Life's a Beach

Big Shrimp outside Gaido's Restaurant

This past Saturday, my hubby-the-artist had a showing at PeckArts Gallery in Galveston. We decided to make it a family affair and stay Saturday night at a hotel on the seawall. Ben had not experienced a beach yet, and since he loves sand and water, I was pretty sure he would enjoy it. And boy, did he ever! We actually had to drag him from the beach kicking and screaming. After the beach, we had a fantastic seafood lunch at Gaido's. It was great. We plan to go back and spend more time in Galveston.
Here's the thing with Galveston... back on September 13th, 2008, Hurricane Ike hit the island with a vengeance and pretty much devastated the area. Ike was the third costliest hurricane to ever make landfall in the United States. Historic landmarks like the Balinese Room, a night club where famous crooners such as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. once played, was swept out to sea along with other popular spots such as Murdoch's and the 61st Street Pier. When you drive around the island, you can still see quite a bit of damage from the storm. There are homes and businesses that look like they have been literally bombed, and the creepy, skeletal remains of the famous Flagship Hotel (which sits on a pier over the water) are haunting. But Galveston is making a comeback. And I have to say that the people are super friendly and the atmosphere has a quirky, laid back feel that reminds you a bit of New Orleans and Austin combined. Did you know that Galveston had the first post office, the first naval base, the first cotton compress, the first insurance company, the first gas lights, the first opera house, the first orphanage, the first telephone and the first electric lights in the state of Texas? Seriously. (I lifted that info from Wikipedia... just wanna give props where they're due.) So, if you get the chance you really should check out Galveston. Oh, and stop by the gallery and take a peek at my hubby's paintings.




Here's a video I made from our day on the beach. I apologize for the poor quality, I tried to upload the original version to Blogger, but it was three times the size limit, so I had to adjust the quality. I also apologize for what some might consider cheese ball video music. I just thought it needed some tunes, and well, I was feeling nostalgic. Deal with it. *wink*