Blog Post inside care label: “Little thought needed. Prefer sunny line dry. Shrink resistant.”
There now. Reassured. A “no effort required” end of week post.
Too limp for more.
A damp fog is slipcovering Galveston. Perhaps as encouragement to sleep in.
One crafty reason is to hide birds, wild life, and beaches from oil sheen. (and that seems to be working fairly well so far.)
A more haunting reason is to hide a time slippage.
No Statue of Liberty in Galveston, but the docks still a welcomed sight to many who arrived. (Galveston.com/ webcam)
The Tall Ship Elissa was built in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1877.
Now protected by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, she’s now docked by the Texas Seaport Museum.
You can sail on her as a trained volunteer or as a wedding party or reception guest.
Sail along with the Tall Ship Elissa in this video
No doubt during her misty trips or moonlight sails, you might hear whispers by sailors or passengers from long ago.
Galveston’s port of entry was once known as the “Ellis Island of the West”. Many immigrants who arrived here are listed in the museum’s database.
Not the Houston Ship Channel, but a small Galveston channel lined on one side by restaurants, cruise line docks, and warehouses with commercial ship building docks lining the other side. Those are jack-up rigs lurking on the right. (galveston.com webcam)
Although a commercial area, this waterway a pleasant place to sail with interesting sights to see, people to wave at, and you can usually dock by the restaurants.
Sailors will need to watch for tugs and barges, because obviously they aren’t paying attention.
Shrimpers along here may have small children at the wheel – sometimes they aren’t tall enough to see very well.
Below is a picture of an ocean-going jack-up rig being serviced.
Compared to the white car on the road, it’s a giant. Even the yellow dock crane looks small beside it.
During use, the deck inches upwards on the girder legs. The vertical skeletal outline of one leg can be seen.
(It may be planning on doing a Hillary: you know, leaving the country until controversy dies down.)
A jack-up rig in for service. It’s big, but in hiding? Knows how Gov.Christi’s staff must feel: getting blamed for all the bad stuff? (galveston.com webcam)
During the late 1800′s and early 1900′s Galveston was called the “New York of the South” or the “Wall Street of the South”. Many vintage buildings survived multiple hurricanes. (So if they could construct buildings this strong back then, what happened with modern architecture styles and new construction methods? They should be even better, right?)
Below is one side street leading from the Strand to the cruise ship docks.
The rigs are awkwardly huddling in the back.
The trolley rails across the bottom aren’t old, but these recent ones following those of past years.
During late 1800′s a fancy place for strolling along. Getting ice cream. Emporiums then and now. Then the docks were actually at the back door these buildings. The water was filled in and docks moved back. (galveston.com/strand webcam)
Galveston? People naturally think beaches.
Chat while heading over to other side of island for that. Better prepare you.
Don’t bring those blindingly white sand and blue water dreams. Just don’t.
The geology is completely different. An old place.
The coastal shelf here is shallow and sandy. You can walk a long way out (Carefully – there’s deep drop offs between sandbars. And strong currents…easily able to take you to Cuba.Watch your step there.)
The waves constantly stir up the sand, so the water will look sandy-colored. (Except in winter it can be blue. Sail off shore and you’ll see blue water most days, still it’s not clear like the Caribbean.)
Looking down from the sea wall with the boulevard and parallel parking on top. The jetties break up the wave action and protect the wall. Walk them in the mist and it’s like a movie set with waves crashing over you. Don’t slip! No mystery. Could be a horror. (galveston.com/beach cam)
The jetties are fingers made of giant granite /concrete boulder-sized cubes.
There’s a pretty broad walkway down most of them. More fun to hop from slick rock to slick rock, but easy to twist ankles or break limbs.
Popular spot: for strolling, for fishing.
Probably an over-protective mom’s worst nightmare.
There’s a surfer dude with a red board right at the water’s edge on the left. He’s a local.
Surfing discouraged here: jagged rocks and strong undertow.
Besides you have to carry your board across the street, down the sidewalk, down steps in some places. And metered parking.
So why surf here? Always an adoring female audience on the seawall looking for surfing stars.
The Spot. Not a morning person. (galveston.com/spot webcam)
The Spot, a favorite place to eat and observe.
Get there early if you want to park the Harley up front.
Bar’s on the east and multi-story indoor and outdoor decks for eating on the west.
Weekends pretty wild here. All welcomed. Always good food and fun, but most enjoyable during off-season or when school’s in session.
With a big view of beach, waves, and people, you could sit for hours and work on that novel.
Pyramids. Bet you didn’t know civilization here was this old. (galveston.com webcam)
There in the mists, three pyramids. A mirage? A time warp?
Moody Gardens. (Named after a prominent BOI family, not a response to mists)
A non-profit created to use nature and science for rehabilitation that grew into an educational destination for conservation, recreation, and research – while still focused on advancing rehabilitation.
Moody Gardens glass pyramids. A nod to the Mayans and Aztecs
Best secret? There’s a beautiful white sandy beach with clear fresh water lagoon.
(Finally, the tropical vision you expected.) Moody Gardens webcams
Locally, none too sad about quietly standing under cover of mists.
Perhaps hiding a bit longer before the onslaught of giddy tourists.
With luck no one will find the off switch for those commercial grade fog machines.
Things still under wraps. Maybe tomorrow, sun lovers: Galveston webcams.
Warm moisture keeps you looking young, they say (like anyone could tell in this fog).
Think that covers it. Slip on into the weekend
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
Barely able to make out the waves and a jetty on the left. It’s a big drop off to the beach from the top of the seawall here. Always a hazard for cars, bikes, and people not paying attention. Big medical center nearby, luckily. (galveston.com/seawall cam)