(no subject)
Yesterday we had an excursion to the beach. We got up at 4:30, got ready and headed off to drop off Bandit to my mother's house, and Yuki to Kip's. After that, we went to Burger King to grab a quick breakfast, and Robert is loving the fact that Mikey rarely finishes his breakfast, lunch or dinner so he gets to finish it. After breakfast, we were off. Driving down I-37 at 6 am is a beautiful sight, lots of sky and plains, and overall it was really peaceful. After a couple of rounds of I-Spy, which was actually pretty fun, Mikey decided he wanted us to play, "Guess what I'm thinking." Needless to say, that game didn't sound very fun. We didn't play. Mikey played his Star Wars game most of the way down, stopping only once to go to the restroom. We pulled off the highway and ended up in a tiny little dinky town that could have come out of the movie "Deliverance." All in all, it was pretty gross. Robert said the restroom smelled like roaches. It took ua a while to find our way back to the highway, since there was no entrance, but various detours later, we were back on our way. I recommended that we use the rest stops from then on.
We got into Corpus a little after nine o'clock, and headed to the aquarium. Crossing the bridge over the water revealed an aerial view of the U.S.S. Lexington, and Mikey said, "A real live battleship just like the game!" The Aquarium is right next door to where the Lexington is moored, so we got closeups of the ship later on that day.
The Aquarium was small, but yielded a couple nice treats. We saw a big shark swim right before our eyes, but I don't think the pictures will come out. They also had big sea turtles and otters and we even went to a dolphin show. Mikey really liked that. They had a room full of jellyfish exhibits, a parrot, a toucan, several snakes and monitors, salamanders, huge fish, an exhibit with fish who looked like Dorry and Nemo, a touch pool with Hermit Crabs, lots of sea cucumbers and anemones, and a touch pool with several different species of rays. The rays were real neat to touch. Mikey liked that a lot too, though it was hard for him to decide to put his hand in the water. He really wanted to touch them, but was hesistant, and when he finally got the courage to do so, they would be gone. But he finally touched one. They feel really soft, almost slimy, but they are pure muscle. It was pretty cool.
We did go in the gift shop to get Mikey a souvenir. He wanted pretty much everything, though it came down to a stuffed ray, a stuffed dolphin, or a stuffed otter. We got it down to the dolphin and otter, but after much deliberation and a little bit of whining, the dolphin. (I need to add here that the first thing Mikey wanted was a pink and white stuffed dolphin purse. We didn't get that. :) ) We went up to the observation deck and took some pictures with the Lexington in the distance. After that, people started pouring into the Aquarium, so we headed out to lunch.
After Whataburger, we grabbed our beach clothes and changed in the restrooms, cause the beach was right down the road. I have never been to Corpus Christi beach before, only Padre and Port Aransas, so it was neat to see all the beach cottages and surf shops and beach restaurants all along the beach. They don't have that in Port Aransas, where the public beaches are more secluded (there are miles and miles of beach with no construction and no amenities, not even a trash can. That's where Robert and I went last year at 4 am. The moon then shone all over the water - it was like a dream. The only complaint I have there is that the sand is packed down hard.) Here at Corpus Christi beach the sand was abundant and very soft; though it had many tiny particles of semi-precious stones that made it sparkle. We got a couple that after being cleaned up in the rock polisher, will look really cool. Anyway, at the beach, Mikey played in the warm water, dug a moat, built a "sand castle" and had a blast. Robert and I built a sand castle too, but I soon got bored and sat in the surf. It was really nice - I have never felt the water so warm or seen the beach so clear of seaweed or jellyfish. Usually when I go there are piles of seaweed and a couple washed up man-of-wars, but this time it was pleasantly different.
Of course, when it was time to go, Mikey didn't want to leave. But we were all exhausted. We changed back into regular clothes and hit up a surf shop for more souvenirs. I got Mikey a shark tooth necklace and a necklace of shells. Then, about 3:30, we headed back to San Antonio. Mikey fell asleep the whole way back, drooling all over himself in the process. He woke up at 5:30 when we were pulling into Kip and April's neighborhood, and insisted that he hadn't been asleep at all, just not paying attention. When we got to the house, he showed his cousins all his souvenirs and they played Jedi Knight with Taylor's lightsabers, chess, and various other things, stopping only for subs for dinner. Robert, me, April, Kip and Kip's new girlfriend played Buzz. I lost horribly the first time, but ended up beating Kip at the end.
