Part 169 Walking the chilly beach


We head to the Bolivar beach again, the weather warm initially. I bought Bree a boogie board to ride the surf on, but the water was too chilly for that. We have lunch at the Tiki grill, and we’re surprised when some people near us light up cigarettes near the end of our meal. I’m so used to smoke-free restaurants that the odor permeates everything. Fortunately we can pay the tab and leave quickly. Later a fog blows in and the temperature cools. Becah cooks veggie tacos that evening as we listen to Carole King’s new Christmas CD. We watch a show from the 90s “Equalizer” series after the kids fall asleep. After that I flip around on the cable, only to find a myriad of Vietnamese and Arabic channels. Bolivar, of all places to go international.

Carole King shows up again the next morning, performing on the “Today” show. It’s raining today, so the kids opt to paint pictures out on the porch. We drive to Beaumont later to visit Becah’s cousin Kasey and her recently born twins. Afterwards, we meet Becah’s dad and stepmom for dinner at Carabba’s. The kids wanted to stay and spend the night, so Becah and I agreed and headed back to the beach house, listening to U2 as we drove over the flat land and down the beach road.

It is sunny and cool when we awake the next morning. Justin Beiber is on TV, but the kids (big fans) aren’t here to watch. Becah and I ride the ferry to Galveston later in the morning. After walking around a bit, we hit lunch at Shrimp and Stuff, an off the path local favorite. I have the gumbo while Becah enjoys what she claims is the best fish taco ever. We later check out a few shops on the Strand and buy GG a nice bag for her birthday (which is today). We are so enthralled with the restaurant before that we return for more; this time I try shrimp salad while Becah gets another taco. After taking the ferry back, we arrive at the beach house just as CC and GG pull in. Shortly after Becah’s stepmom Linda drives up with the kids. We walk the beach a little while, then head back for dinner. The kids and I watch “Rio” before calling it a night.