Ferry Anyone?

Saturday 26 April

Day two:

I am awakened by conversation and think, "How can this be? I feel like I just went to sleep an hour ago." I looked over at the clock - 6 a.m. - I HAD just gone to sleep an hour ago! UGH. Not because we were up all night goofing off and chatting like teenagers, no. I was with a group of early to bed, early to rise'rs. I tried to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. I really really did. I just did not sleep. And did not sleep. And did not sleep. The last time I looked at the clock it was 5 a.m.
Onward and upward! We have a day ahead of us! I plugged in my earbuds, cranked up the Ipod for God and had my morning worship. About 3 songs into it, I came under attack! I opened my eyes and there on my bed is Alto!! She is singing harmony to Oh Lord, To You. Does it GET any better than this? She stayed with me for a minute then went on her merry way. I lifted my voice a bit longer then said thank You to God. NOW I can begin my day. Someone borrowed my camera and had gotten a picture of the sunrise. I will admit here and now that there may have been one or two times in my life when I was up and coherent enough to view the sunrise live and in person; this was not one of them, so it's good that I have this visual to help me out.

We had originally planned to make a trip to IKEA in Houston, have lunch there, and then have a nice dinner out together before coming home. When we discussed the fact that it was a 2 hour ride to get to IKEA from where we were and that Galveston was just a 20 minute drive and a ferry ride away - we voted for that instead! My first ferry ride! I did not get out of the car (it was cold and raining) and I did not take pictures (we were on the inside row and could only take pictures of other cars). Poor Tenor had anxiety over being on the boat and so she was very quiet and rather miserable until we got onto solid land again. Where we are stationed is not what you would call a mecca, so I am sure you will not be surprised that our first stop after crossing the channel was STARBUCKS. I ordered a Venti Blended Vanilla Chai with Whipped Cream. $4.65.
Then we decided that since the rain had stopped and the sun was attempting to come out, we would leave the car parked and venture around downtown Galveston, with the plan of visiting Target before we headed out for dinner. Like I said - we don't live in a Mecca. I really enjoyed the architecture downtown, and mostly took pictures of that. There were a couple of interesting shops; even one where you can get Mo Bettah Threadz.
My favorite shop though was a whimsical gift shop called the Funky Monkey
where I found the most perfect souvenir. It made me cry. And it made me buy it. I haven't taken a picture of it yet - I probably will for another "Small, Deliberate Acts Of Nurturing" post, but I WILL tell you what it says........

"All my love....





...All my life"





Dreamy. *thinks of brave husband overseas* *tears up* *again.*



We had lunch at Fuddruckers - which I had never been to before and was made fun of because I needed instructions from the cashier. Whatever. All in good fun and another good meal with great friends. Of course I suggested we use the bathroom before we head on - Tenor was already in there. When I walked into the bathroom I hear in the lovely Tenor voice, coming from a stall, "How great is our God, sing with me, how Great is our God." And as I was searching for a stall, Guitarist was also. She happened to test the door to the stall Tenor was in which had no lock. Imagine the exchange there! Then Tenor started singing, "I've got sunshine..." followed by, "Blue moon....you saw me sitting alone...." Of course I had to join in. You need a good Soprano sometimes.

Off to more shopping....

Another teary moment....



"Hold on child, I've got you. Love, God"



Geesh. Ovaries working OVERTIME today!! The girls sampled the chocolate shop. Alto bought a chocolate/caramel covered apple and shared it (I didn't have any. I am offended that they ruined perfectly good chocolate by touching it with fruit.) Also, Flautist (who is being such a trooper after having just been released from the hospital the day before after being radiated!) introduced Tenor to saltwater taffy. They were so cute going through the streets of Galveston, rummaging through their brown paper bags for their next try of taffy. All right. We finished up in downtown Galveston - here is some of the architecture....

Next stop: Target! As we were pulling into the parking lot, a fighter jet flew overhead. real. low. It was cool and gave us conversation into the building that is Target. We huddled together - synchronized our cell phones and agreed to meet back at that spot at 5 p.m. - 3 of us were there to purchase a new swimsuit. Although I despise this task, mostly because the body I am trying to suit up is not the body it was when I enjoyed suiting up. But I needed a suit that fits the now body so that modesty can be a consideration in front of my family and the general public. And, I wanted to go in the ocean. I love that swimming costumes are coming back into style. The mo coverage the bettah. So I pick the tanks with the skirts! Alto convinced me to try replacing the skirt with the regular bottoms, and although I am not a fan of myself in a suit, I do have to admit that the regular bottoms were less offensive than the skirt. Thanks be to Alto! After I finally found a suitable suit *wink* (Which happened to be the one Soprano discarded in lieu of a different one)I made quick work of the rest of the store and even had time to use the restroom before meeting back at the rendezvous spot where we waited for Alto. Hey - 5 out of 6 aint bad. We discussed what to do about dinner and headed out to load up into the car. We chose a Mexican restaurant on the coast. We had Superwaitress who took all six of our orders randomly around the table without writing a single thing down. Do you know, she got every single order correct? Amazing. We sang her praises up and down, to the left and right. I enjoyed a frozen spirit with chocolate and whipped cream with my dinner. However, I did NOT enjoy the bill. Pft. Just as well. It was yummy. After dinner it was time to head home. We got in line for the ferry. There are signs there that tell you not to verbally abuse the screeners and that if you choose to do so it could result in you being denied boarding. We discussed how sad it was that they had to have a sign to tell people not be abusive. What could possibly be so bad a problem that it would regularly cause people to be abusive. As we talked about this, we sat. And sat. And sat. I was so excited when we left the restaurant because it was still nice and bright outside. I figured I would be able to take pictures on the ferry back, and catch the sunset on the beach. No. I watched the sun go right on by, except out of range for any good picture taking, and finally all the way down while we sat waiting for the ferry. Alto had to go the bathroom. With the cost of gas, it isn't prudent to run the engine while waiting for the ferry, so we also were getting hot. And bored. It was at this point that it became apparent why they might need a sign reminding us not to get abusive. Finally we got loaded onto the ferry and it was just such a lovely time(aside from Tenor being nervous and sick to her stomache) I got out of the car and went up to the observation deck. The weather was warm and it was dark. Just good stuff. When we got home, we suited up and went down to the beach. Man, God makes some cool stuff! The ocean being one of them. Soprano and Guitarist and I stayed outside for quite a while. Soprano was looking for good shells to take home. Guitarist and I were wading in the water and enjoying each other's company. When we came in, we watched a silly silly movie with the other girls and then it was time for the earlies to turn in. Guitarist stayed up with me a little longer and then we went off to bed. Another great day.