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Over Labor Day Weekend, my family cashed in on our hotel points from my IHG Traveler Credit Card. Friday afternoon, we headed to Pasadena, TX, a suburb of Houston. While we didn’t find any old ladies there, we did enjoy staying at an IHG hotel free of charge. We had originally planned on staying in Galveston Saturday-Monday but wanted to maximize our family time since my husband had Monday off. He asked me to look into adding a night to our original booking but the cost would have been over $300 which I was unwilling to pay considering the rest of the lodging was free.
I decided to look for hotels close to Galveston and the one in Pasadena was only about 30 minutes away from Kemah Boardwalk, one of the places we had planned to visit on our trip. I booked the hotel and on Friday afternoon, we began our drive. The drive time was sweet because our kids were contained in their car seats making it almost feel like a date. Derek and I found a podcast to enjoy together which added to the sweetness. We listened to Scamanda which I found through one of my favorite bookstagrammers, Brandi, of @becomingbookbybook. The reporting and investigative aspects of the podcast fascinated me as well as the story behind Amanda’s actions. It’s wild that Amanda is also from California and ended up in Austin! The podcast was compelling and like a good book, I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.
I was thankful to share some sweet moments with my husband because they more than made up for the difficult ones that were ahead of us. Owen didn’t sleep well on the first night of the trip. Once he did fall asleep, he finally fell asleep in bed next to me. I desperately wanted to place him in the hotel crib we borrowed but I didn’t want him to wake up. He woke many times in the night which also woke me. It was a rough night but it made me especially grateful for new mercies and fresh coffee the next morning.
We loaded the kids into our van and headed to Kemah Boardwalk. We found Kemah on our last Galveston trip and loved it so much we had to return. Pleasure Pier on Galveston Island is fun but Kemah Boardwalk has more to offer in some ways. Unlike Pleasure Pier, Kemah Boardwalk doesn’t charge a walk-on fee. There are also free things for young children to enjoy like the water feature near the boardwalk hotel and the shaded playscape. While Pleasure Pier is neat to explore simply because of its history, Kemah Boardwalk is lovely because of its tropical landscaping. By the time we arrived at the boardwalk, Owen was asleep in the van so Derek remained there with him while I walked around with the girls.
It was sweet to explore the boardwalk with them as we had arrived about an hour before everything opened. Once Owen woke up, we took all three kids to the boardwalk playscape and dined at the Aquarium Restaurant for lunch. We arrived at the restaurant when it opened and while it wasn’t cheap, it was worth it. We decided to make this meal our splurge meal of the trip. Inside the restaurant there is a large tank full of various marine animals that my kids really enjoyed watching before and during our meal. Owen was super fussy the whole time we were in the restaurant which made it hard to enjoy at times but we are still grateful for the experience. The food was really delicious and we hope to eat there again!
Derek and the girls planned to go on some rides after we ate but this was our first trip to the Gulf Coast in summer and it was uncomfortably hot outside. The girls seemed wiped out from the heat and humidity and decided to forego the rides so we headed to our hotel in Galveston instead. This was our first island stay in which we spent the least amount of time on the beach. I expected that it wouldn’t be crowded since summer break was over but I was wrong. The beach was the most crowded we’d ever seen and although it feels sacrilege to admit having been raised in Southern California, I don’t know that the beach is for me. Derek and I both enjoy an ocean view but being sticky from humidity and covered in sand isn’t desirable. Our time oceanside was still worth it though considering the cute photos we have of our kids playing there.
Derek was concerned that Owen would get sand in his eyes and I was worried that he’d run into the ocean fearlessly but all he wanted to do was play with the sand. Although our beach time was short-lived, it was really cute to see him try to build sand castles with his sisters.
After our beach time, we visited Cordray Drug Store, the rolled ice cream shop owned by Michael and Ashley Cordray of HGTV and Magnolia Network Fame. The drugstore was fun to check out and the rolled ice cream was delicious. On our final day in Galveston, we had planned to explore its historic Strand District.
Addie is in second grade and the emphasis of her homeschool curriculum this year is American History so I had to take her to Reedy Chapel as it’s the birthplace of Juneteenth. She’s recently become interested in the American Girls books that I devoured as a child and we’d begun reading one about a fictional character named Addy whose life is based on true events. In the particular Addy book we’d been reading, Addy was enslaved and attended an AME church so I wanted to visit Reedy Chapel to give my Addie a living education. It was neat to explore the exterior of the chapel with my girl.
The historical markers gave a glimpse of the history that occurred in the area which was thrilling to me. I’m not sure Addie felt the same way but she obliged me by taking a few pictures on the steps of Reedy Chapel with her book. We recently purchased a few more books in the Addy series and she told me we need to return to the chapel so she can take pictures with those books too. I sure do love her! We visited the chapel on a Sunday morning about a half hour before services began. One congregant who arrived early kindly greeted me and invited us to join the service. I thanked her and explained that we were from out of town and wanted to see the chapel due to its rich history. I didn’t actually venture inside on this visit but I hope to at some point.
After checking out the chapel, we finally made our way to the Strand District — something that’s been on my Galveston bucket list each time we’ve visited. We saw the Welcome to Galveston mural and visited LaKing’s Confectionery for some treats. Derek and I tried the chocolate peanut butter fudge which was very rich and delicious. It was really neat to be in and near so many buildings that were over 100 years old! My inner nerd would love to dedicate more of our travel time to exploring the history of the places we visit but I’m not sure my family feels the same way. However, I am grateful that my girls express excitement over simple things like hotel rooms with bouncy beds, “spinny chairs”, and endless Bluey. They think they are living large every time we stay in a hotel and we’re happy to let them.
This wasn’t the best trip we’ve ever taken. Many moments were incredibly exhausting and the trip felt like the opposite of a vacation. Our visit concluded with Derek taking the girls to Pleasure Pier to enjoy some of the rides prior to our departure. I remained in the hotel room with Owen and packed up our things. We ended up leaving a night early which we were actually excited to do. We had done the things we’d wanted to. We realized if we began the drive home, we’d make it a bit late but still in time for everyone to receive a decent night’s sleep. We’d also have the next day as a recovery day which is now a built in part of our family trips as it’s necessary for all of us. Even though our trip wasn’t as fun as I’d hoped, I’m still grateful we went and for the time we were able to spend together as a family.
