On the drive to Galveston we were amazed by the works of both man and mother nature. There were numerous refineries and many surprising views of the Gulf.
We turned left just after the orange sign and drove along the coast for 30 miles.
The houses we passed ranged from shacks to mansions, all on stilts to protect them from possible flood waters.
We arrived at our campground, Galveston Island State Park, to find it 100 yards from the Gulf and half a mile from the bay.
If you look hard, you can see the gulf on the horizon line
The bay is behind the camper
The gulf side was often too windy or too foggy,
The people in this photo are about 100 feet from us.
So we spent most of our time on the bay side—finding whelks or watching hawks, herons, egrets and spoonbills.
A live whelk
A hawk searching for prey
A great blue heron during breeding season
A great egret and a roseate spoonbillWhen we ventured into the city of Galveston, we drove down Broadway Ave to see the mansions of yesteryear.
We also drove to Pier 21 and watched The Great Storm. It chronicled America’s worst natural disaster—the 1900 hurricane which claimed an estimated 6000 lives.
In the five years following the hurricane homes were raised up to 8 feet and a 17 foot seawall was erected to protect the town.
The wall is in the foreground.That didn’t entirely stop Hurricane Ike in 2008, but it helped.
This building houses the visitor center. There is a little sign just above the railing that notes the 2008 high water mark.
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