GregD

I did not…..but fear not, I’m watching releases like a hawk. I think @TheBoss518 is really interested in Utopia for NYE

This one did! Makes me want to go to our local BBQ place but I can't break my pre-cruise diet. Maybe I'll put BBQ sauce on my grilled chicken breast tonight and pretend it's the same thing. 🙃

Final dinner in Houston:
Lydia wanted some Texas BBQ while we were here. I reached out to some friends who live here and the overwhelming response was Killen’s BBQ. They have a location in Pearland which is a suburb south of Houston. It was a 15 minute drive from the hotel, and worth every minute. They have all the typical BBQ things and we did not leave disappointed.
Food porn lovers enjoy!

I had brisket and ribs with a side of green beans and brussel sprouts.

The Boss and Johnny split some ribs, pulled pork with Mac and cheese and coleslaw. They also got a baked potato that was monstrous. 


Freeloader #2 got a BBQ quesadilla that was filled with brisket, cheese, onions and peppers and came with sides of beans and rice.
The pickles are house made and really good.
Also on the menu for the carnivores out there were beef ribs. I had considered ordering one, but opted for the brisket. I saw a table nearby that had some, and they were massive!
Their menu is online. The restaurant is counter service, with tables to sit at after you order and pay. Prices are reasonable as well. 

Final dinner in Houston:
Lydia wanted some Texas BBQ while we were here. I reached out to some friends who live here and the overwhelming response was Killen’s BBQ. They have a location in Pearland which is a suburb south of Houston. It was a 15 minute drive from the hotel, and worth every minute. They have all the typical BBQ things and we did not leave disappointed.
Food porn lovers enjoy!

I had brisket and ribs with a side of green beans and brussel sprouts.

The Boss and Johnny split some ribs, pulled pork with Mac and cheese and coleslaw. They also got a baked potato that was monstrous. 


Freeloader #2 got a BBQ quesadilla that was filled with brisket, cheese, onions and peppers and came with sides of beans and rice.
The pickles are house made and really good.
Also on the menu for the carnivores out there were beef ribs. I had considered ordering one, but opted for the brisket. I saw a table nearby that had some, and they were massive!
Their menu is online. The restaurant is counter service, with tables to sit at after you order and pay. Prices are reasonable as well. 

Houston hotel: We called an audible the morning of the cruise for our post cruise stay. After a night of listening to the freeloaders complain about who was touching who, who was taking up too much space etc, we decided we needed a bigger room. The room by the airport was going to be the same arrangement we were just in. 
We expanded our hotel search space and ended up at a Homewood Suites Houston/clear Lake/NASA. The room was a 1 king, 2 dbl beds 2br, 2 bath suite. This was perfect. Everyone had their own space, and the freeloaders were on the other side of the room from us. The locations was great too. It was just off I45 midway between Houston and Galveston. With a late morning flight we had plenty of time. 
Here is the main living room

Freeloaders room

Freeloader Bathroom

Kitchenette

Master Bed

Master bath, my only complaint here was that to get to the shower/toilet you had to come completely out of the bedroom and cross that space. minor gripe. That door to the right of the mirror leads to the master BR.

The drive to Hobby the following morning was only 20 minutes, so not bad at all. 

The bugs were really creepy. Plenty of roaches, weird stick bugs and spiders.

Houston hotel: We called an audible the morning of the cruise for our post cruise stay. After a night of listening to the freeloaders complain about who was touching who, who was taking up too much space etc, we decided we needed a bigger room. The room by the airport was going to be the same arrangement we were just in. 
We expanded our hotel search space and ended up at a Homewood Suites Houston/clear Lake/NASA. The room was a 1 king, 2 dbl beds 2br, 2 bath suite. This was perfect. Everyone had their own space, and the freeloaders were on the other side of the room from us. The locations was great too. It was just off I45 midway between Houston and Galveston. With a late morning flight we had plenty of time. 
Here is the main living room

Freeloaders room

Freeloader Bathroom

Kitchenette

Master Bed

Master bath, my only complaint here was that to get to the shower/toilet you had to come completely out of the bedroom and cross that space. minor gripe. That door to the right of the mirror leads to the master BR.

The drive to Hobby the following morning was only 20 minutes, so not bad at all. 

