If you go straight to the Gulf of Mexico from Houston, you hit the town of Galveston.

The first thing that stuck us, was the unusual style of the homes near the water ocean. They are made to handle the powerful surge of water that inevitably comes when hurricanes come each year. A year before we visited, Hurricane Ike hit and was more than many could handle. We saw a lot of new fences replacing the old washed away ones. In some places, around town there were signs saying, "This was the height of the water after hurricane Ike." Those signs were posted 6 feet high on the sides of buildings that were many blocks away from the beach.

We tried going to the Moody Gardens but didn't like it much. A large expesne paid for mostly over-hyped attractions. We walked in to some exhibits and looked around saying to each other, "is this IT?" The boys were somewhat interested in the dinosaur exhibit.

We really had a lot of fun at Schlitterbahn. It's a huge waterpark with waterslides and pools for everyone. It's a cliche, of course, but there really was something for all ages. There were slides that were perfect for 2 and 5 yr olds. There were big tube rides and huge slides for adults and older kids. Of course, everyone can relax by the pool side. I really liked the "standing wave" attraction where you can ride a boogie board on an endless wave.