Beach Time!

We went to the beach last week, and I actually managed to take some photos. Going to the beach sounds so dreamy, but yowzers it was a lot of work. I found myself repeating in my mind, "We are having fun! This is a good time!" but I'll tell you, the combination of my 8-month-pregnant belly and my fearless 16-month-old made for two of the most exhausting hours I've had in a while. Not complaining, just saying ...

And speaking of not complaining, you will never hear me complain about the beach at Galveston. Yes, it's got lots of seaweed. Yes, it's not white sand. Yes, there is a sort of awkward man-made cement wall just a few dozen yards from the surf. Yes, the parking is not awesome. But you know what? It's a beach. It's closer than the beach has been for the last decade of my life, and I'm grateful for it. (Incidentally, I never miss the Utah mountains that were my home for 10 years, ever, but I have been missing the ocean since I moved away from California at 17.)

And so, here's my official endorsement for Galveston: There's water, there's sand, and there are bikes for rent. There are ice cream cones to purchase and crazy leather-faced people sunning themselves. There's a roller coaster on a boardwalk, and plenty of funny smelling, sand covered shops selling too-thin beach towels and inflatable toys. OH! and a few blocks from the beach there's a street with a dozen or so shops selling Hawaiian print stuff, which some people would find annoying but which I find sort of charming in its naivete, inasmuch as Galveston is decidedly not Maui, or Maui-like in any way.

Galveston, my friends, is less than an hour from home and good enough for me.