From there we took a ferry ride of maybe 300 yards on our way to
Galveston, what a difference we encountered in the weather - it was cold, windy
and stormy. The nighttime temperature was a low 40F (11C); as you can imagine
we had to get up and find blankets to cover us on the first night so next day we
decided to put on our winter duvet and electric blanket and this is Texas! It does
heat up during the day but we still need to wear warm cloths during the day. First
thing we did was head for the Visitors Center which is housed in an old
historic home, from there we crossed the road to the Rosenberg Library where
there’s an eclectic collection of items from peoples attics plus a history of
Galveston. Rosenberg donated the library and other places (at least one church)
to the town; he was a big benefactor to Galveston.
Galveston turned out to be a delightful surprise there’s so much to do
and see; the sea wall which is miles long is exhilarating to walk with lots to
see – the sea wall was erected and the Gulf side of the island was heightened
by 15 feet after the disastrous storm of September 8th 1900, one of the
"must do" things is to see the film of the disaster – a collage of old photos with
an informative narration. There were 6,000 people killed in Galveston alone and
over 8,000 in all. Having watched the movie it is amazing to us that so few
where killed in the recent storm that hit the Eastern seaboard, most notably New
Jersey and New York.
We had lunch in an old Diner called The Star Drug Store which brought
back fond childhood memories for Adele – when her parents toured the US by
Greyhound Bus in 1950 her mother was enthralled by the Diner/Drug Stores and on
her return converted part of their Galway family Hotel into a Diner which was a
huge success for many years and a very popular place for school kids to meet in
the afternoon and with late night revelers.
North of Broadway which is the dividing line between the rich and poor
areas there are many old elegant mansions. One we visited was the Bishops
Palace originally built by the Gresham family as their home. Needless to say it
was opulent and ornate with chandeliers, a stunning staircase, hardwood floors,
a Chapel and servants quarters; the design of the stone work on the outside was
striking and it had the prettiest chimneys we have ever seen. The Cathedral just
across the road was locked, however we were not perturbed as we knew we could go
to Mass on Sunday to view its splendor. After Mass went to an old hotel
on the seafront called Hotel Galvez to Facetime our English Grandchildren and
check the brunch. A lady was playing the grand piano in the large foyer; brunch
was $35 per person so we decided that as we were not that hungry we would take another
walk on the seawall. We had an excellent lunch in a restaurant called Fish
Tails that cost $35 dollars for the two of us. On our way back to the RV Park we
visited Moody Gardens which has three large glass pyramids of different colors and
discovered that it is an amusement theme park, very Disneyworld and decided to
give it a miss. There were plenty of tourists around the town and on the beach
even though the weather was quite cold and the sea angry and rough. Many surfers
were in the water but the waves are nothing as compared to those we’re used to
in Santa Cruz. Along the roadway between Galveston and the RV Park there are
many big holiday homes built up on 12ft stilts - we think it’s a case of which would
one prefer to have your house swept by a hurricane or washed away by a tidal
wave!
Now for a little bit of a history lesson Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (c.1490-c.1560) was born in
Jeréz de la Frontera, Spain to a noble family. In 1527 he joined an expedition
to explore the Gulf of Mexico during which three boats were lost with
significant loss of life including the expedition leader Narváez. Others who
landed died of starvation or Indian attack however, Cabeza de Vaca and a few
companions survived. They landed finally at a place thought to be Galveston Island, Texas which they named the Island of
Misfortune. From 1529 to 1534 Cabeza de
Vaca and these others lived a meager life with the Karankawa Indians in a
state of semi-slavery and often separated from each other. During this time
Cabeza de Vaca took advantage of his slight medical skills and remade himself
as a healer. He explored this small section of the East Texas coast in hopes of
finding a way to Mexico and its Spanish colonies. In 1534 he and the other
Spanish survivors started west across Texas for Mexico. With the help of many Native
Americans along the way, they crossed the Pecos and Colorado rivers and made
their way towards Spanish outposts. Despite the arduous trip, Cabeza de Vaca
continued to note the wonders of the American west and the inhabitants’
impressive survival skills. Finally they turned south, moving inland. In April
1536 a Spanish slaving party found the four Spaniards. In all, it took nine
years from the start of the expedition for Cabeza de Vaca to arrive in Mexico
City.
A couple of hundred years later it was Jean Lafayette (Lafitte) the
prince of pirates who swashbuckled his way around Galveston island where he set
up his headquarters camp which he called Campeche. Merchant ships wisely avoided
this area. 
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