Galveston, Texas

December 12-19, 2013

Jamaica Beach RV Resort

Can't help but to sit back and reflect....we are heading in to the most sacred of Christian Holidays... We, the Ken Luckraft Family have so much to reflect upon and to be thankful for. The love I have for my husband, a man above all others, and my children:  Jen, our first born, strong and determined, will fight for her children and family no matter what; Peter, who my pediatrician predicted would be the strong child who would always fight for family and take care of us, and has done so no matter what; Sarah, strong, yet silent and always, always a champion for family, no matter what; and Jodie, our baby, always with a smile that never goes away and a strong defender of family, no matter what.  In reading back, I always note the word "strong" and "no matter what"....I think we did something right.  As I continue on this journey, I take the strength of my family with me.....

Now to Jamaica RV Resort.....such friendly people.  We made a few friends at this stop.  Jerry and Romona, from Texas, who have just become full-time RVers; Rick from Minnesota; and, Larry and Linda from Midland, Texas.  (Notice we flew the Patriot's flag....almost wish I had forgotten to put it out after that lousy showing and eventual loss versus Miami!)

We tried to catch the "holiday" feeling...I love my Walmart outdoor trees.  And, there is a tree in the Beave to say Merry Christmas to all who pass by!!

I was very "out-of-sorts" this trip...couldn't decide what to do...where to go.  So we spent
an entire day driving around Galveston with only a couple of stops to call momentous.

I enjoyed the design of the homes along the coast...and really loved the Keys' influence of the pastel colors to mark your own. 

We spent some time visiting the older architecture in Galveston as well.  We were very impressed with the 1892 Bishop's Palace, a Victorian built of  stone and steel for a railroad magnate and his family.  The exterior is very impressive with its stone walls,  arches with  carvings of vegetation, animals, people, and imaginary creatures.  The interior is grand with 14 foot ceilings, marble columns, and floors and walls of various wood.  The octagonal mahogany stairway to the second floor is forty feet tall with stained glass on five sides.  The house has quite a few stained glass windows and wood carvings.

 

We also stopped by the Moody Mansion where we took a guided tour.  Certainly not as elegant as the 1892 Bishop's Palace, but we were not allowed to take pictures of the interior.  Our tour guide reminded me of the guide we had at one of the Newport mansions who would get very upset with us Hopedale ladies for "conversing" during the tour.  Many times she would just stop talking until we gave her our full attention and at one time she admonished Alice and me! She must have thought we were having too much fun.  I think this Moody Mansion guide was truly afraid we would pick up something that didn't belong to us on her watch.

We made a few more stops this day:



The Strand, located in Galveston's historic district and near the cruise terminal, offers a selection of shops, restaurants, art galleries and museums.  We were going to stop, but two things stopped us:  they had pay-by-phone parking (which we had no idea how to handle) and, when we pulled up to the very high curbing, we couldn't open the passenger door.  I thought there were a lot of people out there looking for jobs....it would have been nice to find a parking lot with a real live attendant!

Galveston's Historic Pleasure Pier

We spent another evening enjoying the Festival of Lights at Moody Gardens.  We've seen a couple of these light shows, but nothing compares to the Night of a Thousand Candles in Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet in Myrtle Beach we visited a few years back with Susan and Bob.

 

 

 

Ken enjoyed his walks along the beach...even got up early a couple of mornings to watch the sun come up over the Gulf of Mexico.

We also enjoyed a day of kayaking through the Oak Bayou in the Galveston Island State Park.  It seems like forever since we've done that.  We saw so many blue heron and white egrets and fish jumping out of the water.  And, so relaxing, just drifting in the water...that is, until it's time to return to shore and you're going against the tide!

Goodbye Galveston Island.  Next stop:  Port Aransas on Mustang Island, just north of Padre Island.