Labor Day Part 2

SUNDAY
We got up Sunday morning, ate a quick breakfast at the hotel and headed for Galveston Island and Moody Gardens.

I never heard of Moody Gardens until last year when some friends told us they went there. Since we were going to be in the vicinity, we might as well check it out.
Moody Gardens is an educational wonderland. There are three pyramids, each with it's own theme and theaters and more.

We started out in the 4D theater. If you don't know what a 4D theater is, you're in for a surprise. I first experienced 4D at Sea World. I won't spoil it by telling you about it, I'll let you figure it out on your own.
From there we went to the Rainforest Pyramid. Live animals from all over the Rainforest were here; birds, lizards, sloth, fish, bats and lots of little mammals.
After the Rain Forest, it was time to watch the 3D Imax Film, Deep Sea. This was a very informative film. You get to see sea life as they act in nature. Cool!
When that finished, we were off to ride the Colonel, a big paddle wheel boat. The one hour trip took us around the inlet on the north side of the island.
When the boat docked we went into the Discovery Pyramid to check it out and watch the ridefilm. In the ridefilm, all the seats are on a platform that moves along with the film. It was neat and we were chasing dinosaurs. Layce wanted to watch it again, but they weren't showing it anymore that day.

From there we went into the Aquarium Pyramid. This was the best, yet. We got to touch different sea creatures and, of course, there were aquarium tanks everywhere. We saw seals and sea horses and sharks, oh, my. The largest tank had a tunnel right through it for us to walk into, with fish and sharks all around us, it was exhilarating!
There was also a beach there, but, alas, we didn't bring out swimsuits and it was time to go. Another full day of fun.

We did happen on an authentic Greek restaurant before we left the island. Talk about good. The Olympia Grill served us Gyros and Greek salad, roasted potatoes and fresh fruit followed by baklava, ice cream with baklava crunch and pumpkin cake with walnuts. What a surprise to find such good Greek food in Galveston.

MONDAY
This was pretty much a free day, in other words, we really didn't have any hard plans.

We got up and went swimming in the hotel pool for about an hour.

Then we checked out and headed back to the island. Once on the seawall we found a place to park and hit the beach. It's amazing how shallow the gulf is, you can walk/swim all the way to the end of the pier and still touch bottom.
While looking for shells, Jenny found another ring. It's white gold 14K with diamonds. She is the most ring findingest person I've ever known!
After we pulled the kids out of the water, we had time for one last boat ride. There is a ferry that goes from the island to Bolivar Peninsula. I thought the kids would get a kick out of a third boat ride, so off we went. I was surprised at how many dolphins we saw swimming in the gulf. I think I counted a total of 15. I don't think I had ever seen dolphins in the wild before. There were also two old ship wrecks out there. I'm sure they left them there to create reefs for the sea life.
Then it was past time to head back, but before we parted ways we ate at Acapulco Mexican Grill in La Marque.

What a great time with my family!

And That's What I Know!