What to do in Galveston

Those of us who live in Galveston County tend to take Galveston for granted. After all, it's in our backyards. A lot of us drive there every day for work...and then drive home again as quickly as we can.
It's easy to forget what a DESTINATION Galveston can be. Thousands of people drive in or fly in from all over the country to vacation here every year. What the heck do they do?
An obvious choice—they go to the beach. Galveston beaches are not what they were 25 years ago (and granted—they are not the beaches of Cozumel, either). Developers have brought in sand to extend beaches along the seawall, and there are more amenities now. Moody Gardens has the white-sand Palm Beach (which, incidentally, is free if you're staying at Moody Gardens). If you're looking for water without sand, Schlitterbahn has a Galveston location now right next to Moody Gardens.
Galveston is still a great place to eat. My current favorites are lined up on Post Office Street—Rudy and Pacos', Saltwater Grill, and the Gumbo Bar. For breakfast, there are the Sunflower Bakery and Mosquito Cafe (only open for breakfast on certain weekends) on 14th, or, if you can handle it, there is the Bronco Burrito at the Donut Shoppe on Broadway. The best authentic Mexican food we've had lately has been at Gordita's on Seawall between 7th and 8th streets (cash only).
The normal tourist attractions—the Moody Gardens pyramids, the Colonel Paddlewheel Boat, tours of Ashton Villa and Bishop's Palace—are often overlooked by the locals. They are fun, though, even if some of them are a bit pricey. One of the best places to visit is the Lone Star Flight Museum. Larry Gregory is president of the flight museum now, so he'll be glad to see this mention!
Then there is the shopping. Don't expect a mall or the old Eibands—they are gone. But the Strand still offers a wide variety of funky shops that are fun for vacation shopping.
If you don't want to spend a lot of money, one of my favorite things to do in Galveston is to drive around through side streets and alleys to see the interesting architecture. We have a lot of creative folks who live here, too, and you can see interesting gardens, including sights like the blue bottle tree in an alley near Kempner Park or the pieces of art carved from oak trees killed during Hurricane Ike (Ball Street has several).
I hope this helps those of you coming in from out of town—especially if you're bringing the whole family for a vacation—to plan what you're going to do while you're here. I can tell you, though, as a local, that we hardly ever take advantage of what's right here under our noses. I'm looking forward to the reunion, but I'm also looking forward to a mini-vacation. So who's up for Rudy and Pacos?

—Please comment! These are my suggestions of things to do, but you may have something way better in mind. Feel free to make suggestions!