Last weekend I took a break from cleaning on this old house (more to preserve my sanity than anything…). Sarah wanted to stay home, and as much as I would have loved her company, I told her she could stay, and Brian and I were off to Galveston.
Arriving on the Island, we headed down the infamous Broadway (street of crimes). Grabbing a drink from Sonic (what’ll I do without my cherry limeades from SONIC!?!?!?!), we journeyed to the cemetery on Broadway. I thoroughly love cemeteries, and this one will NOT let you down. it’s chock full of beautiful craftsmanship, story graves, above ground burial chambers, and favorites, lots of statues.
Leaving the cemetery, we headed for the seawall, taking in the changes, sights and sounds, stopping for such infamous places as the Mermaid Pier (which has sold seashells and tourist souveniers since I was a wee tot), The Balinese Room, The Flagship Hotel, & Hotel Galvez. The Flagship is an amazing beast, built on pilings, and extending out over the water from the seawall – never did I notice, until today, the very DETAILED women (mermaids, I think) on the building… You’ll see them in the slideshow. ;o) The Balinese Room is an interesting place, or was – I went there once, long ago, longer story… Many bands have played that venue, including the likes of ZZTop in their very early days (they also reference teh B-Room in their songs).
We strolled through the UTMB campus (University of Texas medical Branch) in total awe of the extensive growth the place has experienced! UTMB has grown, and now has numerous LARGE clinics across the Texas Gulf Coast. Brian and I walked to OLD RED, and viewed the exterior of the gorgeous building, in pristine condition, i might add.
Leaving UTMB, we headed back down Broadway to see the beautiful Sacred Heart Catholic church, and then on to Harborside Drive, which, at one time, was called Port Industrial Blvd. Now that all the cruise ships come in there, and the once empty fields are parking lots for happy sailing families, I guess the city decided it should have a schmancy name. :O) Along Port Indust/harborbside, we found hotels and restaurants, and also a WONDERFUL place to photograph birds. While at the docs, we watched the loading of John Deere farm equipment into a large container hull, and just smelling the smell of the ocean, listening to the cry of birds, watching cormorants air their wings, and pelicans make spruce goose-ish landings.
It was a great trip, felt like we were gone forever, though it was only a few hours. It’s fun to explore with your kids, especially when they’re old enough to appreciate your perspective, the history, and nuances of places they’ve not seen.
So there was much ado about nothing regarding Gustav. NOAA is working on their ability to predict intensity and fine tune their processes. Their reporting and tracking is fabulous, but the intensity and speed predictions were a teeeny bit off. Gustav was supposedly arriving Wednesday, he came Monday. Hannah is a busy girl on the East Coast, and now we have Ike meandering around the Caribbean, and another after him.
Growing up here on the coast, we never left for a storm. I was born shortly after hurricane Carla. My parents lost everything in that storm. They saved the house, but everything except what they’d hurridly packed in suitcases was gone. I have many photographs mom salvaged that are stained and water damaged. My mother often had a tear slip from her eye when talking about how they returned to a house full of mud, and water marks 9′ up on the walls.
There are so many areas here locally that once were home to many rice paddies. Rice farming was big business here along the Gulf Coast. Rice, Cotton, Soy Beans, Sugar Cane, and other crops… in our area, I remember LOTS of rice. Now, out on 646, where there were once rice paddies that would treat us to the odd spoonbill or egret from time to tiem, there are a multitude of big homes, a huge elementary school, and a number of businesses and strip shopping centers. With all the growth in just the last ten years, where WILL all the water go, if we have rains and storm surges from a category 3 storm (IF it reaches that…)? What if it pulls a Carla, and sits here dumping rain on the coast, beating us with wind? That’s a LOT of water, and it has to go somewhere. Of course, there are the post-storm tornados that kick up. The Diversionary canal was dug years ago for such an instance; however, one canal can only hold so much water. Considering how much water would normally be displaced by all the growth in the area, I doubt that canal could maintain runoff from a major rain making storm, coupled with a pushy storm surge.
When the local news spoke of bringing buses into Texas City and Beaumont for residents to use in evacuation, I found that quite shocking. We drove through Texas City, and marveled at the 200 buses parked in that school lot… it was unnerving.
Mom nature has her own way of cleaning house, we may not like it, but we should at least be thankful we’ve a means of knowing when chore day is coming. (Thinking of all those complaining because they were moved out of New Orleans). Here, I think of the wonderful homes in Bayou Vista (probably one of my most favorite places), and along the Bolivar Peninsula/High Island area. I also think of the lowlands in Brazoria County, and how they’re pretty much a sitting duck for water to come rushing in, the flat lands along Chocolate, Bastrop, Middle, Halls, and Mustang Bayou all off FM 2004. These are all amazing places, teeming with wildlife and a rugged beauty. No matter where you live, you’re subject to a natural disaster of some sort. Some give no advance warning (Earthquakes, avalanche), some give little (tornados & floods), some give quite a bit (Fires & Hurricanes).
Saturday, we’d also taken a short drive down to the Texas City Dike. I wondered as we passed through, were we to have a storm, how much of what I see will be gone? I also began to feel a higher sense of urgency when driving by the Texas City High School, and seeing all those enormous charter buses parked in the football stadium lot. For those who don’t have a means to leave, the sick, elderly, poor, for those who can only pack so much, or take what they can carry and board a bus, my heart bleeds for them. To have your home, all your life’s posessions in one location… and have to walk away with only the chosen items packed in your car, or worse, in a bag so you can board a bus with strangers… it ain’t summer camp, kids. How would you pack, were you to have to get your most precious items into a duffle bag? What would you take?
Two slideshows. One of the Galveston Cemetery, and one of the other things I’ve been shooting/seeing. Uploading is a slow process… so check back if there’s only one show. These mpg files are what I use due to space constraints. Unfortunately, their quality is lacking… You can go here, and see the shows as well:
Show 1: http://www.photodex.com/sharing/viewshow.html?fl=3016519&alb=143065
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