We blinked and have now been married for 10 years! My amazing sister- in-law insisted that they would take the girls for a few days and scoured Airbnb for cheap rentals within our budget. While we had dreamed of doing something fancy like Hawaii, doing something is better than nothing, and we were so incredibly grateful for her help and insistence.
Getting to Texas
Now that E (2.5 years) is no longer considered a lap baby (though many people asked us if she was – girlfriend is still petite), paying for 4 plane tickets was the biggest barrier. Enter Frontier. It’s like the person you begrudgingly ask for help because you know they’ll do it even if you’re not going to enjoy the experience. With their Discount Den membership ($99/first year), kids fly free on specific days and your economy flights are slightly discounted. We also each got a free carry-on, which, while not the easiest to manuever, was better than paying over $100 for checked luggage each way. (Maybe don’t do this without TSA pre-check? I could imagine that being a nightmare if you have to go through regular security).
BUT you do get what you pay for. While the lack of space bothers me less because I’m on the shorter side, Nate is 6’1″ and has a hard time. Luckily the flight from DEN to DFW is only 2.5 hours!
We also had to leave at 6 AM for a direct flight OR do a day with layovers and potential delays. This wasn’t the worst thing in the world on the way out since we live only 30 minutes from DIA, but on the way back a 2 hour drive to the airport is BRUTAL.
A final note to self: Calculate back travel time from when the doors close, NOT when the flight time is. Nate almost missed our plane back after leaving his phone in the car and I do not recommend the stress.
Galveston
Galveston is a hidden gem. The water is warm, it’s less busy than Cali or FL, and it still had a bunch of gluten free restaurant options. I kept forgetting we weren’t on the Florida Gulf coast and it felt really similar to Pensacola.
We stayed at an Airbnb in Casa del Mar, just across the street from the beach and our hosts thoughtfully provided a wagon, beach chairs, and an umbrella to get things to and from the beach. There were also a few pools, but we only ended up going one night for a little while.
For Mother’s Day I picked out a kindle to be able to read at the beach without the glare, and it didn’t disappoint. I read for HOURS on the beach and dragged the chair into the water to stay cool.
The main activity on a child-free vacation is lounging around, so day 1’s activity was beach, and then day 2 we went to the Strand, Galveston’s historical district. There was a little pirate museum and a ton of cute tourist shops. There’s also a famous candy shop that was recommended by a few, but we were a little sugared out so we’ll go next time.
It was definitely amusing to watch people’s reactions when they asked where we were from – Colorado?! What are you doing here?! We don’t have beaches, my friends. At least not the kind with the ocean! 🙂
Eating Gluten-Free in Galveston
The gluten free eating scene was a mixed bag, there was the CUTEST coffee shop with the most gluten free items I’ve ever seen outside of specialty stores, and then a few of the restaurants would say there were gluten free options but then had no idea what the ingredients actually were. Stay tuned for more on that front…
Returning to Tyler
On the way back we rejoined the family and the kids at the Cherokee Trace Drive-Through Safari – who knew there are safaris in Texas? It’s a 300 acre park with zebras, alpacas, various kinds of deer, ducks, camels, a few buffalo, and a few (fenced in) alligators. We were the only ones there because it was late on a Monday and it was fun to have the personal (yet separated as you stay in the car) interaction with the animals. I had my nice camera too and the photos that I got were so fun.
Definitely beware of the camels, they know where the feed is and will try to reach in and get it! Hilarious but a little scary for the little kids. They preferred to have their personal space.
We’ll be back, to both the Tyler area and will take the kids to Galveston! There were so many times while we were there that we would talk about how much they would like different activities, or even just hanging out at the beach.
Let me know what your favorite things to do in Galveston are, we’ll need them for next time!
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