Galveston Island

Howdy!

Where's the beach? Mom promised us we would be close to the beach in Galveston.  Oh, there it is, right in front of me.

We are staying at the Sandpiper RV resort on the popular Stewart Beach.













Brody and I can't wait to wake mom up every morning so she can take us to the beach and we can run free before anyone is there.

Ready,


                          Set,

GO!

Can you spot us in the distance?

We loved our week on Galveston Island, located across the bay from Houston. It is a town with a very rich history. In the late 1800's it was known as the "Wall Street of the South" due to its robust economy and cosmopolitan amenities. We visited some beautiful stately mansions.The Bishop's Palace, built in 1886,

and the Moody Mansion, purchased by wealthy businessman W.L.Moody, Jr one week before the 1900 hurricane.

The interior is still furnished with the original furniture.

See the bells, reminds me of Downton Abby.

Check out the beautiful stained glass in the stairwell.

Galveston is full of beautiful homes, both large

and small

The Strand, is the downtown 36 block National Historic District. Most of the buildings were constructed during the late 1800's  and  escaped the devastation of the 1900 hurricane. The torrential 120 mile per hour windstorm caused an estimated 6,000 deaths. Galveston eventually recovered, thanks to the construction of a massive seawall, although Hurricane Ike in 2008 resulted in massive flooding of the area and they are still rebuilding the beaches today.

Below is The Grand 1894 Opera House, that withstood both hurricanes. 

There is mom sitting in one of the boxes with a gentleman visiting from Canada.

One day we took the self guided Tree Sculpture Tour. After Hurricane Ike, the waves and floods uprooted many of the city's trees. However, some talented artists breathed second life into something Mother Nature attempted to destroy. Whimsical tree sculptures now stand in the place of the majestic oaks that once lined the streets.

Mom's favorite was the Tin Man and Toto. 

King Vidor, one of the directors of The Wizard of Oz,was born in the downstairs bedroom of this property.

Here is just a sampling of some of the other sculptures.

My favorite...

This  Japanese Yee tree was only partially dead, so the home owner decided to have that half of the tree sculpted into hibiscus flowers, sea shell and sand dollars.

Mom and dad took a break to have lunch at the Black Pearl Oyster Bar

Check out the size of their Po' Boy's, pretty embarrassing if you ask me! Dad looks like he is in shock.

One of the city's most treasured landmarks is the 1877 ship, Elissa. 

This historic ship is the second oldest operational sailing vessel in the world.

 It was joined later in the week by, El Galeon, a replica of a 16th century Spanish merchant ship.

 

We took the ferry to visit the Bolivar peninsula

and kept our eyes peeled to spot dolphins frolicing in the bay

On one of our last days mom and dad visited the Houston Space Center.

They got to go inside one of the buildings to watch the engineers  working.

They got to see the Saturn V rocket

with its cluster of five engines

and go inside the shuttle replica and the original shuttle carrier aircraft NASA 905

and peek inside the cockpit

So many exhibits to see, all interesting!

We hated to leave Galveston. In the words of Glen Campbell, "Galveston, Oh Galveston. I still hear your sea winds blowing..."

  Next stop, Waco Texas!
Adios,
Yuki and Brody