pamici

No issues with parking at the rental place because they keep your driver's license, but here's pictureof the ride I didn't need. Kind of a wrestle pedaling alone but I got used to it in a couple of blocks. So windy the red flags were horizontal, but I saw lots of interesting places along seawall that I'll want to check out in the future. I had a lot of time to observe,  it took an hour to go 1.8 miles.
 

I left Dallas about 7:30 Sunday morning, which was later than I wanted, but I decided coffee with my honey was more important than getting my money's worth on the surrey rental. 
My playlist gets me to just north of Texas City, so might have to add a few more songs. I decided to go straight to the Gumbo Diner.
It was so good. Country fried steak, eggs and hashbrowns. I sat at the bar around a food prep area and chatted with the very friendly waitstaff and an islander who appeared to be looking for wife number 3. I wasn't able to help him with that.
By the time I'd finished my brunch, it was almost 2:00 and I figured I'd better get the surrey.
 

I see they only had the fake trolleys out today.

No issues with parking at the rental place because they keep your driver's license, but here's pictureof the ride I didn't need. Kind of a wrestle pedaling alone but I got used to it in a couple of blocks. So windy the red flags were horizontal, but I saw lots of interesting places along seawall that I'll want to check out in the future. I had a lot of time to observe,  it took an hour to go 1.8 miles.
 

I left Dallas about 7:30 Sunday morning, which was later than I wanted, but I decided coffee with my honey was more important than getting my money's worth on the surrey rental. 
My playlist gets me to just north of Texas City, so might have to add a few more songs. I decided to go straight to the Gumbo Diner.
It was so good. Country fried steak, eggs and hashbrowns. I sat at the bar around a food prep area and chatted with the very friendly waitstaff and an islander who appeared to be looking for wife number 3. I wasn't able to help him with that.
By the time I'd finished my brunch, it was almost 2:00 and I figured I'd better get the surrey.
 

No issues with parking at the rental place because they keep your driver's license, but here's pictureof the ride I didn't need. Kind of a wrestle pedaling alone but I got used to it in a couple of blocks. So windy the red flags were horizontal, but I saw lots of interesting places along seawall that I'll want to check out in the future. I had a lot of time to observe,  it took an hour to go 1.8 miles.
 

I left Dallas about 7:30 Sunday morning, which was later than I wanted, but I decided coffee with my honey was more important than getting my money's worth on the surrey rental. 
My playlist gets me to just north of Texas City, so might have to add a few more songs. I decided to go straight to the Gumbo Diner.
It was so good. Country fried steak, eggs and hashbrowns. I sat at the bar around a food prep area and chatted with the very friendly waitstaff and an islander who appeared to be looking for wife number 3. I wasn't able to help him with that.
By the time I'd finished my brunch, it was almost 2:00 and I figured I'd better get the surrey.
 

This is my first time using voom, so I don't know how well pictures will work, but here's a quick recap of the last couple of days, starting with an excellent suggestion: 
 

Speaking of said playlist - I think this will get me all the way to Galveston:
All I Wanna Do - Sheryl Crow All Night Long - Lionel Richie Beyond the Sea - Bobby Darin Boat Drinks - Jimmy Buffett Break for the Border - Acoustic Alchemy Cake By the Ocean - DNCE Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) Caribbean Blue - Enya Cheers - Rihanna City of Dreams - Talking Heads Come Sail Away - Styx Conga - Miami Sound Machine Dance with Me - Orleans Deck 9 - Funkagenda Drift Away - Dobie Gray Escapade - Janet Jackson Freedom - Pitbull Good Times - Chic Haitian Divorce - Steely Dan Heaven - Los Lonely Boys Hey Now Now - Michael Franti Holiday - Madonna Island Girl - Elton John Island in the Sun - Weezer Knee Deep - Zac Brown Band Kokomo - Beach Boys La Isla Bonita - Madonna Let’s Groove - Earth, Wind, & Fire Livin La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin Mambo No. 5 - Lou Bega Mas Que Nada - Sergio Mendes Yeke Yeke - Mory Kante Orinoco Flow - Enya Oye Como Va - Santana Runaway - Janet Jackson Sail On - Commodores Sail on Sailor - Beach Boys Sailing - Christopher Cross Sea Cruise - Frankie Ford Seagull - Bad Company Shake Shake Senora - Harry Belefonte Sinner in the Sea - Calexico Smooth - Santana Smooth Operator - Sade Soak up the Sun - Sheryl Crow Southern Cross - Crosby, Stills, & Nash Steal Away - Robbie Dupree Steal My Sunshine - Len Summer Breeze - Seals and Croft Tik Tok - Kesha Totally Nude - Talking Heads Un poco de amor - Shakira Uptight - Stevie Wonder Walking on Sunshine - Katrina & the Waves Where the Boat Leaves From - Zac Brown Band  

