Susan, the kids and I hit the road this morning, headed for the Gulf of Mexico — Galveston, Texas to be exact. We had planned on hitting the road around 4am or so but, as usual, we got a late start due to my fiddling. Laptop? Check. DVD player? Check. Second DVD player? Check. Handheld GPS? Check. Laptop GPS? Check. We plan on touring the Kennedy Space Center later this week, but I’m not sure why. The front of our van already resembles the Space Shuttle’s cockpit.
The 500 mile trip took approximately 10 1/2 hours. We met Justin for breakfast in Dallas, had a lazy picnic lunch at a small park, and took approximately 27 bathroom breaks. For the most part the kids were good, although I suspect at some point this week, somebody is going to die.
Our cabin is approximately 12×25, and divided into two rooms. It’s tiny — that’s the bad news. The good news is, it’s less than 100 feet from the Gulf of Mexico. Literally, you walk out of our cabin, down a short path, and you’re on the beach.
The ocean is massive, warm and full of waves. It’s also brown, sometimes covered in some kind of oily stuff, and tastes like crap. We’ve been kidding about actually being at Cocoa Beach, since it looked like we were swimming in chocolate milk. None of that phased the kids, who have already had a good time playing in the sand and the water.
The night was pretty quiet. I calmed the kids down by putting on a movie and promptly fell asleep. After driving all day and hanging out on the beach during the evening, I was pooped. I slept a solid twelve hours, and I slept like a rock. Wait, no — I slept ON a rock. Wooden cabin beds aren’t much for comfort.
Later this week we’re going to visit the Kennedy Space Center, an aquarium, and a few other things … but right now, both of the kids already have their swimming suits and life jackets on, so I think another trip to the beach is on the immediate schedule.
PS: While the air card works down here for internet access, it is painfully slow. I don’t suspect I’ll be online much, which is probably the whole idea.