Most of the heavy rain had passed through by 11:00 am , but there were still some showers, clouds and occasionally a little sunshine. We decide to head into Galveston, about a 15 mile drive into town along the Gulf coast shoreline . Along the way we passed large numbers of multilevel beach houses raised up on 15' stilts. Most of the houses we passed were unoccupied and appeared to be vacation homes.
As we approached the city of Galveston it became apparent the beach area on the Gulf of Mexico side of Galveston Island is a major summer vacation location for probably the Houston area and the surrounding region. The summer season doesn't start until April here but the spring break crowd usually kicks it off in March.
Along the beach front there are several large brand name hotels, condo complexes, motels and a variety of beach commercial activities such as beachware stores, restaurants, tattoo palors, ice cream shops, and bicycle rental stores. The mix is typical of beach towns all along the Florida and Gulf coasts we have visited. We are here too early for the seasonal crowd and the area was virtually deserted.
We drove through town and decided to check out the ferry dock at the east end of the island. There is a free ferry, run by the State, across Galveston Bay to the Bolivar Peninsula. It is a 20-minute trip and takes vehicles of almost any size, as well as passengers on foot. We confirmed the ferry can easily take our RV and towed vehicle. Our plan, depending on the weather, is to take the ferry when we leave Galveston. This will allow us to avoid the heavy traffic in the Houston area and save a little time travelling to Lafayette, LA , our next destination.
After checking out the ferry, we had lunch out on the beachfront at a Cajun restaurant. They also had fresh benignets for dessert that were very good. We then drove through the old part of town (The Strand). It looks like the city is making a valiant effort to restore a downtown in serious need of restoration. There are a few shoppes and bistros but very few people were seen walking around.
Next, we went to the waterfront (Pier 21) which seemed a little more lively with several restaurants and tourist attractions. We decided to see a movie at the Pier 21 theater called "The Great Storm" recalling the hurricane in 1900 that wiped out most of Galveston and killed anywhere from 8,000-12,000 people, the largest natural disaster in U.S. history.
In 1900, Galveston had a population of around 36,000 people and was a thriving port, exporting most of the Texas cotton crop. The island is essentially a large sand dune, and in 1900 was about 8 feet above sea level at most locations. No one knows for sure how powerful the hurricane was, but there is documentation of the lowest pressure ever recorded to date at that time and the few wind measuring devices that survived stopped working at 100 mph. It is estimated the storm surge raised the sea level anywhere from 15 to 20 feet. It swept over the island destroying virtually everything in it's path. Rescue efforts were hindered by lack of communication and limited access to the island as most piers and bridges were destroyed. Many people died while trapped in the rubble.
After the storm, a massive recovery effort was undertaken and a seventeen foot high seawall was built along about 10 miles of Gulf beachfront. The ground behind the sea wall was also raised 10 or more feet using dredged sand. It was a massive engineering effort and the city has survived several hurricanes since 1900 with minimal damage,
After the movie we visited the nearby maritime museum which is very well done. The highlight of the museum is a fully operational 1877 3-masted sailing ship, the Elissa. It has been restored over the years and is maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers. It sails once a year to train new crew members and test the ship's systems.
The waterfront is also a working port area. Several oil rigs being refurbished were moored across the harbor along with other ocean-going ships. There is also an adjoining cruise ship terminal that doesn't appear to be very active.. Another tourist attraction nearby is a docked offshore oil rig that has been turned into an offshore drilling rig museum.
After visiting the maritime museum, we spotted a Starbucks across the street and went over for a mocha and relaxed awhile before heading back to the RV park.
As the afternoon progressed, and as forecast, the skies cleared, the sun came out and the wind picked-up considerably. There appears to be a significant pressure gradient behind the front that passed. When we returned to the RV park we were experiencing 30-40 mile per hour winds, and still are as I am writing the blog. The RV is rocking in the wind and the winds are predicted to continue tomorrow. We are going to take another look at the weather tomorrow morning, but right now, we are planning to stay here another day to let to wind subside. Driving an RV in a 20-30 mph cross wind for over 200 miles is not easy and potentially dangerous. The impact on the schedule will be to cancel the second day planned in Pensacola.
So, we are and hunkering down and staying flexible.
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