones on it. :)
We were there at the perfect time, on the perfect night. There was a crappy live band playing that night for some kind of Rock the night thing, or something like that. So the carnival area was not busy at all. We didn't have to wait for any rides, which was nice.
We rode almost every ride, including the ferris wheel.
Which was not that high, or scary by the way. Although Trent seemed to have been having a blast.. haha.
We rode the train, too. And I think we were the only people on there without small children. But I have to say, it was one of the coolest trains I've rode yet.
I mean, not every train ride has this greatness going on:
This ride (the Aviator) was really cool:
Then there was a tall "Space shot" kind of ride, where you ride slowly up to the top, and then drop really, extremely fast. So fast you can't think, you just scream!
All in all, it was such a fun night, and I'm so glad we ended up going to this place.
We were pretty exhausted by the time we got to our hotel in Houston, but were pleasantly surprised when we discovered we had a suite - a very nice one!
There was a full kitchen, a living room, and a separate door to the bedroom and bathroom. Kind of like a small apartment!
Or, you might call it our Engagement Suite. Either way, it was nice.
The next day we drove to downtown Houston. And let me just say, after driving around Houston, I'm glad we made it out alive. Wow. Lots of traffic there and a little scary when you don't know where you're going! But there were some pretty nice areas though, like all the oak trees lining the parks and streets:
We really wanted to see the water wall, but there was no water running when we were there. :(
So we saw the Beer Can House instead. Yes, it's a house made of beer cans. Google it if you want.
The main reason I wanted to go into the city, though, was to go to the art museum. And I was pretty impressed.
I think the Art Institute in Chicago had more art and was a little bigger, but this one had a lot of pretty cool pieces.
And of course Trent was impressed as he always is when we go to art museums...
That night was our last night in Texas, and we spent it at the Dave Matthews Band tour opener!
It was an awesome night and an awesome way to end our trip. This year they're performing two sets at every show - the first acoustic only, and the second electric. They are always amazing.
On the way back home the next day, we finally stopped at a Texas favorite (apparently!) - Whataburger. These things were everywhere down here!
Everything there was definitely Texas-sized. We were impressed. After that we ended up driving up through Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. In short, it was LONG. Lots of driving. We drove several hours and got home in the wee hours of the morning Sunday. BUT, it was all worth it. It was a great trip. We took away a lot of memories, and had lots of firsts.
It is safe to say, I love traveling the country. And I love traveling with Trent. We have so much fun everywhere we go and I love exploring and seeing new things every time. Here's to many other roadtrips and vacations in our future. Next up is the Honeymoon! :)
