Man, what is this? The third time I've posted about a time that something crazy happened in the life of me (Derek Brown)? I don't understand how my mom does this. But anyway, this time I get to talk about my choir trip to Houston and Galveston for my choir competition Celebration of Excellence. I guess you can say it all started like most of my choir trips, with my choir competing in a competition. This one wasn't as eventful as the last one that happened (which was back in 2019). We didn't win, but we performed really well. In between though, I got to watch my sister open her mission call via FaceTime. Fun! However, what happened after the competition, is what I'm really here to talk about.
After our competition, which was on Thursday, we went to a huge mall to hang out and buy stuff. I was in group with a few of my friends and we had fun wandering around the mall. One of the first places we went to was the Lego store and I decided that I wanted to get a Lego set for my brother Arthur just because I wanted too. I also bought some candy for this awesome candy store there, as well as some roleplaying dice from Gamestop.
After lunch was when the fun really got going. Me and my group had seen this escape room as we were exploring, so we decided to try it out. And it was pretty fun. The escape room we went to had us playing scientists who were attempting to find and escape an underwater lab. I actually helped significantly in figuring out one of the clues. We did cut it close on time and barely managed to escape a GIANT KRAKEN with only 2 minutes left on the clock. It was a blast. Afterwards, we headed off to our hotel and settled in for the night.
Friday morning, me and my roommates woke up early so we could explore before it was breakfast time. It was so amazing to feel the fresh sea air in the early morning. After breakfast, the day kicked off with us going on a small tour of Galveston via cars that could also go in water. Then afterwards we spent a lot of the day on the Pleasure Pier, which was a sort of Amusement Park.
There were lots of fun rides. However, I would recommend you not wear clothes that you want to stay dry for the water ride that they have. At the end of it, me and my friends were completely soaked. But we all had a blast.
We also spent some time on the beach, which was also fun. As we arrived on the beach however, we actually saw a jellyfish. Crazy! I love being able to play around in the water, so this was awesome. And after a few hours, we headed to the Strand (a street with lots of shops) to do some more shopping and I got to hang out and talk with a senior by the name of Westlund.
Then, it was time to go get dinner. We ate at a place called the Fisherman's Wharf, which was known for its great views of the waterfront. It was amazing. The food was great and filling. It was also fun to hear from others about how they spent their day on the pier and where they went on the Strand.
In the late evening it was time for our ghost tour of town. Now I don't believe in ghosts, so I had a hard time paying attention to everything that was said. All I know is that what was said all sounded like it could have a logical explanation, but a few stories I actually enjoyed. Like one about what happened to a family when a hurricane hit Galveston. Or the chance of there being a buried sarcophagus under an old house. It was fun.
On Saturday morning, We went to an aquarium and a rainforest exhibit that was located by the hotel we were staying at. Lets just say that I was very surprised to see Penguins.Because there were a lot of them. I loved seeing all the fun little sea creatures that came from all around the world. I always feel like I'm in a different world when I go to places like this.
Just look at these cool exhibits!
The rainforest was also very fun. I got to see birds, frogs, monkeys, and snakes. Lots of snakes. I made sure that I took pictures for Lily, because she loves snakes. There was one snake though, that blew my mind. It was so big that it could have been mistaken for a crocodile or an alligator. It was amazing.
Afterwards, we headed off to the NASA Space center in Houston. I had so much fun going around and seeing all the awesome technology. They had a DeLorean, like the car in "Back to the Future", that I got to pose by. I even got to go inside a replica of a space shuttle. It was here that a pretty crazy moment happened. I was going to the cafeteria so I could get some lunch, and the place I wanted to get food from, a place that sold pizza, had just closed. But the thing is, the guy who was behind the counter had a few pizzas that he had to throw out, so he told me to just take them and not tell anyone. Its a secret to everyone I guess.
After NASA, we got all dressed up for dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant and then headed off to see an opera. It was the first time anyone in our family has been to an opera, and it was amazing. I loved it.
The last part of our adventure was on the bus ride back to San Antonio. About two hours away from the school, our bus started smoking and they had to pull over. We ended up stranded on the side of the road for hours while we waited for a new bus to arrive. We sill had fun together, but we sure were grateful when we finally made it home.
This trip was so much fun, and while it may have not been as fun as going to Hawaii like we were supposed to do, it was great.
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