I’m experimenting with using a travel agent this time. It hasn’t been exactly life-changing, but it’s been helpful at times. I wanted a balcony, but not in close proximity to pool decks, galleys, and nightclubs. TA and I hit upon the aft junior suites, but they required a 3-person minimum occupancy. And then the lightbulb went off. We would invite my sister’s best friend to join us. With any luck, the two of them will keep each other so occupied, I can have moments of solitary bliss between the sea and the sky.
By a fluke, I saw someone’s post about the $18.00 drink package just in time to sign the three of us up. We decided against the Chef’s Table because although sister and I had enjoyed it thoroughly last year, it does take up a chunk of time and this is a pretty short cruise. Ditto for the Bottomless Brunch. I’d heard that the Key wasn’t necessarily worth the expense, but when I got the Cruise Planner email, I clicked on it anyway, just to check it out. It actually seemed like a good deal for us. 
I liked the idea of a quiet MDR lunch on embarkation day, from the Chops menu, no less, but when they threw in carry-on drop off and delivery to the stateroom (no schlepping!), I was about half-sold. We wouldn’t make use of private hours on the rock-climbing wall (sadly), but VIP seating in the theatre is another story. The option to slip out ahead of the crowd in Cozumel sounded awesome, and then there was another seated breakfast on debarkation morning. I pulled the trigger and I have no regrets.

Happy Cruise Day!!

Have a great cruise! Enchantment was my first cruise ship. I’m looking forward to following along!

Thank you!

This day is going by much too slowly. ?
Back to daydreaming:
Since we will be kicking around Galveston Sunday afternoon, I thought I’d find some fun stuff for us to do until time for Jimmy’s. As noted a few posts up, there is a wonderful thread by Galveston Steve that is a wealth of information. My instincts always lean first to food and drink, so that’s where I started. In my defense, the last time I tried to wander around cool historical buildings in Galveston, I slipped down a flight of stairs and tore my rotator cuff. (Actually, I might have been pushed by a ghost, but I digress.)
Texas Tail Distillery got my attention. 
  
 

There was another rental company in town that would have delivered a surrey to our hotel and then picked it up again at the end of the day. However, I couldn’t set up the rental online, so that was a deal breaker, for me at least. 
The parking near Island Bicycle Company looks pretty sparse, and I’ll have free parking at the hotel already. It could be fun to take the trolley down the Seawall to our surrey and the route seems quite doable. Pick up at 81st, jump off at 19th, a short walk at either end and $1.00 a person each way. Then we pedal our way back down the Seawall to the distillery, our hotel, and whatever else we discover on the way. Just have to remember to return the surrey by about 5-ish so we’ll have time to get ready for dinner and hopefully snag a good seat for the sunset.


 
 
 
 

Speaking of said playlist - I think this will get me all the way to Galveston:
All I Wanna Do - Sheryl Crow All Night Long - Lionel Richie Beyond the Sea - Bobby Darin Boat Drinks - Jimmy Buffett Break for the Border - Acoustic Alchemy Cake By the Ocean - DNCE Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) Caribbean Blue - Enya Cheers - Rihanna City of Dreams - Talking Heads Come Sail Away - Styx Conga - Miami Sound Machine Dance with Me - Orleans Deck 9 - Funkagenda Drift Away - Dobie Gray Escapade - Janet Jackson Freedom - Pitbull Good Times - Chic Haitian Divorce - Steely Dan Heaven - Los Lonely Boys Hey Now Now - Michael Franti Holiday - Madonna Island Girl - Elton John Island in the Sun - Weezer Knee Deep - Zac Brown Band Kokomo - Beach Boys La Isla Bonita - Madonna Let’s Groove - Earth, Wind, & Fire Livin La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin Mambo No. 5 - Lou Bega Mas Que Nada - Sergio Mendes Yeke Yeke - Mory Kante Orinoco Flow - Enya Oye Como Va - Santana Runaway - Janet Jackson Sail On - Commodores Sail on Sailor - Beach Boys Sailing - Christopher Cross Sea Cruise - Frankie Ford Seagull - Bad Company Shake Shake Senora - Harry Belefonte Sinner in the Sea - Calexico Smooth - Santana Smooth Operator - Sade Soak up the Sun - Sheryl Crow Southern Cross - Crosby, Stills, & Nash Steal Away - Robbie Dupree Steal My Sunshine - Len Summer Breeze - Seals and Croft Tik Tok - Kesha Totally Nude - Talking Heads Un poco de amor - Shakira Uptight - Stevie Wonder Walking on Sunshine - Katrina & the Waves Where the Boat Leaves From - Zac Brown Band  

Enjoy! Following!
 

