Had another wonderful day off today - L decided she wanted to go to the beach - it was beautifully sunny and 25 deg C.  Normally this would have been out of the question for a day trip as the drive is at least 5 and half hours to Galveston if you don't get stuck around Houston traffic!  Anyway, new found freedom of the skies meant a 1 hour 45 minute trip in 1310K so off we went.  Arrived before lunch and walked for over 4 miles, mostly paddling in the sea on a beach with about 10 people total on a 2 mile stretch - stopped for a drink on the fishing pier and then had a great Italian meal a mile from the airport.  Traveled back as the sun set and landed back at Grand Prairie at 9 pm - lots of extras including the GPS screen showing our tailwind speed on the way there - 145 Its - almost 170 MPH. Got some great ATC practice navigating around Houston's busy airspace.  Great day in the skies and on the beach!