May Day Memory Of Galveston Crawdads & Moody Gardens

No, that is not a throng of people enjoying the first day of May at the newly restored beach at Lake Wichita, restored after recent downpours of lake restoring water, raised the lake's level to almost normal.

It took me a moment or two to remember what this Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day was.

Galveston.

On the Texas Gulf Coast.

Galveston is just about the best tourist type town I've been to in Texas.

As you approach the island, on the bridge connected to the mainland, you see large pyramids of various colors. That was the first surprising thing. Later to be learned the pyramids are part of the Moody Gardens complex.

When I got to the gulf side of the island, I quickly found a place to park. As soon as I exited my vehicle I was hit with two things I had not experienced since I was last in Washington. The smell of saltwater. And the sound of waves.

I think it was soon after smelling that saltwater smell and hearing those crashing waves that I saw the throng of people playing in the water.

The water did not look too inviting, to me. It looked murky, muddy, dirty.

I later that day learned the quality of the water was being affected by the Spring runoff of the Mississippi River draining dirty river water into the gulf.

I had my evening feeding that day in a seafood restaurant on a pier out over the water. This marked the first time since I had been in Texas that I eye witnessed people eating bowls of crawdads, looking to me like they were biting off the heads of the reddish insect looking things and then sucking out the contents.

I have had many opportunities since to avail myself of the crawdad delicacy. I have not succumbed to the temptation...

I Made It Through Another Dangerous Night In My Dangerous East Fort Worth Neighborhood

It is still dark out there at a little past 7. The ISO setting on my camera magically turns dark into light. I just heard the first sun greet tweet and can see that the sun arrival process has begun.

It seems like October just began, but it is already the 2nd Saturday of October, almost a third of the new month already gone.

The older I get the faster time seems to fly. I don't like it.

Yesterday I made mention of Fort Worth's #15 Most Dangerous Neighborhood in America and opined regarding what I thought to be the absurdity of a Galveston Neighborhood being the only other Texas Neighborhood, besides Fort Worth, on the list of the Top 25 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in America.

Well, Mr. or Ms. Anonymous made an interesting comment regarding Galveston....

"Galveston does have a densely populated ghetto inhabited by poverty-stricken people who live in the federal housing project, which is tucked away on the far east end of the island away from the sea wall and just far enough from the newly revitalized tourist area called the Strand/docks on the other side of the island/sea wall. Remember one of the oldest and last remaining government subsidized apartment complex in FW is located just across the freeway from the homeless shelters and accessible by an overpass. This complex is still there because it's not close enough to the Trinity River---or else the TRV or other profiteering entities would have eminent-domained it long ago."

I thought I'd driven all over Galveston, both the town and the island. I don't recollect driving through a ghetto.

But I can be pretty ghetto oblivious, unless it is obvious. For instance I have ridden my bike over the pedestrian overpass that goes over, I think, the 287 freeway, and leads to the subsidized apartment complex, to which Anonymous refers. I did not realize at the time I was in the Heart of the 15th Most Dangerous Neighborhood in America.

I think I am in need of some peaceful salubrious hiking on the Tandy Hills today. I had me a night of some pretty rough nightmares that woke me up feeling very unsettled.

101 Texas Degrees While Visiting Fosdic Lake, Port Aransas, Harlingen, Corpus Christi, South Padre Island & The Brazosport Area

As you can see, on this the last day of July, we have hit the predicted temperature of 101. The HEAT has melted the humidity out of the air, so there is no Heat Index saying the temperature feels hotter than it is.

I had intended to get outside and make my way to the Tandy Hills around 3. But, there was little breezing going on, and the sun had already heated it up out there to 100, so I decided to go to my favorite reading spot at Oakland Lake Park and read for awhile, while glancing up at Fosdic Lake.

It seems every Saturday there is something happening at the Oakland Lake Pavilion. Today it was some sort of party, part of which involved smacking a pinata hanging from a tree.

A surprising number of Texans were out in the HEAT aerobicizing. But, not wimpy me. I was under shade enjoying reading. I'd tell you what book I'm reading, but it's sort of embarrassing, so I won't.

I was in need of a peaceful break because the morning had been spent virtually visiting the Texas Gulf Coast. I went to Port Aransas, but did not see the Songbird of the Gulf Coast, Alma Squillante.

The furthest south I made it was to Harlingen. Cool town with a lot of palm trees and parrots. I also like Corpus Christi. I need to move back near saltwater.

I enjoyed South Padre Island. I can see why this is where Elsie Hotpepper heads whenever she gets a hankering to find a new husband.

