Redeemer Cornerstone Group Trip to High Island

 Loaded up three vehicles at Redeemer and headed out for the bird rookery at Smith Oaks on High Island for bird watching. There were hundreds of nesting egrets, cormorants, and spoonbills. My personal favorites were the fuzzy little pink baby spoonbills.  It is more than just waterbirds  as there were colorful little songbirds like tanagers and warblers flitting around in the trees. Always on the lookout for herptiles, we saw alligators, a bullfrog and one in our party had a close encounter with a snake.  If you love to bird watch, you should try High Island during April. 

From High Island, we made a quick jaunt over to the Gulf Beach on Bolivar Peninsula. The waves were choppy and water was the color of milk chocolate.  Not the best day to visit the ocean but we got to see it  through the eyes of a fellow traveler who was experiencing the immensity of it all and sensing the  power of the waves for the first time.  After picking up a few interesting items along the beach, we were on the road again and headed for Bolivar Ferry to take us to Galveston. Galveston has lots of great restaurants but we were looking for something more laid back and away from the big  city, We ended up in San Leon at Gilhooleys Oyster Bar for some of their famous grilled oysters. No matter if it was your first oyster or you have eaten thousands, Gilhooley's cheese and picante oyster with jalapeno and bacon is the ultimate delight. By the way, oysters chased with beer just adds to the delight.  Before the group could start telling too many secrets,  we headed across town to Topwater Grill for dinner on the swinging tables. I'm serious, it wasn't us, it was the tables.