Summer Vacation - Galveston Harbor

The story of our parents' dawg-less and endless vacation continues . . .

Before traveling anywhere, Mommy does TONS of research on the location.  She searches out the best tourist attractions and restaurants.  Frequently, she has each day planned down to the minute.  For you organized people, this is admirable.  For people like Daddy, this is annoying.  He doesn't remember Mommy mentioning the next two attractions ahead of time, but she did!  (At least she told us about them.)

Mommy wanted to visit the retired jackup drilling rig named the Ocean Star operated by the Offshore Energy Center.  The legs of the rig have been shortened so it can be easily accessed from the pier.  There are three floors (Daddy wants us to point out that stairs are required once again) inside this rig which house a museum and education center devoted to the offshore oil and gas industry.  There are so many exhibits to see.  There's also a fifteen minute film which is very informational about the types of oil rigs and how oil is located and drilled.  Both parents found this fascinating.  

These are working oil rigs across the harbor . . . 

As fascinating as the oil rig was, what entertained our parents even more were the pelicans outside the rig.  Mommy and Daddy had both been trying to take pictures of pelicans all week as they flew over the beach.  They came in small groups of 3-5 or sometimes large groups of 20!  Just a little trivial bit of knowledge for you . . . a group of pelicans can be called a "pod", "scoop", or "squadron"!  For some reason, our parents LOVE pelicans!  Not as much as they love us, of course.  At least we hope not!  Which would you rather have curl up next to you????

Another idea Mommy found worth doing in Galveston was a dolphin sightseeing tour.  Trips left Pier 21 every hour on the hour.  The tour doesn't guarantee a sighting of course, but they usually have one.  The problem with this tour was that by the time you saw a dolphin it was GONE!  There was no time to take pictures!  

At first glance, you might think that dorsal fin belonged to a shark, but it's too curved.  At one point, the dolphins disappeared beneath the surface and everyone on board was scanning the water's surface frantically looking for them again.  One popped up right beside Mommy!  She was thrilled, but it was gone before she could aim her camera!  Drat!

There were other things to see in the Galveston Harbor besides dolphins.  Giant cargo ships were docked to load and unload.  Sailboats were cruising around and pelicans were flying!

FINALLY!  Mommy got a great picture of a flying pelican!  She was thrilled even if she didn't get that great shot of a dolphin!

The dolphin cruise was on Friday afternoon and our parents came home Saturday.  They briefly considered hopping on one of these Carnival cruise ships docked in the harbor to extend their vacation . . . sigh . . . perhaps another day!  Or perhaps NOT!  We bet dawgs aren't allowed there either!  Hmpf!

Just so you know, Daddy only made two requests while on vacation: relaxation and fishing!  We've already said this vacation was the most relaxing one they've had in a while.  And they did go to one of the piers to fish one afternoon.  Unfortunately, Daddy caught nothing!  On the other hand, Mommy did a lot of reading!

This concludes the never ending, dawg-less vacation picture tour had by our parents without a care in the world for us! 
Dixie, Jenna & Ruger