We all came home, sans Bandit, who was still at my mother's house, and got ready for bed. Robert read Mikey one of the books we got at the library, and soon Mikey was out like a light.
The rest, they say, is history.
Right now, Mikey is watching Return of the Jedi Robert is crashed out.
We got into Corpus a little after nine o'clock, and headed to the aquarium. Crossing the bridge over the water revealed an aerial view of the U.S.S. Lexington, and Mikey said, "A real live battleship just like the game!" The Aquarium is right next door to where the Lexington is moored, so we got closeups of the ship later on that day.
The Aquarium was small, but yielded a couple nice treats. We saw a big shark swim right before our eyes, but I don't think the pictures will come out. They also had big sea turtles and otters and we even went to a dolphin show. Mikey really liked that. They had a room full of jellyfish exhibits, a parrot, a toucan, several snakes and monitors, salamanders, huge fish, an exhibit with fish who looked like Dorry and Nemo, a touch pool with Hermit Crabs, lots of sea cucumbers and anemones, and a touch pool with several different species of rays. The rays were real neat to touch. Mikey liked that a lot too, though it was hard for him to decide to put his hand in the water. He really wanted to touch them, but was hesistant, and when he finally got the courage to do so, they would be gone. But he finally touched one. They feel really soft, almost slimy, but they are pure muscle. It was pretty cool.
We did go in the gift shop to get Mikey a souvenir. He wanted pretty much everything, though it came down to a stuffed ray, a stuffed dolphin, or a stuffed otter. We got it down to the dolphin and otter, but after much deliberation and a little bit of whining, the dolphin. (I need to add here that the first thing Mikey wanted was a pink and white stuffed dolphin purse. We didn't get that. :) ) We went up to the observation deck and took some pictures with the Lexington in the distance. After that, people started pouring into the Aquarium, so we headed out to lunch.
After Whataburger, we grabbed our beach clothes and changed in the restrooms, cause the beach was right down the road. I have never been to Corpus Christi beach before, only Padre and Port Aransas, so it was neat to see all the beach cottages and surf shops and beach restaurants all along the beach. They don't have that in Port Aransas, where the public beaches are more secluded (there are miles and miles of beach with no construction and no amenities, not even a trash can. That's where Robert and I went last year at 4 am. The moon then shone all over the water - it was like a dream. The only complaint I have there is that the sand is packed down hard.) Here at Corpus Christi beach the sand was abundant and very soft; though it had many tiny particles of semi-precious stones that made it sparkle. We got a couple that after being cleaned up in the rock polisher, will look really cool. Anyway, at the beach, Mikey played in the warm water, dug a moat, built a "sand castle" and had a blast. Robert and I built a sand castle too, but I soon got bored and sat in the surf. It was really nice - I have never felt the water so warm or seen the beach so clear of seaweed or jellyfish. Usually when I go there are piles of seaweed and a couple washed up man-of-wars, but this time it was pleasantly different.
Of course, when it was time to go, Mikey didn't want to leave. But we were all exhausted. We changed back into regular clothes and hit up a surf shop for more souvenirs. I got Mikey a shark tooth necklace and a necklace of shells. Then, about 3:30, we headed back to San Antonio. Mikey fell asleep the whole way back, drooling all over himself in the process. He woke up at 5:30 when we were pulling into Kip and April's neighborhood, and insisted that he hadn't been asleep at all, just not paying attention. When we got to the house, he showed his cousins all his souvenirs and they played Jedi Knight with Taylor's lightsabers, chess, and various other things, stopping only for subs for dinner. Robert, me, April, Kip and Kip's new girlfriend played Buzz. I lost horribly the first time, but ended up beating Kip at the end.
We all came home, sans Bandit, who was still at my mother's house, and got ready for bed. Robert read Mikey one of the books we got at the library, and soon Mikey was out like a light.
The rest, they say, is history.
Right now, Mikey is watching Return of the Jedi Robert is crashed out.