Remember how I said I was going to do one exciting thing a month until I turned 30? Well, my "exciting thing" for last month was definitely my weekend getaway to Galveston with the best friend. Our last minute decision to head out of town for the weekend proved to be pretty fun and successful I have to say.
We left early on a Saturday morning, packed snacks, filled up the tank and hauled butt out of Austin. I don't know about you, but the idea of being by the ocean and hearing the waves crash is just enough to set the soul at ease in a world of chaos. Between the bestie and I, we needed a breather and this was exactly what we needed.
Even though our hotel was 45 minutes away, it was totally worth the stay. I completely forgot we were in a podunk little town because we stayed at a Holiday Inn Express and it was really nice! I'll definitely be staying at another one again.
So we arrived to the hotel, took a little bit of a rest and got dressed to head to the Moody Gardens Aquarium and dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. We enjoyed seeing the penguins, seals, seahorses, sharks, turtles and other sea creatures. There were lots of pictures that were taken! It came time for the aquarium to close so we headed to dinner. I'm close to being 30 and the Rainforest Cafe has not lost it's appeal to me I have to say. It truly took me back to my childhood and Jen and I had a blast. It was fun getting to sit next to the waterfall and hear the "storm" inside the restaurant roll in. We ended up getting there the weekend of Mardi Gras and apparently they had a nice little celebration on the strand as well that we missed. But, we still had fun that night and got to talk on the beach before we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed the hot tub.
That next morning we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. It was pretty good and you can't beat free that's for sure! We checked out and headed back to Galveston before we had to drive back to Austin. There was a store by the name of "Wings" that we stopped by and did some shopping in. I bought some souvenirs (postcards, picture frame, shells, purse) so I was pretty excited. The beach was calling us so we decided to walk down and sit in the sand for a bit. It was nice getting to sit in the sun while we listened to the waves crash. We walked the beach for a bit and collected seashells and took lots of pictures. This was definitely the perfect getaway and I know we both dreaded heading back home soon. It was getting to be close to dinner time while we were out shopping again so we asked the shop owner what he would suggest as far as some good seafood places to eat at. We drove down to a place called Fish Tales which was super good and both of us ended up ordering the fish and chips. So tasty! Little did we know, it was also across the street from what's called the Pleasure Pier. Sitting on the deck of the restaurant we got to see all of the rides and the people having fun so we broke down and decided to head over after we got done eating.
I think we both convinced each other to ride the Texas Star Flyer which is the tallest swing ride in Texas that propels you 230 feet above the water. Even talking about it now brings back that sick feeling I had after I got off of it but it was so exhilarating and so worth it! We first rode the Gulf Glider and then the Merry Go Round and stopped by the Ferris Wheel before we got the nerve to ride the Star Flyer. Ask me ten years ago to have ridden that and I would have absolutely said "no"! And not just "no" but "hello no!" Since Jen was such a good sport and after scaring the absolute crap out of her, I promised to buy her some cotton candy. Needless to say she was a happy camper after that :) I also got great joy watching her ride the Pirates Plunge and seeing her get soaked. I'm telling you, she really was a good sport which is why I love her dearly.
The sun was starting to set but I wanted to stop by the Pleasure Pier gift shop and of course I bought MORE things to take home but I'm glad I did. It was a nice end to the weekend before we drove back to Austin that night. And of course we were both exhausted when we got home but it was EXACTLY what we needed to do that weekend.
Fun thing to do for February...CHECK!
So we arrived to the hotel, took a little bit of a rest and got dressed to head to the Moody Gardens Aquarium and dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. We enjoyed seeing the penguins, seals, seahorses, sharks, turtles and other sea creatures. There were lots of pictures that were taken! It came time for the aquarium to close so we headed to dinner. I'm close to being 30 and the Rainforest Cafe has not lost it's appeal to me I have to say. It truly took me back to my childhood and Jen and I had a blast. It was fun getting to sit next to the waterfall and hear the "storm" inside the restaurant roll in. We ended up getting there the weekend of Mardi Gras and apparently they had a nice little celebration on the strand as well that we missed. But, we still had fun that night and got to talk on the beach before we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed the hot tub.
That next morning we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. It was pretty good and you can't beat free that's for sure! We checked out and headed back to Galveston before we had to drive back to Austin. There was a store by the name of "Wings" that we stopped by and did some shopping in. I bought some souvenirs (postcards, picture frame, shells, purse) so I was pretty excited. The beach was calling us so we decided to walk down and sit in the sand for a bit. It was nice getting to sit in the sun while we listened to the waves crash. We walked the beach for a bit and collected seashells and took lots of pictures. This was definitely the perfect getaway and I know we both dreaded heading back home soon. It was getting to be close to dinner time while we were out shopping again so we asked the shop owner what he would suggest as far as some good seafood places to eat at. We drove down to a place called Fish Tales which was super good and both of us ended up ordering the fish and chips. So tasty! Little did we know, it was also across the street from what's called the Pleasure Pier. Sitting on the deck of the restaurant we got to see all of the rides and the people having fun so we broke down and decided to head over after we got done eating.
I think we both convinced each other to ride the Texas Star Flyer which is the tallest swing ride in Texas that propels you 230 feet above the water. Even talking about it now brings back that sick feeling I had after I got off of it but it was so exhilarating and so worth it! We first rode the Gulf Glider and then the Merry Go Round and stopped by the Ferris Wheel before we got the nerve to ride the Star Flyer. Ask me ten years ago to have ridden that and I would have absolutely said "no"! And not just "no" but "hello no!" Since Jen was such a good sport and after scaring the absolute crap out of her, I promised to buy her some cotton candy. Needless to say she was a happy camper after that :) I also got great joy watching her ride the Pirates Plunge and seeing her get soaked. I'm telling you, she really was a good sport which is why I love her dearly.
The sun was starting to set but I wanted to stop by the Pleasure Pier gift shop and of course I bought MORE things to take home but I'm glad I did. It was a nice end to the weekend before we drove back to Austin that night. And of course we were both exhausted when we got home but it was EXACTLY what we needed to do that weekend.
Fun thing to do for February...CHECK!
Much love,
Ashley
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