Galveston Island, Day 3

Our last day on the island we did pretty much nothing. =) We always play putt-putt when we vacation, so we did venture in to do that. It was a fun course and fabulous to look out and see the sea while playing. As they were finishing up, Tristen won a free game on the last hole. He plans to use it next time, since there is no expiration date.

 

As silly and simple as it sounds, one of our favorite things to do was house look while we were on our way into "town" and dream a little. Jacob snapped a few pictures of his favorites, in case we win the lottery and need a summer house. ;)

We also ran around and acted a little like tourists.

Everyone wanted to fish one last time. So we headed out to the beach.  Danny had caught several fish and was starting to irritate us all, when  I saw him bring a small catfish in. He made a face, and flung his hand, and shook it a little,  and yelled that it had "got" him. Catfish fins are like needles and getting a small cut is pretty common.  He seemed to really be in a lot of discomfort, and he went to the shore.  When I looked back, he was grabbing his stuff and heading back to the house.  Tristen came and told me the cut was pretty bad, and I started to worry he might need stitches since he went up to the house.  T was worried too, so he went up to check on him, and came back to report that Danny was feeling pretty bad, which I found strange. If you know my husband, if he says he's feeling pretty bad, you need to start to worry.  I was still thinking the cut was bad, and wondered if maybe it was bleeding a lot, and that was making him feel queasy, so I called it quits, packed up and headed to the house.

Turns out, the cut was just a puncture, but the catfish had poked him really deep, and they have a venom on their fins. He experienced really bad pain in his hand, and stood out in the shower outside, because he kept feeling really hot, nauseous, and had to sit down in the swing by the house.  When he got up the house, he grabbed a pre-packed mixed drink from the freezer and slapped it on his hand, only to be greeted with intensified symptoms and now a trembling hand. After a quick search on Google, he discovered  you are suppose to use HOT water, not anything cold. I got back to the house around this time and ran to the store and got him some Benadrayl.  After a few Bud Lights and some medication, he started feeling better.  The next day it all looked good, with the exception of a half dollar ring around the poke that looked discolored, like a light bruise, but that now all gone. Crazy!

We LOVE LOVE LOVED our time at Galveston Island, and immediately came home and have started making plans to rent the same house next year. 

I highly recommend the area!  What the gulf lacks in water quality, (very brown and smells of shrimp. ;) ) it quickly makes up for with beautiful beaches, small town feel and abundant wild and ocean life!

 

Galveston Island, Day 2

 

Day 2

Danny and I are finding this whole laying around and relaxing thing is pretty nice. Too bad we can't just do this forever.

We didn't do much on Day 2. We slept in, did some laundry, took a jog down to eat some yummy over priced ice cream at Ben and Jerry's.  We all swam a lot, and later, Tristen and I went back, while Danny and Jacob got fishing poles re-lined and added weights needed for ocean fishing.  Tristen and I discovered hermit crab "freeways" where you can scoop and bring up handful after handful of crabs. We collected them on his body board and when we took them to shore, we had 63 crabs. Some were as big as golf balls, others so tiny they were like grains of sand.


We spent the evening fishing.  Everyone caught something. Even me. Yes...I brought that bad boy in all by myself, with my ocean hair and my pink fishing pole.  I also caught a big red crab, but they let go just as you get them in and they see you.

Danny also had a encounter with a snake. (thin and almost white) He was out in chest deep water and saw it right beside him. After a couple of smacks with the pole, he quickly retreated back to the shore line.

The ocean at night is amazing. The water is dark, only lit by the moonlight. The creepy crawlers come out and we entertained our selves catching little silver fish, shrimp and crabs in the net.  And the sand crabs come out. Those bad boys move so fast, they are like giant pinching spiders.

 

 

Day 3 has some drama! =) Stay tuned for that post!

Galveston Island, Day 1

Our adventure has begun! After a 10 hour trip, we arrived on Galveston Island.

 

I love the ocean. I think I have mentioned this a time or two. HA!  I love that first glimpse that you get of it, and it always takes my breath away for just a moment.  Like you are seeing a really old friend for the first time in years.

This is the first time we have been to the Gulf of Mexico. I DO admit I like the Atlantic Ocean better, but the Gulf has its surprised and benefits. The water and air smell different here. Salt and shrimp.  The sand is different, and is like powder. You can find hermit crabs like crazy. BIG honking hermit crabs.  My guys have toes like fingers, and can pick them up and bring them to the surface...I have to dive down to get mine.

 

 


This morning found us up and in the water by 9. Jacob was almost slapped by a big white fish and had no idea. He had come up from being underwater and was wiping his eyes, just as this fish jumped and flew by him, barely missing him. Dan and I yelled and then laughed. A lot.
There is also jelly fish. After running into numerous  weird "blobs" while swimming, and both boys getting stung by "something, but I'm sure if wasn't a jelly fish", Tristen CAUGHT one in his net. Jelly fish in the ocean..who knew! ;)

 

For lunch we headed down Seawall, and ate at Bubba Gumps for lunch. It was a fun atmosphere, with flip license tags that said Run, Forrest, Run! when you were ok, and you flipped it to Stop, Forrest, Stop when you needed your waitress to stop. I was feeling adventurous (I don't really care for fish) and tried a tilapia dish called Jenny's Catch with Lobster Butter Sauce.  It was pan seared tilapia over mashed potatoes with a sauteed spinach and cream lobster butter sauce. Absolutely delicious!



