For the second year in a row, my husband claimed temporary insanity and completed his second half Ironman in Galveston. For those of you that don’t know, a half Ironman is a triathlon for crazy people and a whole Ironman is a distance for sadists. Basically the half is 70.3 miles consisting of 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run, double that distance for a full. In all honesty, I am very proud of Doug for completing it again this year and my hats off to anyone who goes through that kind of test. I know he’s still considering doing a full in the next year even though as soon as he has crossed the finish line each year he’s said “never again”.
At any rate, we always have a great time going down to Galveston and supporting him. It’s a fantastic city with a lot to do and the event venue, Moody Gardens, is ideal. We stay there, play there and can walk to cheer him on and see him cross the finish line. Sorry for the influx of pictures, I just really love each time we go! The beaches aren’t the most ideal in the country, as can be expected for any Texas beach. Doesn’t mean they arent’ fun.
The seawall is huge all across the island. There are tons of bike rental places that have the cutest bikes for 2 or 4 people with seats in the front for the little ones. Kirkley LOVED it as you can tell!
I was lucky enough to sneak off Saturday morning to pamper myself at the fabulous Hotel Galvez Spa. I did some research on all the spas on Yelp before coming and saw Galvez had some great reviews and were super reasonable with their rates. The relaxation room started me off with a glass of champagne. I opted for the “Perfectly Pomegranate” treatment which consisted of a 20 min sugar scrub, 20 min milk bath and 40 min massage. The customer service and facilities were top notch, I will be going back! I kind of wish I could go every weekend.
Galveston has some of the best restaurants and cutest boutiques around. We had so much fun Saturday going downtown and joining in the kids art fest they had going on and doing a little shopping. Some of our favorite places are:
Sunflower Bakery and Cafe (breakfast or lunch)
Patty Cakes Bakery (YUM YUM YUM. Good old fashioned bakery)
Rudy and Pacos (Lunch or dinner, Paco is always there mingling with the guests, excellent customer service)
The Mosquito Cafe (any meal)
Gumbo Bar (lunch or dinner)
The Spot (burgers are amazing!)
The Rainforest Cafe – we didn’t eat there because we try to support local businesses when we go, but this was the best one we went in. They have a tube ride INSIDE the restaurant and a Build-A-Bear. Kirkley was in heaven!
One of the things I absolutely love about Moody Gardens are the Pyramids. One with a Rain Forest, one with a Aquarium and the other with an Imax. So much to do right on the grounds of the hotel!
Race day ended up being a little overcast, however everyone was more than OK with that. Forecast was calling for horrible thunderstorms that morning, which would have possibly cancelled the race. Thank the Lord it was nice! My In-Laws came and Doug had a good support system!
It was a great trip! We also may have a stuffed animal addiction. Is there a 12 step program for that?
We had a great time! Thanks for including us. I loved reading about it and seeing the pictures.