History of the Galveston Seawall

   On this day in 1902, construction began on the Galveston Seawall. It had been two years since the Great Storm of 1900 had hit the bustling seaport of Galveston, Texas. The massive hurricane hit a town unaware and killed as many as 8000 people(or many more, they had no way to know for sure). It is still not just the deadliest hurricane, but the deadliest natural disaster to ever hit the United States.

Day 2: Galveston Island, Texas

There will be more day 2 coming, but we spent some quality time in Galveston and I want to post some of the better photos from there.

We watched sunrise on the beach and picked up a few shells along the way.

Drove by the new Pleasure Pier a few times.

We took the Bolivar Ferry back and forth, saw quite a few dolphins from the observation deck.

Stopped by the ruins of the supposed former home of pirate Jean Lafitte.

Bishops Palace, one of the many beautiful homes along the main road. Also one of the few survivors of the devastating 1900 hurricane that nearly leveled everything on the island.

Tune in tomorrow for more photos from Houston and surrounding area!

The First Day: Long and Winding Road

  The first day of the trip was an unspectacular journey from one place to another: South of Nashville, Tennessee to Galveston, Texas. And there were few stops in  between. 

   We left at 6:30am and arrived in Galveston around 7:30pm. The only stops were for gas and rest stops. We ate lunch at the Louisiana Welcome Center. The bridge in the photo above is the Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge. 

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Swamp Bridge, Atchafalaya Swamp, Louisiana

  We did stop at the Tiger Stop in Gross Tete where they have a live tiger in a cage(LSU Tigers, you know). But it was hot and the tiger wasn't easily visible. I felt sort of bad pulling in to see this, felt bad for the tiger laying there in the heat(though I suppose tigers are used to heat, aren't they?). 

   We cut south off of Interstate 10 to go through Baytown, across the Fred Hartman Bridge over the Houston Ship Channel as a quicker way to Galveston. 

  By the time we got our motel room and some dinner, it was dark-and they cut off the lights at the Pleasure Pier JUST as we pulled over and I got out with the tripod to get some shots! Disheartened, I took some really bad shots without the tripod of the ferris wheel, the only lights left on. 

   The first day was somewhat uneventful-but it was the only day that was. There are so many more photos to come!