JAMES MULLETT

Memorial Day Weekend trip to Galveston, TX

Cynthia and I went down to the coast for a mini-vacation this Memorial Day weekend. Joining us was Cynthia’s sister and her sister’s husband. The beaches aren’t as nice in Galveston, but we still had a pretty good time.

While there, we ate at a Rain Forest Café, visited the Houston Space Center, shopped at The Strand in downtown Galveston, watched Star Wars III, bummed out at the hotel pool, and ran up a hefty bar tab. I have included some pictures of the Rain Forest Café, our hotel, the beach, The Strand, and some historically significant buildings in this post.

I was somewhat disappointed with the Houston Space Center. It was nothing like the field trip to NASA in Cleveland Ohio I remember when I was a kid. There was plenty of exhibits, but they were more amusement-park-like than real. They also charged amusement park entrance fees. I was mostly bothered by their “enhanced” security. While entering the space center, they searched everyone’s bags. Upon going on the Hangar-X and training facility tour, we had mandatory photos taken in which they tried to sell to us for $20 a piece after the tour. Using “security” to try and make a profit like that was absolutely pathetic. To emphasize my point on their “enhanced security,” we all had to walk through a metal detector and be inspected by a security officer with a wand before getting on the tram. Before we walked through the metal detector, we were instructed to place our bags on the table and walk through. Once on the other side, we picked up our bags and got onto the tram. So what was the point of inspecting our persons, but letting our bags (where weapons would easily be stored) go un-inspected in order to go on this tour? Just pathetic! I’ll have more commentary on this subject on another website.

Checking out The Strand in downtown Galveston was a real treat. It was like walking down a mini Bourbon Street; plenty of little shops and restaurants and even some street performers. It is simply a must do if you ever make it down that way.

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