On to Huston and Galveston.

So why are we in Galveston?

More on that later.

We moved on from Austin to Houston on January 30^th. We stayed at our usual RV park, Traders Village on North Eldridge Rd. We are here to visit son Tim, wife Diane, and grand kids, Matthew and Ivy. This is the nearest RV park to their house. They did live about 3 miles away but moved to a different school district a couple of years ago so now they are about 7 miles away.

We arrived Friday afternoon and Tim stopped by after work. About 5:15 PM we left with him to attend Matthew's first high school soccer game. I put on a long sleeved t-shirt, a heavy sweatshirt, and my car coat. We sat on aluminum bleachers to watch the game. It was chilly. Ivy and Diane were at the game when we arrived. Matthew started the game, sat out for a short time then played the remainder of the game. They lost 2-1.

After the game we drove to a seafood restaurant for dinner. The place was packed so we had to wait. They were serving the seasons first crawdads and that brought out quite a crowd. You order “mud-bugs” by the pound with a 2 pound minimum order. Tim ordered 3 pounds for himself.

On Saturday we drove with Budd and Brenda to Tim's house for lunch. On the way we met Tim at a corner BBQ stand and bought BBQ brisket and ribs. Really good!

Ed, Budd,Brenda, and Tim checking out the rib place.

On Sunday we went back to Tim's for the Super Bowl Game. Tim BBQ'ed 3 kinds of sausage and some pork chops. Diane made some dips and we brought cheese and crackers. All very good. The football game ending, not so much.

Ed, Tim, Budd, Brenda, Ivy sampling the food.

 

 Ivy and her cat.

 

Card players, Ivy, Tim, Ed, Budd, Brenda.

 

Clyda and Ivy.

 

 Clyda, Matthew, and Tim.

Today, Monday, we left Houston and drove to Galveston Island and are staying at Dellanera RV Park on the beach. The weather isn't cooperating however. It is downright cold. Temperature is in the low 50's with wind which makes it nasty to be outside.

We took a quick drive this afternoon and will look around more tomorrow.

It has been 14 years since Clyda and I were last here but it is hard to recognize much from that time. The 2 hurricanes obviously count for much of that change but the staggering amount of growth since then is mind boggling. Much of the new growth is located on what I saw then as swamp land. Now, homes, hotels, and business's have sprung up everywhere. A quick look at Google Earth confirms that growth.

I wonder who in there right mind would finance all of this?

Years ago, in my working years, I was in and out of Galveston several times. I have lived here for weeks at a time while working on oil drilling ships. What was Galveston Island then, is unrecognizable today.