Christmas came and went in a flash it seems. We spent Christmas day at Adam and Bev’s and had a great time and great food! As seen above. It was a whirlwind of fun that came to a screeching halt when we entered the airport. Since adults don’t do well waiting in lines, it would be safe to say that children's lack of patience for it could be multiplied by at least 10, 20, maybe 30. And, really…kids are just doing and saying what we would like to, but are socially unable.
The truth of it is though, that the lines were the worst part. Spencer took his Dramamine and was successful in not tossing his Christmas Cookies. Olivia, we found out, is the happiest when she doesn’t sleep. She was having the time of her life on the plane, playing “peekaboo” with the passengers seated behind her. It helped that Tom and Sarah were on the plane too, they helped entertain the kids.
Once we arrived in Houston, we found out that our ride was held up by the ferry and was still over an hour away. We were starving, but had already left the secured area of the airport. Turns out, we flew into Houston Hobby, not Houston Intl. Big Difference…..
They don’t have any restaurants in the lobby of the hobby. By this time, it was 7:00 pm and the kids/adults were “done”. We had no transportation and no food. We asked if we could go back into the secured area, but told “no” because we didn’t have boarding cards.
Then, at our darkest moment of despair, we rallied around the baggage claim and arrived at the best idea I’d heard in years. We would call one of the nearby hotels and ask for a shuttle. We would get free transportation to the hotel and then eat at their restaurant. We would have Larry’s dad just pick us up there. I called the Mariott and the 6 of us, so proud of ourselves, hauled all 16 bags out to the underground CO2 hell they call the loading/unloading zone.
After about an hour of waiting, we realized they weren’t coming. So, I called the Hilton and they were there within 15 minutes. You might ask why we still followed through with the plan if an hour had already passed? Well, we spoke with Larry’s dad again and he still hadn’t caught the ferry and was at least 45 minutes away.
Sidebar: There are 2 ways to get from Galveston to Crystal Beach. One is the aforementioned Ferry and the other is a roundabout expressway that is about 50 miles long. The ferry itself, once you are on, only takes about 15 minutes. So, if you catch the ferry, it’s worth taking…but if not, you are stuck in the line waiting.
Now then….Next we were whisked away to the Hilton and as the shuttle driver was helping us unload all 16 of our bags he told us that the restaurant was closed because it was Christmas. Somehow we all overlooked that possibility. In fact, after everything that had happened, I had forgotten it was even Christmas. So, there we were, dropped off in front of the Hilton, with no reservation and no intentions of getting one. Poor Spence had been talking about how he wanted a cheeseburger and Tom mentioned how he really wanted a taco. I would’ve been happy with anything. Now, those dreams were dashed. The only person in luck was Olive who had food in the suitcase.
Then, I remembered that when we pulled in, I had seen a Jack in the Box next door to the hotel, we looked and it was open!!! It was a Christmas Miracle!! Everyone would have their wish. Spencer got his cheeseburger and Tom his Taco and I got an old-time favorite from when Mom&Dad lived in Dalls…the chicken fajita pita!!!
So, there we were, in the lobby of the Hilton, surrounded by our 16 bags, eating our Jack in the Box Christmas Dinner. Thankfully, the people working the front desk there had sympathy and didn’t ask us to leave. Right as we finished, Larry’s dad pulled up and we loaded our bags and headed for Crystal Beach. And, as expected, we waited over an hour for the ferry. It felt good to finally reach the “Escondido”, which turned out to be much nicer in person than in pictures.
So, that’s our Christmas adventure in a nutshell.
The truth of it is though, that the lines were the worst part. Spencer took his Dramamine and was successful in not tossing his Christmas Cookies. Olivia, we found out, is the happiest when she doesn’t sleep. She was having the time of her life on the plane, playing “peekaboo” with the passengers seated behind her. It helped that Tom and Sarah were on the plane too, they helped entertain the kids.
Once we arrived in Houston, we found out that our ride was held up by the ferry and was still over an hour away. We were starving, but had already left the secured area of the airport. Turns out, we flew into Houston Hobby, not Houston Intl. Big Difference…..
They don’t have any restaurants in the lobby of the hobby. By this time, it was 7:00 pm and the kids/adults were “done”. We had no transportation and no food. We asked if we could go back into the secured area, but told “no” because we didn’t have boarding cards.
Then, at our darkest moment of despair, we rallied around the baggage claim and arrived at the best idea I’d heard in years. We would call one of the nearby hotels and ask for a shuttle. We would get free transportation to the hotel and then eat at their restaurant. We would have Larry’s dad just pick us up there. I called the Mariott and the 6 of us, so proud of ourselves, hauled all 16 bags out to the underground CO2 hell they call the loading/unloading zone.
After about an hour of waiting, we realized they weren’t coming. So, I called the Hilton and they were there within 15 minutes. You might ask why we still followed through with the plan if an hour had already passed? Well, we spoke with Larry’s dad again and he still hadn’t caught the ferry and was at least 45 minutes away.
Sidebar: There are 2 ways to get from Galveston to Crystal Beach. One is the aforementioned Ferry and the other is a roundabout expressway that is about 50 miles long. The ferry itself, once you are on, only takes about 15 minutes. So, if you catch the ferry, it’s worth taking…but if not, you are stuck in the line waiting.
Now then….Next we were whisked away to the Hilton and as the shuttle driver was helping us unload all 16 of our bags he told us that the restaurant was closed because it was Christmas. Somehow we all overlooked that possibility. In fact, after everything that had happened, I had forgotten it was even Christmas. So, there we were, dropped off in front of the Hilton, with no reservation and no intentions of getting one. Poor Spence had been talking about how he wanted a cheeseburger and Tom mentioned how he really wanted a taco. I would’ve been happy with anything. Now, those dreams were dashed. The only person in luck was Olive who had food in the suitcase.
Then, I remembered that when we pulled in, I had seen a Jack in the Box next door to the hotel, we looked and it was open!!! It was a Christmas Miracle!! Everyone would have their wish. Spencer got his cheeseburger and Tom his Taco and I got an old-time favorite from when Mom&Dad lived in Dalls…the chicken fajita pita!!!
So, there we were, in the lobby of the Hilton, surrounded by our 16 bags, eating our Jack in the Box Christmas Dinner. Thankfully, the people working the front desk there had sympathy and didn’t ask us to leave. Right as we finished, Larry’s dad pulled up and we loaded our bags and headed for Crystal Beach. And, as expected, we waited over an hour for the ferry. It felt good to finally reach the “Escondido”, which turned out to be much nicer in person than in pictures.
So, that’s our Christmas adventure in a nutshell.
