The Lee Family: Spring Break 2017, Day 3: On Our Way to Houston

Thanks to great hotel blackout curtains we all slept in later than usual, which felt great. Other than getting to Houston, we didn't really have a plan. We enjoyed breakfast downstairs before we loaded up our car and headed out. We left San Antonio and headed to Corpus Christi where we planned to tour the USS Lexington, an aircraft carrier docked there. The USS Lexington used to be docked in Pensacola, Florida and CK actually toured it when he was 13 years old!

We made it to Corpus Christi, which took just over two hours and went smoothly. The girls spent their time reading (Sofia) and filling out a puzzle book (Olivia) as well as snacking on their gummies treats and playing together. We were lucky and found a good spot between the aquarium and the USS Lexington and the girls jumped out of the car and headed straight to the bay where they kicked off their shoes and were immediately in the water searching for shells and whatever they could find. They actually found a bunch of big hermit crabs but we convinced them to put them back in the water before we headed over to the Lexington.

As we walked up the long gangplank to the USS Lexington, there were a bunch of people on the beach in front of the aircraft carrier and Sofia begged to go to the beach and swim. It had turned into a perfect day and it really did look inviting to be at the beach, but we convinced Sofia that we might be able to spend Thursday at the beach near Houston and return home on Friday. We originally worked out with Casey that we would be home on Thursday so they could go to visit family over the weekend. They didn't have set plans, but we wanted to leave the option open so they would have a few days too. So, we told the girls that we would have to return to a beach once it's really warm out. Plus, we can always fly to the beach and save the driving time!

The USS Lexington was really interesting. Just after we arrived, the girls needed to go to the bathroom, so we headed down a level to the women's restroom which they really loved since it's so different than any bathroom they have ever had to get to. The aircraft carrier is really accessible and there were several self-guided tours we could take and we started in on the kitchen, medical and post office area. We also walked through the bunks and saw how the sailors lived. Below the main deck the aircraft carrier felt like a maze, but I guess if you live on it you would get used to it. After we explored below deck, we went to the top deck and walked around before heading to watch a 3-D movie about aircraft carriers and current naval exercises that go on with other countries. It was really interesting because it was much easier to understand how the USS Lexington would have been staffed and run when it was active. Both girls really liked it too. After the movie, we headed back to our car to continue of our drive to Houston, which would take about three hours, depending on stops.

Olivia was soon asleep and took a solid hour nap while Sofia ate gummy watermelon slices and read her book. As we drove, CK suggested that we "stop and say Hi" to his pilot buddy, Robbie who lives in Louise, Texas, which just so happens to be on our way to Houston. Louise is a tiny town that barely has anything to it. We drove to Robbie's house and met his fiancé, Genevieve, her daughter Savannah, who is also 9 years old and their dogs Chaos and Puppy. Chaos is a young and sweet German Shepard and Puppy is an older weiner dog, who loved all the attention I gave him. Savannah, Sofia and Olivia immediately started playing together and ended up driving the golf cart all over Robbie's property. His land has been in his family for several generations and reminds me a lot of CK's family's place in Florida with the mature trees and large green open spaces. It's very peaceful. Of course, the guys started talking and decided to go flying with two of the Cubs that Robbie has. Olivia went with CK and Savannah went up with Robbie, so Sofia drove around on the golf cart with Puppy. She had a ball while Genevieve and I sat out in the field enjoying the scenery and talking. It was perfect. They returned from their flight and Robbie had to go rescue the girls who had returned to the golf cart and got it stuck out by the lake. Robbie used his motor bike to give each of them a ride back to the house, which ended up being Olivia's favorite thing to do.

We headed to dinner at Pincher's which was delicious and a lot of food. The girls fed the catfish and ducks while we waited for our food and then came in to eat. We said our goodbyes a lot later than we expected and drove the hour and half to Houston, checking in to our hotel after 10pm and getting to bed at 11pm. The girls were tired out from such a fun day and so were CK and I! We were also excited for spending the next day at NASA.

On the road: Olivia busy working on a puzzle with Girrafy