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Thurs. Dec 21^st  We had to drive to Hobby Airport just south of downtown Houston to pick up our son Steve and his girlfriend, Corinne who were flying in from Ohio.  They took up residence in the guest room and again we had to share the bathroom, which has the Jack-&-Jill door setup (each bedroom has a private entrance into the same bathroom). Both doors are supposed to have locks for privacy, but at the Roosevelt, it seems one door had no lock and the other had the lock on the wrong side. So we explained to our new house guests the bathroom sharing etiquette that we had established with our previous visitors. “Doors-shut-light-on” means the bathroom is occupied. We also mentioned the Febreeze spray on the back of the toilet, since the bathroom, of course, has no exhaust fan.

The day turned out to be gorgeous. In Houston it was sunny and hot, temps in the 80s, but we noticed in Galveston it felt cooler with a nice breeze coming in from the Gulf. We took a long walk down the beach and then headed to Galveston to visit the Strand. We walked and checked out the many shops and boutiques along the way. We stopped for an early dinner at Fisherman’s Wharf on Harborside Drive, where we sat outside with a view of the harbor and watched two big cruise ships depart as we dined on our various fresh seafood dinners.

After dinner we continued our exploration of the Historic District. Joe took a lot of photos of the old buildings, stopping to stare up at the intricate carvings and arched windows in some of the more ornate edifices.

We walked until it was time for dessert and found a coffee-ice cream-confection shop where we satisfied our combined sweet teeth.We headed back to Jamaica Beach and stopped at Seven Seas Grocery where Steve and Corinne bought a few things they like and we picked up some more coffee and half and half.  Back at the Roosevelt, we watched a movie on Netflix while Corinne used her laptop and ear-buds to attend her live ‘online class’. (She’s working towards her Masters.) Technology is amazing and so is Corinne. She was able to make the occasional contribution to our conversation, be aware of what was happening on the TV screen as well as listen to her professor drone on while presenting his Power Point slides.

Fri Dec 22^nd Friday, another glorious day. After a leisurely morning, each of us doing our own thing; Steve starting his day with a run along the beach, me and Joe sipping coffee on the deck and walking dogs on the beach, and Corinne catching some rays, we again headed into Galveston, this time with a plan.  Steve wanted to see the oil rig museum, so we took our second tour and learned a few more facts that we missed first time around.  We again enjoyed the historic buildings as we walked Mechanic Street. Joe noticed that the electric infrastructure was set up in the alleys, each block with its own poles and beams spanning over-head, connecting the buildings on either side. We had dinner at Olympia Grill at Pier 21 and again we had an excellent meal with a view of the harbor.

Sat. Dec 23^rd :  It was cooler and overcast Saturday morning. We had received an email the day before from the owner of Bermuda Sunrise, that we could check in early since it was unoccupied. So after morning coffee Joe drove Steve and Corinne ten minutes down the road to Bermuda Beach to the new place, while I stayed behind to pack up most of our stuff for the move. Bermuda Sunrise is a five bedroom three bathroom one story beach home that we rented for the holidays, Dec 23^rd through Dec 26^th. When Joe came back I wasn’t even started, and we still had to drop dogs off at the kennel – their home for the holidays – as the new house did not permit pets.  It didn’t take us long to realize the absurdity of moving all our stuff and our food down the road to the other house when we were so close.  All we really needed was a place to sleep and we had that right here at the Roosevelt. We had actually gotten quite comfortable in the rough riding bed. So we decided to let the dogs stay here an extra day while we headed down the road to the other beach house.

We arrived just minutes after Rebecca and her husband, Harry, who had flown in from New York early that morning. Daughter number three, Carolyn who lives in Houston, arrived just a little after noon. Deloris had to work the 23^rd and 24^th, so she and Pete would not be coming down until Christmas day. It was nice to relax and spend quality time with our adult children.  We all took a long walk along the beach, being careful not to fall on our asses in the slick skim of mud that covered the beach. The sand was not dry and packed here like it was back at Jamaica Beach.  The waves rolled in and the air was damp and salty on our lips as the rain began once again.  Rebecca and Harry had been up since 2:30 that morning, and already had a long day traveling, so we decided to save our trip to the city for the next day.  Later we all headed out to Mario’s for some excellent Pizza, beer and wine.  Then Joe and I drove back to our bungalow for the night, we had to get back to our four legged babies before one of them had an accident.

Sun Dec 24^th Sunday, weather is about the same, not bright and sunny but at least it’s not cold and rainy like it had been earlier in the month.  Joe and I dropped the dogs off at the kennel so we wouldn’t have to worry about getting back early to let them out and also they wouldn’t be alone all day. Back at the Big House, as we now referred to Bermuda Sunrise, we, seven individuals, came to a consensus, that we’d go to an early movie and then go to the historic district for dinner.  We saw Three Billboards starring Woody Harrelson and Frances McDormand, of Fargo fame. The story was funny, quirky and disturbing but brilliantly done.  At the Strand once again, we paid for parking then walked around checking out shops and trying to decide where we wanted to eat. At some point it seems the decision was either made or maybe we all just became a herd of sheep as we followed the lead beast, in this case Steve, because we ended up at Fisherman’s Wharf. We again sat outside and enjoyed watching the fishing boats and the Carnival cruise ship leaving harbor.  One of the waiters had told us that the cruise ships always depart at five pm, which seems to have coincided with our dinner both times.

We left the restaurant and strolled along the busy streets, enjoying the festive lights and the old timey atmosphere.  Joe and I got back to our beach bungalow late.  We streamed an episode of Game of Thrones, which we now had access to since we got HBO for one week free. Not sure we’ll cancel, since we are now  hooked on GOT again.

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