Galveston

Last week our first three days were spent at a treasury conference in Galveston. My last time there had been merely a pass through on the way to our port of departure, so it was really a first time there. We stayed right on the sea wall and could see the gulf from our window. I had been hoping for one of the rooms with the balcony but the plush chair by the window view would do. The first night there we went to an early dinner at Landry's Seafood while waiting for our rooms to be ready. We sat on the patio, favoring the sun to the sleeting weather we had left behind, and it seemed a good choice in theory. Of course, that choice was not educated with the knowledge of scary crow like birds that sit on the chairs and stare you down. The beaks were long and they were sharp and each one of my senses were sensing malcontent. When not being taunted by death birds, you were sitting enjoying some loud splashing, gurgling noise from the Rainforest Cafe's outside attraction. Still, nothing outweighed the fact that we could hear the ocean crashing (in-between squeals) and that just being in a place where restaurant's had signs stating swimsuits must be covered felt like vacation. Circling back around to the Rainforest Cafe, we decided to eat there the second night. I have heard plenty people mention it from time to time and I must say, great for if you have kids, insanely wrong if you have any serious conversation in mind. When in the restaurant, a certain set of animals will start making noise, loud noise, every ten minutes. Every thirty minutes, the thunder storm rolls in which means the lights flash and all the animals freak out at once. It was novel the first time but by the fourth or fifth, I was tired of ceasing conversation so that the elephants could finish their trumpet song. The best part was this desert called a volcano. I ordered it based solely off the description of a mountain of chocolate brownie, completely skipping by the part talking about the sparkler on top and the entire waitstaff yelling "VOLCANO" as it is walked to your table. It is like Jake's and the whole restaurant singing Happy Birthday all over again. I so love those moments when the eyes of an entire restaurant shoot towards you.
John and I took some time one evening to walk along the sea wall and soak up as much of the ocean as we could. It was too cold to swim sans body suit but it was fine for a stroll. The winds had picked up and so the waves were crashing against the rocks. I wanted to get that perfect "wave crashing" shot, so I must have stood there for ten minutes wasting what would have been multiple rolls of film in the 35mm days. The lack of an amazing wave crashing picture in this post will attest to how I fared. John was the winner of the "most interesting thing you find on the beach" contest with a dead puffer fish. My bottle cap inexplicably took second. As a final treat before we left, my corporate cohort Laura and I decided to go and get massages from one of the nearby spas. I have more than enough tension in my shoulders to ease but I still get wary of the whole stranger touching your back thing. I spent most of the morning praying that it would be a girl and most of the time in the locker room questioning why anyone would take off their underwear. They are what I cling to as my last defense against feeling "naked". Everything in your entire body tells you that "naked" and "strangers" do not go together. My masseuse (female...Thank God!!) had the best of intentions for my knots, but unfortunately confused me with an understudy at the contortionist academy of China. In my head, relaxing has never involved my heel being pulled up towards my thigh and then bent over the other leg or her hanging off my arm while it dangled from the table. At one point she was bending my arm so far back I seriously thought through how the scenario would play out if it dislocated, only to be followed by her turning my head as far as possible and going at my jugular with her knuckle. All I could think was that I was a sneeze or wobble from death. The best part was when we had finished and she utters, "Relaxed?". I, of course, said yes, but I wonder if she could see my eyes screaming no.

It is always nice to have a break, especially with good company. Laura, John and I ended up talking the most of each night away and I enjoyed showing her the ropes of her first official conference. Come for the lectures, leave with the swag. Well, and the scheduled meetings you agreed to so you wouldn't feel bad taking the wood playing card case...