Year 3 Day 257 – “Living the Dream”. Sunday, 1/14/2024. Day 3 of 12-day winter 2024 vacation. Day 1 of 7-night Western Caribbean cruise on Harmony of the Seas. Drove from Beaumont, TX to Galveston, TX and boarded Harmony of the Seas
They say everything is bigger in Texas. Well Steve’s dessert last night was ridiculously large.
While we were toasty warm and stuffing ourselves. The neighborhood feral cats have found they can get under the garage door in Clifty Hill 2. The camera videos make me sad. They are crying, it is cold, and they are hungry.
Got up this morning and checked the Galveston cruise Webcam at 6:30am. Yup she is there waiting for us. Harmony of the seas is docked. https://www.galvestoncruises.com/webcams/marinacam
It was a two-hour drive from Beaumont, Texas to terminal 10 in the Port of Galveston on Galveston Island. This part of Texas, I am naming the Florida Texas. There are palm trees, scrub brush, sandy soil, and a shoreline vacationy feeling. Texas is divided into 10 natural regions or ecoregions: the Piney Woods, the Gulf Prairies and marshes, the Post Oak Savanah, the Blackland Prairies, the Cross Timbers, the South Texas Plains, the Edwards Plateau, the Rolling Plains, the High Plains, and the Trans-Pecos. Galveston Island lies within the Western Gulf Coastal Plain ecoregion. We drove through a lot of cow lined flat fields.
and then went over the Intercoastal waterway. We then proceeded to drive right along the gulf water.
There were lots of oil wells and we actually saw a few pumping.
I read there are 91 mountains in Texas that are over one mile high. Not in the region we drove through today. The annual rainfall in Texas can range from eight inches in the deserts of far west Texas to 56 inches per year in the swamps of east Texas. The coastal area we drove through had all the houses up on really high pilings. Even the large brick school was up on pilings.
All of a sudden, we were boarding a ferry. Funny, we had no idea that this was a ferry route. We didn’t have to wait at all and the Galveston-Port Boliva Ferry was free. The Galveston-Bolivar ferry is the link between Galveston and Bolivar Peninsula on Hwy 87. A service provided FREE to all travelers 24 hours a day by TX-Dot since 1934. Each trip covers about 2.7 miles and takes about 18 minutes. The ferry had some very steep steps up to a hallway with some restrooms.
These Seagulls must ride back and forth all day.
We dropped off our luggage, parked the car under the covered parking lot at Terminal 10 Port Galveston, and boarded Harmony of the Seas around 11:30am. Our parking cost was $213.31 for the 7-night cruise. We were directly across the road from where you enter to get on the ship. The uncovered closest parking area was $175.00. It was a quick easy boarding.
After boarding the ship, we went directly to our muster station checked in and then proceeded to have lunch in the back of the Windjammer buffet. We watched a cowboy playing basketball. Only in Texas do you see people with cowboy hats on cruises.
After lunch the staterooms were still not open, so we meandered to deck five and sat in the Boot and Bonnet Pub on the Deck 5. Texas has some strange laws, and the ship can only server certain alcoholic beverages while at port and within 12 miles of land.
We watched Sailaway from our balcony.
Then met our friends for dinner.
Here’s today’s cruise compass.
Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/3HAxwIe This is my new HP DeskJet 2755e Wireless Color inkjet-printer, Print, scan, copy, Easy setup, and Mobile printing. I love this printer. I have never had such an easy set up before. Love this printer and I print a lot. Highly recommend!!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. #CommissionsEarned
Things to ponder today! Have to leave you thinking.
To view the complete daily diary, click here – This starts at Year 1 Day 1: Living the Dream – Deestimes – Make every step of the journey count