And then, heading back north, almost to Galveston, I visited the Brazosport Area, where good fishing and beaches can be found, but I caught none and did no swimming.

I did have a really good swim really early this morning though. And likely will have another one tomorrow morning on the first day of August.

Tar Balls In Galveston & Visiting Washingtonians

You are looking at a fishing pier on the Gulf of Mexico. This fishing pier was on the Island of Galveston. I believe it was destroyed by Hurricane Ike.

Galveston is in the news today due to tar balls from the BP oil spill washing up on Galveston beaches.

Galveston came to mind a day or two ago when one of my favorite Washingtonians told me that she might be flying to Houston to go to a little seaport town south of Houston. I told her she'd be really close to Galveston and would likely enjoy visiting the island.

Prior to being destroyed by the worst natural disaster in American history, the Galveston hurricane of 1900, Galveston was the 3rd largest port in America, the largest city in Texas and the 2nd wealthiest city in the United States.

Jean Lafitte ran his pirate operations off Galveston Island after he helped Andrew Jackson win the Battle of New Orleans.

An area of Galveston that served as a waterfront banking center was known as The Strand. It was also known as "the Wall Street of the Southwest."

Galveston was a major port of entry for incoming Europeans and was second only to Ellis Island as an American Immigration Station.

In the Galveston of 2010 The Strand is an assortment of restored buildings covering a 36 square block area. The Strand has more than 100 shops, restaurants and art galleries selling an eclectic mix of antiques, Victorian baubles and other old stuff.

Moody Gardens is another big Galveston attraction. You can't help but notice Moody Gardens as you drive over the bridge that takes you to Galveston Island.

Rain Slows Up As Floods Flash In Texas & Sedona

We have been under water attack here in North Texas for well over 24 hours. This is the longest rain I remember in a long time. I'm feeling like I've spent an October in Washington concentrated to one day. Actually, I think the rain started Friday, so it has been off and on for 72 hours, or so, with steady wetness for 24 of those hours.

I got gas today. So, like I always do when I get gas, I called my mom in Arizona to tell her I got gas and that it was raining. I was trapped in my vehicle in a severe downpour when I called mom. I remained trapped for about 20 minutes, when a slight let up let me escape.

Mom told me they were over 100 in Arizona. I told mom we were 68 and my windows were open. Mom asked me if I knew about the flash flood in Sedona. I did not. Apparently on Thursday, September 10, a downpour caused a flash flood through a canyon, causing a usually dry creek bed to carry a water attack on Sedona which wreaked havoc.

Those are submerged Sedona cars in the picture. The flood ran through scenic downtown Sedona, flooding businesses. Appears to be quite a mess.

Speaking of messes. I Tweeted about Galveston yesterday. I love how I've learned the proper terminology. A week ago I would have said I Twittered. But that's a grammatical faux pas. The proper word is Tweet. Who makes up this stuff? I have no idea.

Anyway, after I Tweeted about Galveston I got a Tweet, actually I don't know if that is what you call it when you're on the receiving end. For all I know I got a Twat. Whatever it was, someone from Galveston, called Holiday Inn, told me, yeah that works, told me, rather than Tweeted or Twatted me, that Galveston is back, better than ever, totally recovered from Hurricane Ike. And that I should come for a visit. Staying at the Holiday Inn, I suppose.

Hurricane Ike Hitting Galveston Hard

That's the view from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony at about 3 pm here in Fort Worth. While watching the news about Hurricane Ike while I had lunch I heard a Fort Worth weather guy say the clouds we are seeing are Ike related, pushed ahead of the storm.

Twelve hours before Ike is expected to hit Galveston the storm surge is so strong and the waves so big that they are already over the seawall. And I was surprised to see Geraldo Rivera knocked down, so early into the storm, into what he described as very dirty water. Emergency workers helped Geraldo get upright. He assured them he was okay.

I've been to Galveston once. Loved it. But I was surprised to see so many structures built out over the water. I assumed, even though some of them looked a bit rickety, that they were built to withstand a hurricane. As usual, I was wrong.

Even before Hurricane Ike has officially arrived in Galveston damage is already being done. The pier to the fishing pier/beer bar you see in the photo has already been wiped out. Or so it appeared from what I was being shown on FOX NEWS.

I thought the seawall was supposed to protect Galveston from a repeat of the hurricane disaster of 1900. Maybe it will. But it doesn't look good with water already surging over the wall. That's the Galveston seawall on the right.

To see photos from my one and only trip to Galveston and some of the other structures built out over the water and now in danger, go here.