Hotel/transportation post Galveston cruise

[brovan1]

We are doing a cruise out of Galveston 12/26 on the Carnival Breeze. We will be returning to Galveston 1/1 and are staying in the area for 2 extra nights so we can take our kids to the space center. We have checked out different transportation options and so far it seems like our best option might be to rent a car at the Houston (Bush), drive to and park at the Galveston cruise terminal and then drive back to whatever hotel we are staying at for the rest of our stay. My husband likes to explore so we will be able to check out Galveston a bit, but not sure if we want to stay there-I've heard it's pricey and we would like to be a bit closer to the space center. I'm wondering where the best area to stay would be after our cruise? I had originally had a hotel picked out close to the space center, but my husband is wondering what there is to do around this area and would it be better to stay closer to the airport or another area in Houston and just make the drive to the space center on 1/2. Any info would be appreciated. We have never visited Houston/Galveston areas before. Thanks