Oceanstar Oilrig Museum

Monday we traveled with the Ashworth's to Galveston. Our first stop and our reason for the trip was to tour the Oceanstar Oilrig Museum near the Strand. We were easily distracted by the numerous birds that were perched in and along the shrimp boats and pier. There were pelicans, comer-ans, and sea gulls. I was fascinated by the returning shrimp boat. They sorted the shrimp and even fed some to the birds! They then put up there flag with the word "SHRIMP" on it and were opened for business. I was really impressed with the freshness. If I hadn't had a huge back of frozen shrimp in the freezer I'd have made room in the cooler quick! After be sightseers for quite some time, we finally made our way to down the deck to the oilrig. The tour attendants greeted us warmly and even started the movie which ran on the 1/2 hour for us early. Watching the 15 minute movie was quite informative. I got there with absolutely no prior detailed knowledge of how the oil industry relies on the offshore wells. After learning terms and visually seeing what they were talking about, we meandered through the three story structure and even onto the deck areas to see the equipment. Christian, Kara and Hannah got to dress up in roughneck gear and sit in the operator's chair. There was a lot to see and a lot to learn about in the three hours we were there. After concluding our museum tour, we headed to find a beach for lunch and some fun in the sun. First we check out East Beach and then back to Stewart's Beach. The showers and restrooms were the appealing factor. However, we missed the timing to utilize the facilities. It was an oasis of a time. We did continue our home schooling with our portable oven that we made nachos and smores on. Thank you Ashworth's for leading that! Christian taught us about oil spills and clean up and how it affects feathered creatures. He also learned about wind direction and shared it with us. Hannah and Christian enjoyed swimming and Kara collected many shells and baby crabs. Lesli and I, while keeping a watchful eye on our wave jumpers, had a lovely, refreshing visit. I was well suited for the sun and Christian with Albert's instructions, had my umbrella set up and it did not create a problem(falling, tilting, etc..) I would like to say I had pictures following this narrative but my cards were full. We left at 7pm drove down the seawall (I haven't been there since before Ike). It was a most lovely day and the company was delightful. Oh, since we had no restrooms available, my bleach bottles full of water were lifesavers to douse two muddy children with. We brought a sheet which made for a make shift shower. Thank you Ashworth's for poising as living shower rods. We made it home safely with no incidents and were much refreshed.