Texas State Aquarium
Mr Ram read somewhere on line that the Texas Aquarium opened at 9 am. It actually opened at 10 am so we arrived nearly a half hour early. They did let us hang out in the lobby since it was so cold outside (it was 55).
Mrs Ram talked with Lilly at the check in about iguanas and other animals while we waited for the aquarium to officially open.
Our first stop once we were officially let in was the second floor where we were able to see quite a variety of birds. Mr Ram checked his ticket and it said Aquarium which I always thought housed fish. So we got a bird bonus! 
They had areas where you can touch some of the marine life. The employee noted that you touch them gently using two fingers. For some reason Mr Ram thought about how Moe of the Three Stooges used just two fingers. I am sure that is not how the aquarium meant you touch to them.
You would think the southern stingray would shy away from people, especially ones named Moe. But they seem to enjoy being touched. They would swim up to the spot where the kids could reach in and lap the side as if to say, “Touch Me, Touch Me.” 
And there were fish and dolphins too.
USS Lexington
USS Lexington, an air craft carrier commissioned in 1943, was named for Mrs Rams old home town. Retired in 1991, it has been a museum in Corpus Christi since and is the reason we came this far south. Ok you know the real reason we are south…to keep away from cold and snow.
We parked in the nearly empty parking lot, picking one of the more generous spaces so Sparty would feel comfortable.
We wondered if we might need our jackets as the wind made it feel chilly. The shuttle driver’s said it would be colder inside the ship than on the pier so Mr Ram went back for the jackets.
We thought our visit would be a quick trip with a few displays below deck and visit to the planes on the flight deck. We ended up spending nearly the entire day there, enjoyed the 3D movie of modern day carriers and got a workout as a bonus.
They had access to crew areas, galley, sick bay, guns and engine areas.
That sign on the gun said to be careful while moving. You could still turn and aim the gun by hand.
We learned about life on ship, World War 2 history and about the Texas Navy. 
The exhibits on shipboard life projected someone talking onto a blank dummies face. Sometimes that projection was not quite right.
The bridge was the most surprising aspect of our visit. This ship was in service into the 1990s yet it was driven with a steering wheel and had a big rear view mirror. 
Standing on that bridge reminded Mr Ram of another ship that was at the end of its life and was about to be made into a museum – Battlestar Galactica. For Galactica, its retirement was postponed when the Cylons attacked… Fortunately for the USS Lexington there were no Cyclons or others to force it back into service.
They had installed an elevator for the museum but it only went from the hanger deck to the flight deck. As crazy as it sounds the carrier had an escalators to get pilots from the ready room to their planes. The one on the USS Lexington was not working. So for most things on board we had climb down and back up over and over again. We were exhasuted by the end of the day.