C.J. and I kicked off our second weekend in Galveston by getting dinner Friday night at a fancy restaurant called Hearsay on the Strand. This restaurant was in downtown Galveston and had excellent food and drinks. I will say that Hearsay was a bit expensive, and it’s a reservation/fancy clothes type of place. But C.J. and I were able to get seated without a reservation.
The next day, Saturday, C.J. and I set out to explore more of downtown Galveston. We started out by getting lunch at Eat Cetera, which was a cute vegan friendly sandwich shop. I had the most amazing vegan sandwich of my life. C.J. didn’t have such powerful feelings towards his meal. Lunch was followed by an antique store called The Antique Warehouse that used to be a hotel. There were antiques throughout the buildings, but the top floor featured some of the original rooms and decor of the hotel.
After that shop, C.J. and I went on a mission to find a good liquor store. And a good liquor store did we find! An unsuspecting hole in the wall shop ended up providing rare bottles of whiskey that had C.J. foaming at the mouth. I took a brief look around the store before deciding to hangout in the car because I knew C.J. needed some time to explore the store. To my surprise (not), C.J. came waltzing out of the store with two new bottles of whiskey. Did he need two new bottles? No. But who am I to get in the way of his joy?
We spent the next bit of time exploring some more of the downtown shops before stopping in a bar to grab a drink. Due to my new found love of sushi, we headed back to Sky Bar for dinner. This time, C.J. and I got two bottles of sake to go with our meal. I discovered that I love Fuji apple sake but I also discovered that two bottles is too much for me. We ended the night shortly after dinner due to my sake induced tummy ache.
When searching “things to do in Galveston”, the Moody Gardens are always on the top of the lists. So on Sunday, January 15th, C.J. and I went to check it out. The Moody Gardens is an educational destination that includes an aquarium, a rainforest immersion, a museum, and theaters. This location is hard to miss due to the three giant pyramids hosting these attractions. C.J. and I decided to go to the rainforest pyramid and the aquarium pyramid. Tickets were about $50 a person for the two pyramids, but this experience is well worth the price.
Our first stop was the rainforest pyramid. This pyramid contains over 1,700 exotic plants and endangered animals. While some of the animals are behind cages and nets, most of the animals walk freely among the visitors! C.J. and I were extremely lucky to arrive when we did, because we were able to get up close to a Saki monkey. This monkey roams freely in the pyramid, so visitors don’t always get the chance to see her. Apparently there is a male and female saki monkey in the pyramid, but we only met the girl (who’s name we weren’t allowed to know so that visitors can’t call to her).
Alongside the monkey, there were tons of different species of birds walking next to us throughout our visit. I was in heaven and tried to capture as many pictures as I could. I wish my cousin, Joh, could’ve been there to tell me what species each bird was (Joh is a professional bird watcher/enthusiast). Outside of the rainforest section, there were rooms dedicated to snakes and bugs. The snakes were cool but I could’ve done without seeing the tarantulas the size of my hand.
We headed to the next pyramid which housed the aquarium. This journey started in the jelly fish room; these creatures were moving so angelically they didn’t even look real. The halls we walked through displayed starfish and other fun sea critters. A nearby exhibit allowed us to watch massive sea lions swim the glass.
This aquarium also has an interactive exhibit that lets you touch sting rays (rest in peace Steve Irwin). C.J. and I took turns reaching for the sting ray; they felt like soft jello to me. The last exhibit in the aquarium were the penguins! We loved watching those little fellas waddle around. We both had a great time at the Moody Gardens and consider it one of our favorite things in Galveston. When it comes to zoos, I often wish that the animals lived in nature instead of in cages. But the freedom and space that these animals had at the Moody Gardens made it seem like a pretty good home.
After parting ways with the animals, C.J. and I went to the movie theater and saw Plane. It’s pretty hard to guess from the title but this movie is about a plane. Basically, a plane crashes on an unfriendly island and the passengers and crew have to try to survive. I really enjoyed this movie because it reminded me of the show Lost; which is a masterpiece of a show. Our fun filled weekend ended with our favorite form of relaxation: sniping people in Fortnite.
Until next time,
Jess May