Road Trip - Part One

We've just concluded Spring Break, part three.  :-)

Week one - Hannah was in town.  We schooled a little, played a little.

Week two - Pine tree farm.  We schooled a little, played a little.

Week three - Houston road trip.  We schooled a little, played a little.

We started our mini get away on the Kemah boardwalk.  It is a family friendly place right on the bay filled with carnival rides, great restaurants, and an aquarium.  The boys were good sports about riding the carousel with Emma.

Emma chose the iridescent dolphin to ride on.  Hayden chose some dragon looking creature.  Leave it to my kids not to choose the ordinary carousel horse!

The weather was the epitome of perfection.  Cool and breezy.  That happens about three days out of the year in Houston.  We got really lucky.

The aquarium was the big hit of the night. Any time this family can have a live encounter with any animal and feed it any (overpriced) food, we are ALL IN.  We love us some wildlife.

Those sting rays were amazing.

Peaceful.  Graceful.  Fluid.  Sleek.  Fast.  Smooth.

Stunning.

We were captivated; all of us.

We were the only ones in there for quite some time, and the worker was super kind about sharing lots of sting ray knowledge with the boys.  We learned a lot and acquired a healthy appreciation for these fascinating creatures.

They felt like wet silk.  Very slippery, and luxuriously soft.

We encountered sting rays at the aquarium in Atlanta a few years ago, but they were skiddish and shy.  You'd be lucky to catch a mere brush lasting only a moment.  But the sting rays at this aquarium were docile, interested, and hungry!  They came right to us when we dangled our hands in the water, and actually seemed to enjoy rubbing up against our touch.  It was intimidating a bit...especially with some of the larger ones.  They look a bit fierce swimming toward you with such speed and power, but then they glide under your fingertips with a gentle whooooosh that is positively addictive, making you want to touch another.  And another.

Emma wouldn't pet them (which was okay with me), but she was quite fascinated.  She especially loved the tank full of babies, which were like tiny floating plates.  They were cute!

Yes, we chose well and started our weekend off right.  Unanimously.

Then we wandered up and down the peer, quizzing folks about their favorite spots to eat.  We settled on the Flying Dutchman for seafood, mostly because they had a wonderful outdoor seating area.

The boys were particularly interested in the boat docked right by our table. The lone soul on board was apparently the only one from his crew not granted shore leave, so he was chatty and eager to share with us about the work of his crew.  It was very interesting.

We wrapped up our night with an evening stroll along the dock, the highlight of which included feeding fishfood to SWARMS of catfish.

Does anyone else ever go on vacation just to feed animals??  :-)

Part two tomorrow!