So off to Austin and Corpus Christi we went after the worst storm we have encountered! The house shook, the waves crashed in, and the rain rained down! The roads were flooded, but we were able to get out with no issues! Our first stop was the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi, a stop we planned to make last year but did not get there! It was absolutely amazing, it is HUGE and I mean HUGE! A retired Aircraft Carrier that was built in 1920 and replaced in 1990. In 1992 the ‘Blue Ghost’, as it was nicknamed, came to her final resting place in Corpus Christi. It was an amazing self guided tour, and it looks and feels like it would have back in the day. As we toured what really became clear is that this is a city on a ship. Everything is available, living quarters, galley, dining rooms, medical and dental clinics, library, hospital with surgery rooms, a chapel, just to name a few! Work areas, engine rooms, machinery rooms, the F14 that Tom Cruise{ Maverick} flew in Top Gun and so much more. The top deck with all the aircraft parked, gives you such a crazy feeling knowing these planes took off and landed right here. I have put together a slide show of pictures.
From here we headed into Austin to check out the music of the city, here we went to a great Music venue, found a bronze statue of Stevie Ray Vaughan, and walked the famous West Sixth Street. It was still winter for them, and so we found the music was not very prevalent. Austin is also very large, so difficult to get it all in in just 2 days! As we left and travelled towards home we stopped at ‘La Grange’, can you just hear Vince singing, La Grange, by ZZTop??!!! As we travelled we passed a field with Zebras……..yes you heard me correctly, Zebras, now that was an odd thing to see!!
Well back in Galveston and we had a chance to tour The 1894 Grand Opera House. This is a beautiful, old, theatre that still hosts performances. Built in 1894, obviously, and withstanding all the hurricanes and floods thru ought the years, it remains an icon here. With such performers as The Marx Brothers, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Ray Charles, Liza Minnelli, The Oakridge Boys, The Beach Boys, and Willie Nelson, just to name a few, all performing here. We booked a night to attend Drum Tao, and it was incredible. The sound is just incredible! The theatre pictures do not do this place justice, it is just incredible! (New favorite word!) We also took some time to go to the Railroad Museum, which was small, and a little disappointing, but we did get a few snapshots, Larry having fun in the phone booth, Vince playing with the lights and horns, and Nancy and Larry having fun with all the ghosts!
More Turtles we have collected 31 more for a total of 49 and we are done……we did find some were moved, some destroyed, and some we just could not get to. It was a fun treasure hunt activity!
Lots of driving on the beach in Texas! Sunsets, Water Pics, Fishing, Birds and Shells……just a mishmash of pics! There is an incredible ‘Cannonball Jellyfish’ at the end here……it was the size of a large lunch bag. There was also some seashells we found- crab was still inside and we had to kick it out!
We did lots of random activities and tried to go out and about every day or so. Here are a few pics of us 10 Pin Bowling- a first for all except Vince! Mini Golf, Lucille Won!!! 5D Theatre, 1 was really great, and Nancy and I screamed, 1 was really pathetic! Escape Rooms were fun, we did 2, really sucked at the 1st one, but actually won on the 2nd!! Nancy and I escaped the men and had some ZEN time away at the Rainforest Cafe, Evia a beautiful area of town that we just happened upon and stopped for a coffee. We spent a day driving to Bolivar and went shell collecting, and we went shopping more than a few times! Beall rocks!!
Well that is it from Galveston, Texas. We spent 2 months here, had a ton of fun, did a lot of things, learned a lot about the area. We found the weather a little less attractive, lots of cloud, wind and rain….we expected warmer based on reviews, however did not see enough of those days to want to come back in the winter, although many people do winter here. We did have some good weather, temperature was around 18-20 many days, but the wind made it feel cool, AND not to forget, it was not -20, and we did not have to shovel snow!! I am not ungrateful for this experience, just sharing my views. We also missed having our RV with us, like last year.
I have also done a Mardis Gras blog all of its own……Mardis Gras was for sure a highlight for us!
Take care all, we are now heading to Phoenix and will spend 2 weeks there before flying off to Mazatlán to join our friends for a month. Stay tuned……I will post a quick update on our Phoenix travel before we fly away to the sunshine of Mexico.