Back at it! 
 
The best part of our day, was after lunch. We stopped at their restaurant and ate at the buffet. It was nothing exciting and not even worth pictures but it was edible if you end up here, it’s a solid choice over the other cafes.
We went back to the Aquarium, and got to meet Marley!

 
Marley is a 20 year old rock hopper penguin who really enjoys doing meet and greets with people. She was constantly doing her excited call. While with her we learned all about their exhibit, conservation efforts, how the penguins are cared for, etc etc.
While there, Marley made us some art that we got to keep.



It was a really fun way to finish our day there. 
We also got a small peek at their newest king penguin chick, just poking out from behind its parents.

The bugs were really creepy. Plenty of roaches, weird stick bugs and spiders.

Back at it! 
 
The best part of our day, was after lunch. We stopped at their restaurant and ate at the buffet. It was nothing exciting and not even worth pictures but it was edible if you end up here, it’s a solid choice over the other cafes.
We went back to the Aquarium, and got to meet Marley!

 
Marley is a 20 year old rock hopper penguin who really enjoys doing meet and greets with people. She was constantly doing her excited call. While with her we learned all about their exhibit, conservation efforts, how the penguins are cared for, etc etc.
While there, Marley made us some art that we got to keep.



It was a really fun way to finish our day there. 
We also got a small peek at their newest king penguin chick, just poking out from behind its parents.

Nothing that exciting, just his tongue 😛 

Instead of posting pictures of all the creepy bugs we saw, I'll post Orchids and flowers instead.
 

Certain creatures were in their own enclosure because they could kill you like this guy, a Komodo Dragon

Fruit bats

and vampire bats

After the aquarium, we went over to the rainforest pyramid. This one was very cool. Inside they had planted a small rainforest. There were trees and plants native to the amazon, and there were multiple animals and birds that had free rein of the building. Everywhere you went random things would cross your path. I understand that for some of you cough cough...you know who you are...that would be terrifying, but we all really enjoyed it. There were two levels of paths that you took, one was up high in the canopy, and then down low along the floor.

'


This guy stopped and posed for pictures. There were plenty of staff around to remind guests not to get too close.

You will have to take my word for it, but the brown blob in the back is a sloth.

HEY IM WALKIN HERE!!!

We spent a little time driving around Galveston looking at nice houses etc. There was a marathon or something going on that day so we didn't really stop anywhere. 
We eventually hit Starbucks for second coffee. I handed the girl my purple star class card...she wasn't amused. 
On advice from friends we headed over to Moody Gardens
This is a large property with hotel, convention center etc, but what we were after is that they have three pyramids. One holds an aquarium, another a rainforest, and the third is a discovery museum. 
We first visited the aquarium. This was lots of fun, and done well. They have all sorts of exhibits from penguins, to jellyfish, a touch pool with rays, and all sorts of things in between. 
This guy looked like I felt





They even had the Homo sapiens diver fish!

 

Departure....
Berty gave us two options for our bags. We would have them out by midnight the last night, or six am on departure day. Looking at the departure sheet they are really pushing for people not to do self assist. There is bold print that self assist is only for people with one bag, as the terminal has minimal elevators, and they don't want people going down the escalators with multiple bags. 
While I have never been lucky enough to have the earlier star class experience with the genie coming with a porter on the last day, we had ours out by midnight except for the small suitcase for the infamous weighted blanket and makeup etc etc. We have never lost a bag, nor do we put anything valuable in them so it has not been an issue for us yet....
On the last morning, we were up in coastal around 7:30. We weren't necessarily rushing since we didn't have anywhere to be right away, but we did want to be out to give the attendant as much time as possible. 
At breakfast, I got my last Mediterranean Plate

Johnny had one last frosted donut for @Lovetocruise2002

Lydia was done with pictures 

At 8:30 Berty met us at CK to walk us off the ship. He was also escorting the 4 guests in the villa off at the same time too. He used his magical powers and the elevator went straight to the promenade, where we got a picture of him with he kids

