Galveston

These pictures were taken at Seawolf Park. The fishing dock has been rebuilt, and scores of people were out there fishing. I watched freighters and tankers coming in, and small fishing boats and ferries. The cruise ships still come and go.

At the other end of the island, the State Park is closed, and there is still part of the road that is washed out. Many of the summer homes on pilings along the road in that direction are boarded up, some with pilings askew, walls missing, tarps on roofs. Yet, in between, brightly coloured condos are bravely popping up on the wasted earth.

The Moody Mansion and the Bishop's Palace stand solid, with one or two windows boarded up. One of the historic churches (can't remember which one, sorry) has lost its stained glass windows.

Up and down Seawall Blvd., maybe every third business is boarded up. That's on an average. Many blocks show no damage; others are devastated.

Next to the flagship Hotel, they are trucking in sand and spreading it at night. It looks as if that has been going on along the length of the beach there. There is a lot more parking than there used to be, because of all the vacant lots.

The Strand looked better than I expected. As that area is not really "kid friendly," we just drove through. I didn't try to visit the Alyssa, as I was too disappointed at not getting to take Aidan over the USS Stewart and the Cavalla. Being turned away from that boat would have been too much.

All in all, it wasn't as bad as I had feared. I had not expected so many places to be left just as they were--with walls torn out, etc. Like the Flagship. I suppose repairs and reconstruction depend on money, and money is in short supply for all of us these days.

Given time, Galveston will recover. The folks who live there are a particularly hardy sort, and will rebuild.

The gulls are there, and the pelicans. Life goes on.