There was another rental company in town that would have delivered a surrey to our hotel and then picked it up again at the end of the day. However, I couldn’t set up the rental online, so that was a deal breaker, for me at least. 
The parking near Island Bicycle Company looks pretty sparse, and I’ll have free parking at the hotel already. It could be fun to take the trolley down the Seawall to our surrey and the route seems quite doable. Pick up at 81st, jump off at 19th, a short walk at either end and $1.00 a person each way. Then we pedal our way back down the Seawall to the distillery, our hotel, and whatever else we discover on the way. Just have to remember to return the surrey by about 5-ish so we’ll have time to get ready for dinner and hopefully snag a good seat for the sunset.


 
 
 
 

It wasn't exactly a tour - my kids and I were poking around Ashton Villa after stopping into the visitor's center and wandered into the wedding venue area. Of course, we had to climb the steep and narrow stairs, to what would have been the family living areas (now I think used for the bride's rooms), and quickly hit a dead end. Coming back down, the steps were crazy-slick and I went about half the way on my tush, with my left hand still attached the the hand rail way back up yonder. The kids like to tease me that I was sent packing by a former resident. All I know is, I wouldn't want to try and maneuver those steps in a wedding gown!

I love the Strand and the other inland destinations, but this trip, I’d like to stick close to the Seawall. And if I’m going to be sampling the whiskey flight (“if”, lol), I’d rather not have to drive back to my hotel. I’ve always wanted to rent a bike in Galveston, but for some silly reason, the idea of me riding a two-wheeler between the beach and the traffic scares my husband half to death (see above slipping down the stairs incident). So … bike surrey it is! 

Rented from Island Bicycle Company for $68 after tax for the day. We’ll have to take turns pedaling each other around. The weather is supposed to be “cloudy, breezy, and mild” - hopefully the exercise will be sobering!

I love the Strand and the other inland destinations, but this trip, I’d like to stick close to the Seawall. And if I’m going to be sampling the whiskey flight (“if”, lol), I’d rather not have to drive back to my hotel. I’ve always wanted to rent a bike in Galveston, but for some silly reason, the idea of me riding a two-wheeler between the beach and the traffic scares my husband half to death (see above slipping down the stairs incident). So … bike surrey it is! 

Rented from Island Bicycle Company for $68 after tax for the day. We’ll have to take turns pedaling each other around. The weather is supposed to be “cloudy, breezy, and mild” - hopefully the exercise will be sobering!

I love this idea !!

It wasn't exactly a tour - my kids and I were poking around Ashton Villa after stopping into the visitor's center and wandered into the wedding venue area. Of course, we had to climb the steep and narrow stairs, to what would have been the family living areas (now I think used for the bride's rooms), and quickly hit a dead end. Coming back down, the steps were crazy-slick and I went about half the way on my tush, with my left hand still attached the the hand rail way back up yonder. The kids like to tease me that I was sent packing by a former resident. All I know is, I wouldn't want to try and maneuver those steps in a wedding gown!

This day is going by much too slowly. ?
Back to daydreaming:
Since we will be kicking around Galveston Sunday afternoon, I thought I’d find some fun stuff for us to do until time for Jimmy’s. As noted a few posts up, there is a wonderful thread by Galveston Steve that is a wealth of information. My instincts always lean first to food and drink, so that’s where I started. In my defense, the last time I tried to wander around cool historical buildings in Galveston, I slipped down a flight of stairs and tore my rotator cuff. (Actually, I might have been pushed by a ghost, but I digress.)
Texas Tail Distillery got my attention. 
  
 

This day is going by much too slowly. ?
Back to daydreaming:
Since we will be kicking around Galveston Sunday afternoon, I thought I’d find some fun stuff for us to do until time for Jimmy’s. As noted a few posts up, there is a wonderful thread by Galveston Steve that is a wealth of information. My instincts always lean first to food and drink, so that’s where I started. In my defense, the last time I tried to wander around cool historical buildings in Galveston, I slipped down a flight of stairs and tore my rotator cuff. (Actually, I might have been pushed by a ghost, but I digress.)
Texas Tail Distillery got my attention.