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[Ken 10/21/2017] Three weekends in a row we found ourselves exploring the nooks-and-crannies of sub-tropical Galveston Island. The real lures for us were a chance to stare into infinity across the wonderfully intoxicating rolling waves of the Gulf of Mexico, and, the island's tasty reputation for great sea food. Three exceedingly satisfying meals later (and a bit of wave-watching), I can confirm that Galveston has some fabulous eateries.
Wandering around this twenty-mile long, three-mile wide, barrier island (which is also the City of Galveston) we found gardens, beaches, tree carved sculptures, and several fun museums. We took a ferry across the Houston Shipping Channel to Bolivar Point, visited Pelican Island, and even boarded an oil rig (now retired, but still afloat). We were impressed with the railroad museum (not bad for such a small stop on such a small line, we thought). This RR museum featured a very unique collection of dining car china from across the country.
The well-preserved, historic downtown area, "The Strand," reminded us of LoDo in Denver, but with some obvious influences from NOLa. The island's cruise ship terminal anchors the west end of the historic district and Carnival passengers had flooded all of the town's curiosity shops. The majestic tall ship Elyssa, is anchored there, as well. Galveston's residential architecture is a blend of sea coast and southern charm -- very pretty. Flowering plants seem to grow wild here all year 'round.
While we did not agree with everything the island culture offers, we sure did enjoy the food, the refreshing sea breeze, and our walks along the sea wall -- which defines the line between city and beach. The walks are even better with an ice cream cone!
Click on any of the images below to see more!
Click on any of the images below to see more!
where is this sign? I do not know. This image was sent to me by a friend. If you Google "American's Creed" you find an altogether different writing. Just curious... |  |
Thank you for your replies! Its original location is believed to have been a park in Hagerstown, IN. It is believed to have been removed many years ago, however.
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[Ken 09/30/2017] We had a free day before our work starts in the Galveston area, so we took a quick ride across Interstate 45 to tour Space Center Houston and the Johnson Space Center (it is only 15 miles from our RV site). This is the companion space "museum" to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center near Titusville, Florida. Kennedy is responsible for the launches, and once the rocket has cleared the tower, this facility in Houston is responsible for managing the rest of the flight.
| From Mercury's "Faith 7" to the final flight of the space shuttle, there is so much space history on display here. We were able to see the modified 747 that carried the shuttles after each return from the ISS. There is a complete Saturn V rocket, with Apollo command module attached, laying on its side in one building. It is the largest mechanical device ever built by man. In another building we saw a full-scale mock-up of the International Space Station ("ISS").. | |
Most impressive to me was the Mission Control Room that was used for all space missions through 1992. It is now listed on the National Registry of Historic Places for its role in landing a man on the moon in 1969. This is the room where all of the smartest of the smartest would sit during each space mission. They made all of the flight calculations by slide rule and all of the calls by gut, as computing power in the room [at the time] was a whopping 9mb!
| | To this day, I remember watching on TV a scratchy B&W video feed of the room during the Apollo 11 moon landing. And during days and days of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, "Houston, we have a problem...". And this is the room where on 28 January 1986 the Challenger disaster was first seen. This room has seen (and made) a lot of fantastic history. . |
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The appeal went to all SOWERs. If anybody could make it down to the Louisiana or Texas Gulf Coast, there were lots of places that could use our help. Hurricane Harvey made a soggy mess of things from Corpus Christi, TX, to Port Charles, LA. Deb and I were eager to respond.
We are now camped at the edge of a field on the northeast corner of Hitchcock, Texas. This is the epicenter of the second land contact that Harvey made along the Gulf Coast. For one hundred miles north, and one hundred miles south, this area was flooded for three (and more) days by as much as 24 feet of water.
We are in good company. There are ministry groups here from as far away as California and Oregon. In fact, there are so many relief workers that there are no more places to plug in an RV. Though we have not officially started our work here yet, we have already met a lot of the people who were flooded, and even helped out at a recovery distribution point where the community could stop by for personal hygiene products, bedding, and food supplies. There is a lot of damage; there are a lot of displaced people. Most lost everything. It is going to be an eye-opening month, I am afraid.
We are now camped at the edge of a field on the northeast corner of Hitchcock, Texas. This is the epicenter of the second land contact that Harvey made along the Gulf Coast. For one hundred miles north, and one hundred miles south, this area was flooded for three (and more) days by as much as 24 feet of water.
We are in good company. There are ministry groups here from as far away as California and Oregon. In fact, there are so many relief workers that there are no more places to plug in an RV. Though we have not officially started our work here yet, we have already met a lot of the people who were flooded, and even helped out at a recovery distribution point where the community could stop by for personal hygiene products, bedding, and food supplies. There is a lot of damage; there are a lot of displaced people. Most lost everything. It is going to be an eye-opening month, I am afraid.
