Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Moody Gardens--Palm Beach & the Aquarium Pyramid-- Galveston Island, Texas

Going to Galveston for the weekend means a visit to Galveston Island's newer landmarks, the pyramids @ Moody Gardens.  We found out that when you stay at the Hotel at Moody Gardens, you get passes for Palm Beach, which was awesome, since I'd planned on bringing my daughter there anyway. 

So, thanks to Maw Maw & Paw Paw, my daughter & I were able to partake in some of the water activities Palm Beach has to offer.  Now, if I haven't said it before, my daughter is a water baby.  She loves water and always has.  We have gone to the local mini-water park a couple times a week during the summer for the past couple summers.  Moody Gardens is like a mini-water park on steroids.  It isn't Schlitterbahn or a Six Flags Water Park, but it is more than the community water parks that seem to be springing up everywhere.

It also doesn't hurt that it is on Galveston Bay, so you can also do a bit of nature watching.  We saw countless seagulls fishing, but what was really exciting was the brown pelicans we saw searching for a meal. 

For a beginning of the season Saturday, it was surprisingly uncrowded.  We did the lazy river a couple times, played in the wave pool, and enjoyed the slides for the shorter kids, as my daughter didn't meet the height requirements for the two big slides.  We also ate lunch at Palm Beach.  I'm not sure if we were just really hungry, but the shish-ka-bobs we got were delish.

After a couple hours we were ready to go.  Palm Beach isn't really an all-day thing for young kids.  So, here's the low-down.  They have bathrooms, complete with showers, so if you're not staying at the Hotel, go ahead and bring shampoo to get that chlorine out. They also have lockers for rent.  And they have free (first come, first served) life jackets for kids.  Lockers are rented and life jackets are available in the gift shop, near the entrance. 

Here's the Palm Beach page on Moody Garden's website:
http://www.moodygardens.org/seasonal_fun/palm_beach/

The next day, before heading out of Galveston, my daughter, mother, & I checked out the Aquarium Pyramid.  I was the only one who had ever been before.  Both Mom & my daughter seemed to have a really good time.

Their penguin and their seal/sea lion exhibits are both multi-storied, letting you get different views of the animals.  The animals in both of these exhibits came right up to the glass and seemed interested in the humans on the other side.

There were all the usual suspects you'd expect in an aquarium, including several species of sharks, which kids were encouraged to find.  My daughter was given a handout with all the species of shark and a box next to them to be stamped when we located that particular species.  Even at 3, she really enjoyed doing that.  Or at least, she enjoyed the stamping.

Another exhibit we both enjoyed was the touch pool.  We both got to touch a sea star, and I got to tickle a pencil sea urchin.  It was a truly unique experience and one I highly recommend.

It took a couple hours to see everything, but again, not a full day event. If you do plan to stay at Moody Gardens for a full day, there are passes available that let you partake in all that Moody Gardens has to offer.

Here's the Aquarium Pyramid page:
http://www.moodygardens.org/attractions/aquarium_pyramid/

And here's the ticket info:
https://secure4.gatewayticketing.com/MoodyGardens/Content.aspx?Kind=LandingPage&merchant=OC&CG=TI&C=Aquarium&__utma=1.1566542156.1369835063.1369835063.1370446212.2&__utmb=1.2.10.1370446212&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1370446212.2.2.utmcsr=moodygardens.com|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/&__utmv=-&__utmk=264279055

Moody Gardens is a definite must-see spot on Galveston Island!

Pleasure Pier, Galveston Island, Texas

This past weekend we had a mini-family reunion of sorts.  My cousin graduated from UT Medical School.  His proud parents rented a huge house in Galveston for the event.  While it couldn't contain everyone (my parents stayed at the Moody Gardens hotel), my daughter & I stayed with the rest of the family.

The house was a couple blocks away from the Gulf of Mexico and 7/10 of a mile away from one of Galveston's newer attractions, Pleasure Pier.

Our day had already been eventful, especially for a mom & a 3 year old.  We'd gotten up early and headed over to Moody Gardens, where we'd spent the morning at Palm Beach.  Then we went back to visit with family and rest before heading to the famed Sand Castle Contest on East Beach in the afternoon and early evening.

So, it was around 8:30 that we started the walk to Pleasure Pier.  My mother came with us, and we ambled along Seawall Boulevard, stopping in a couple stores, before reaching the pier.

There were a couple rides my daughter was just too short for, but I'd done my research and visited Pleasure Pier's website.  I knew there were several rides she was the required height for, so when it came time to purchase a ticket, I bought her the pass.  Some rides I would have to go on, as well, so I bought myself a pass, too.  Here's the thing--to go on the pier, you must have at least a walk-on pass.  Walk-on passes start at $10 for adults (over 48"), $8 for kids (under 48"), and $7 for seniors (must have ID).  Rides start at $4.  But the unlimited ride passes are $26.99 for adults, $19.99 for kids, no senior discount.  We got there late, but my daughter still got to ride everything she was tall enough to ride.  In hindsight, I probably could have gotten away with a walk-on pass and tickets to ride what I need to ride with her.  Lesson learned.  However, it was much cheaper to do the unlimited for her, especially since it allowed her to ride her favorite--kid-sized bumper cars--three times in a row.

Most of the rides are lit up, but the icon of the pier is definitely the ferris wheel. It's all the way at the end of the pier and definitely not something to miss. It was nice to sit down for a bit, though we spent more time hanging in the air, waiting for others to get on or off, than we did making rotations.  Because it was at night, I can only imagine how amazing it would've been during the day, over the water, that high up.  They also had a pretty good band playing (I thought it was recorded music until I saw the musicians). 

Pleasure Pier had typical carnival games--Guess Your Age or Weight, Ring Toss, etc.  We bypassed all of these in favor of the rides.  We also did not eat at Pleasure Pier, though besides typical carnival foods, it is also the location of Bubba Gump's.  They even had a Gump's on the Run (to-go orders).  You did not need to purchase any kind of pass to get food from Bubba Gump's. 

All in all, I'm glad we decided to check out Pleasure Pier. My daughter had a fabulous time. One warning--watch out for Pirate's Plunge.  Even walking too close could leave you soaked. 

Here's the website.  I definitely recommend checking it out before you go. 
http://www.pleasurepier.com/index.html