We were whisked around the long line of people off the ship.
Galveston must do some things a little different because he was able to accompany us all the way past the facial scanners to our waiting luggage. The scanners here were great, and super quick. 
All of the star class luggage was grouped together in the corner and easy to get to. 
With our belongings recovered, we too quickly said our final goodbyes and were on our way. 
Total time from pickup at coastal kitchen to our car was 18 minutes, including the few extra minutes it took to get to the car because we accidentally walked the wrong way
 

So I think we are now up to the special treat for the wife.
I know I have been hinting at sparkly things that we have been looking for, and not having any luck.
But.....
But............
We went another route. I really did want to treat her, to something special. She recently got a big promotion at work that she worked so hard for, and it was really a wonderful thing for this position to become available in her company, and in this location so that we wouldn't have to relocate....plus she deserves it from putting up with me🤣 right @TheBoss518
So may I present to you Luis....

She is beyond excited....and can't wait for work on Wednesday to show it off a little bit.
For all of you that were hoping on sparkly things...FEAR NOT!!!! I have found the exact thing that she was looking for on the Effy site and I have ordered it!

The bugs were really creepy. Plenty of roaches, weird stick bugs and spiders.

Back at it! 
 
The best part of our day, was after lunch. We stopped at their restaurant and ate at the buffet. It was nothing exciting and not even worth pictures but it was edible if you end up here, it’s a solid choice over the other cafes.
We went back to the Aquarium, and got to meet Marley!

 
Marley is a 20 year old rock hopper penguin who really enjoys doing meet and greets with people. She was constantly doing her excited call. While with her we learned all about their exhibit, conservation efforts, how the penguins are cared for, etc etc.
While there, Marley made us some art that we got to keep.



It was a really fun way to finish our day there. 
We also got a small peek at their newest king penguin chick, just poking out from behind its parents.

Instead of posting pictures of all the creepy bugs we saw, I'll post Orchids and flowers instead.
 

Certain creatures were in their own enclosure because they could kill you like this guy, a Komodo Dragon

Fruit bats

and vampire bats

After the aquarium, we went over to the rainforest pyramid. This one was very cool. Inside they had planted a small rainforest. There were trees and plants native to the amazon, and there were multiple animals and birds that had free rein of the building. Everywhere you went random things would cross your path. I understand that for some of you cough cough...you know who you are...that would be terrifying, but we all really enjoyed it. There were two levels of paths that you took, one was up high in the canopy, and then down low along the floor.

'


This guy stopped and posed for pictures. There were plenty of staff around to remind guests not to get too close.

You will have to take my word for it, but the brown blob in the back is a sloth.

HEY IM WALKIN HERE!!!

Our first task once in the car was a rescue mission!!
Poor Ashlyn forgot her favorite stuffed animal at the hotel before getting on the ship. Thankfully Kristine called the hotel and they were able to hold onto it for them. Dan had planned on getting off the ship as soon as the gangway opened and walked to the hotel to retrieve it and hopefully return in time to get their shuttle to the airport. I told him that was crazy, and that since we had the car, we would go get it for them. They stayed at the Harbor House, so it would have been doable, but not necessary.
Rescue mission completed!!

We sent word to Ashlyn and she was a very happy girl!

Back at it! 
 
The best part of our day, was after lunch. We stopped at their restaurant and ate at the buffet. It was nothing exciting and not even worth pictures but it was edible if you end up here, it’s a solid choice over the other cafes.
We went back to the Aquarium, and got to meet Marley!

 
Marley is a 20 year old rock hopper penguin who really enjoys doing meet and greets with people. She was constantly doing her excited call. While with her we learned all about their exhibit, conservation efforts, how the penguins are cared for, etc etc.
While there, Marley made us some art that we got to keep.



It was a really fun way to finish our day there. 
We also got a small peek at their newest king penguin chick, just poking out from behind its parents.

Our first task once in the car was a rescue mission!!
Poor Ashlyn forgot her favorite stuffed animal at the hotel before getting on the ship. Thankfully Kristine called the hotel and they were able to hold onto it for them. Dan had planned on getting off the ship as soon as the gangway opened and walked to the hotel to retrieve it and hopefully return in time to get their shuttle to the airport. I told him that was crazy, and that since we had the car, we would go get it for them. They stayed at the Harbor House, so it would have been doable, but not necessary.
Rescue mission completed!!

We sent word to Ashlyn and she was a very happy girl!