Danny and Tristen both had steamed crab legs, and Jacob had shrimp mac and cheese.






I can't remember what this drink was called..something Lava...but it was wonderful and it had rum in it...;P Oh..and don't look too close to my hair or my shiny face.  Its the only parts of me that does NOT appreciate the humidity here!





 

The birds here are amazing.  At Myrtle, there were seagulls around, but here they are brave and will share the water with you.  They also belly flop into the water, when they spot something. The first couple of times I watched in horror, as I was SURE that wasn't normal. It is.  Every house here has big fake plastic owls up on decks, to keep them away. I love them and their calls sound like laughter.  Something else that has been fun to watch is the Pelicans. They will fly  by, all in a line, and each one will swoop down into the water, beak open, fill it up and then take off again. They have several piers that are listed as bird watcher tourist attractions because of the birds that are waiting for the shrimp boats to return.




Pelicans flying by our dining room window

Tristen has become friends with the local seagulls. He drags bread down to the shore on his body board, and will take pieces and throw them straight up, and they swoop down and grab it, and run over to the water, get it wet, and then gulp it down. They just swarm around Tristen, and  he had people that stopped just to watch him.

 

 




We've checked several things off of our bucket list on this trip. As we were walking along  I told Danny that someday I wanted to go someplace where I could find a sand dollar. He went back out fishing, and I looked down and guess what I found? Granted it IS broken, and more like only a quarter of a sand dollar, but I FOUND a sand dollar! =D

And all Jacob has wanted to do it catch a fish out of the ocean.  There is a bait shop just across the street that the boys have visited several times, in awe of the different types of bait. Here they are using squid.  Apparently, its like the universal bait here, but for the Kansas folk, its warranted an examination of the contents of the container.

 

 

 



We are very much  enjoying our time at here. We are in a small town, with 983 people where we are at.  We can drive into city part, which is about 15 miles away.  But there are cute little mom and pop style stores with in walking distance. There is a bait shop right across the street, with wood floors and a older man who really wants to talk to you, and when he asks how you are, he really wants to know. =) He loves to talk fishing stories, which my guys just eat up.  Right down the road, there is a grocery store called Seven Seas. It reminds of the old Hoofers grocery store we had in town. The aisles are really small,  there are watermelon lining the floors, and you can find the coolest treasures in there, and the people all seem to know each other by first name. I love it.

We have the beach on one side of us, and THIS on the other:

 

We are, after all, in Texas.  These made me smile..what lucky cows, getting to eat grass and graze while looking out at the ocean!

Gardening

After a beautiful and cool spring, our summer seems to be setting in.

I am THOROUGHLY enjoying my container garden this year. I thought I would miss not having a normal garden, but no no no! I have plans to expand to twice the amount next year.  Its so nice to go out and water, and be done with in a few minutes, instead of the sprinkler running all evening.  Its also nice to be able to say "Oh look..a weed!" and pull that puppy out instead of looking around AT ALL those nasty bad boys you can't seem to get a hold of.

 
Radishes that needed thinned, but I just love all the green in the bucket.


Baby tomatoes. We have picked 2 now. 


Pole beans


Beets--again, needing to be thinned, but they are doing GREAT!

 
Okra

I am also enjoying a little water garden this year. Its an old oval horse tank that was used to hold beer at wedding receptions until it started leaking. Danny was able to fix it.  One weekend we went out to my friend Melanie's house where Tristen and her boys caught 3 fish out of her pond. I enjoy these fish more than any 34 year old should. I don't have many plants yet, but hope to add more next year. I do have a pot of Creeping Jenny, some spiral grass from Melanie that was SURE I killed, but its now throwing up green shoots. I also snagged a clump of Water Hyacinth at the huge farmers market we were at this past weekend.

Sometimes it is the most simple things that  bring the most joy.





This weekend will find us on an adventure. We rented a house on Galveston Island for a few days. T and I DEMANDED some salt water and sun, or else we may just wither away.  The plans are so far pretty simple: Sun. Sand. Swim. Fish. Repeat.   Stay tuned for those posts!

12 Weeks. I DID IT!!

I started this challenge 12 weeks ago. And I did it!! I survived!  I've learned so much about myself over these weeks.
I also wish I had taken before and after pictures. Maybe I still can..stay tuned! 

Pounds lost: 33

I am very pleased with my progress. And I can honestly say this is the very first time I have ever lost weight in a healthy way.  I've also discovered I CAN still eat foods I love, including a Red Velvet cupcake from a local restaurant on Fridays. =) Moderation!!!

I have had my rough days, but learned quickly a bad day doesn't mean your journey is over or that you have failed.  Its like taking the wrong street--you can always turn around and go back the other way.

I will say, and wish I could tell EVERYONE---getting off soda has totally changed my life. I am afraid those around me are getting a bit sick of hearing about it. =P

I have loved  my re-discovering of my love of walking. Since the boys have been out of school, I am getting up at the same time, and walking just as the sun is peeking up. I do a 1.5 in the morning most days, and then in the evenings have been walking 2.6 miles with my friend, Amy, who is on her own weight loss journey. I DO love walking with Danny, but there is also something about walking with a girlfriend that is just awesome and I look forward to each night.  

I still have much I'd like to lose. I still plan on writing about my journey once a month or so.  Thank you to each of you for your support and words.

My story isn't over yet!  =)