Saturday, September 19, 2009

Ferry Ride

I took a ferry from Galveston to Bolivar. It's a free ferry, so I figured I'd waste some time.

If you look closely, you can see a small black triangle in the water. It's a dolphin. I saw probably 20-30 dolphins, but this was the best picture I could take.

From Houston, TX


Some ships headed towards the bay
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A tugboat pushing a barge
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Pelicans flying through the air.
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From Houston, TX


Passing another ferry
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Moody Gardens Aquarium

This weekend I went to the Moody Gardens Aquarium. Moody Gardens has a series of attractions, but I only went to the aquarium.

There are 3 main attractions that have their own pyramids.
This is the aquarium
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Lionfish
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Stingrays
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From Houston, TX


Moray Eel
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Sea Turtle. Prob 3-4 feet long.
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Shark
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Above/Below water level
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Penguins
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This aquarium exhibit is 1,000,000 gallons.
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Shark
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School of fish overhead
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Galveston

I've been in Texas for 3 weeks now. This last week, i've been in Galveston on the gulf coast. I'm enjoying myself, but missing home.

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My hotel is in the middle of the picture. I have a gulf view, but it is more of a grocery store view.
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I've always enjoyed the beach. I just wish i could spend it with Loralee and Lincoln.
From Houston, TX


IDK. some statue of dolphins. You can see the back wall is cracked from Hurricane Ike. They still don't have everything repaired yet, but not too much damage can be seen from Ike anymore.
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Palm trees.
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Some cool houses on the coastline.
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Some condos
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Sunset
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From Houston, TX


From Houston, TX


From Houston, TX

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Labor Day

This labor day was spent in Houston, TX...and by myself. I am currently on an assignment for a new unit that we shipped and failed within 25 hours of runtime (the units are supposed to run for 26000 hours before maintenance. First I had to go to our Dresser-Rand location in Houston to supervise the machinists and mechanics that had to fix the part. In 6 days I worked 108 hours. A bit much, but It will help pay the winter heating bill. Next I will have to go to BP in Texas City to supervise installation and startup. BP has a lot of requirements to get into the refinery to work, but I have them almost completed. You need a government background check, a local background check, a drug test, an alcohol test, a hair follicle drug test, and 11 hours of training. Right now I am waiting for the results from my drug tests before I can take the final 3 hours of training.

So I got work here done on saturday, So i had Sunday and Monday to myself.

On Sunday, I hung out with my friend David. It was a good time catching up with him.

On Monday, I decided to go to the beach in Galveston...about an hour south of houston. The beach is on the Gulf of Mexico. I had talked to someone earlier this week and they said the water is starting to get too cold to swim in this year much longer. When I went, the water temperature was about 70 and felt warm compared to the water in Cayuga lake that I'm used to swimming in. It wasn't a bad way to spend the holiday, but I'd rather spend it with Loralee and Lincoln.

This is the view out of the Elmira airport waiting for my flight to board.
From Houston, TX


Downtown Houston.
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Stewart Beach. I parked at the far end of the beack. I was able to park within 20 feet of the beach and it wasn't nearly as packed.
From Houston, TX


The waves were only about 2-3 foot high.
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Walking down the beach about 1/4 mile and there is no one nearby.
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Walking in the water
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Nice looking beach houses.
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Driving home with 1 cloud in the sky
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