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!
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