We took a short holiday vacation down to Galveston this weekend. Spent a few days swimming in the Ocean -- not the prettiest beaches (no emerald green water and plenty of seaweed), but we enjoyed several hours each day. The water was warm enough that no acclimatization was required.

Then we spent a couple days at Moody Gardens. I love aquariums and the layout of the Aquarium pyramid is very nice -- you wind your way around a very large tank, seeing it from above, mid-level, front, sides, back and the bottom, getting many different perspectives. Interesting to see how certain kinds of fish seemed to have regions of the tank that they patrolled -- you might not see them at all from the front, but there they are in the back on two different days.

One of the aquariums has four kinds of penguins, and this was naturaly a hit since we love penguins -- King (look something like the largest Emperor penguin), Gentoo, Chinstrap (a thin black line under their chins and all black and white) and the Rockhopper (tufts of yellow/orange "hair" sticks out over the sides of their heads.

I also enjoyed the Rainforest pyramid a great deal -- particuarly a large pond area with 3-4 foot Red Tail Cats, Giant Pacu and Arrowana (all of which I've kept at smaller sizes at home). A very relaxing spot, especially with all of the tropical surroundings.

Finally, we enjoyed the Moody Gardens hotel quite a bit. Good sized swimming pool surrounded by palm trees, a Koi pond in the lobby, a spa for the ladies, etc. all made for a very relaxing stay. We had a room with a balcony overlooking the pool, and several of us enjoyed an early morning reading session out there.

Anyway, we'll probably go back again.