Texas Adventures with Gus and Boat

 

As the dark winter days drag on and the rain continues, I long for warmer weather and warm water. Last summer after our road trip with Dama, we flew to southern Texas to spend time with J's folks. Grandma Gus and Grandpa Boat live along the canals within a mile of the beach and in July, the water is the perfect bathtub temperature.

We preceded the hurricane that hit their area by less than a month! When the hurricane did hit, the grandparents had to evacuate; they returned home to external damage on their house but felt incredibly lucky about the state of their property.

Rewind to the end of July. Temperature in the high 90's. Warm ocean winds. Amazing cloud formations.

Our Pacific Northwest kid is pretty sensitive to the heat, but the grandparents are very generous with the A/C and Toe acclimates during the course of the visit. We stay inside during the heat of the day and venture out in late afternoons to enjoy the balmy weather.

This visit we took a quick day trip north to meet up with a friend of mine from college. I haven't seen him since 1995! It was wonderful to meet his wife and daughters and experience the local zoo (and eating chips made with cricket meal!).

 We spent the rest of the visit with the grandparents enjoying a completely different coastal experience than the one we get in the Pacific Northwest. Water temperatures where we live reach a balmy 65 degrees. If you play in the water too long, you turn blue. In Texas, the water is a full-body experience. You still have to worry about rip currents in certain places and at certain times, but there are places where you can wade waist deep and just enjoy the water. THIS is my favorite place to be in Texas.

"How did we end up holding all of the toys while the kid just floats?"

We didn't just spend time at the beach, though. We went to visit the Texas State Aquarium to view their giant new exhibit. I was amazed by the minimal barriers and how close we could get to the animals. The sloth on exhibit actually reached out for Grandpa Boat!

Toe and Gus examine flamingos

Touch Tank

You can't do this in the surf where we live!

We also got to go to Toe's first minor league baseball game. It was pretty hot, even in the shade, but Toe LOVED it.

Toe also discovered this visit that he LOVES Texas brisket!

Besides the beach, we went to a local bay. The water was calm and about two feet deep for hundreds of yards. Toe planted himself in the water and sang to some snails.

Gus and Boat rented a couple of paddle boards while we were there and we all took turns trying to learn this new skill. The smaller paddle board (actually a surfboard) did not do well with adult people and we were dunked so many times, it was pretty funny. Toe enjoyed the compact nature of the smaller board, though, and became pretty good at it. We all reached varying degrees of proficiency. Gus and Boat even managed to take their small dog, Grinch, who loves riding in kayaks, along with them. J managed another passenger.

 These were just a few highlights...So many adventures in two weeks! Memories of warm summer days carry me through twilight afternoons here.