Galveston

We arrived in Galveston 3 days ago on the ferry from Port Bolivar, a few miles to the east. The ferry cuts some miles off the trip, it’s a nice change of pace, and best of all, it’s free! We were one of the first on, front row seats.

Bolivar is a low peninsula which has seen its share of storm surge judging from the way they build their houses.

 Lots of ships anchored off shore, oil tankers I would guess.

Galveston doesn't get many breaks either when it comes to flooding. Last August, Hurricane Harvey left several feet of water in the streets. You wouldn't know it now, everything is back to normal. There is a great historical section with lots of old buildings, bars (some really fine bars), restaurants, and miles of waterfront along the Seawall Boulevard. Four traffic lanes, a centre turn lane, 2 parking lanes and a walking/bicycling lane and they all slope gently toward the Gulf. No storm sewers required. The boulevard sit on top of a berm maybe 15 feet high which protects the city from all but the worst storms.

The weather in Galveston has been... "meh". Toques and parkas were not required but the beach umbrella wind break allowed us to sit outside in the sun a few times. I had to tie it down with rope and tent pegs after it knocked over the table along with my beverage.

  

We had some serious rain last night starting around 4:30 AM. Lightning too, and more is coming our way this evening. The park had some pretty big puddles this morning.

This is the view from our bedroom window across the sand dunes. It's foggy and although you can't see it, it's raining.

I spent a few hours today planning the next month of our trip and making some reservations. I don't like reservations because they limit the ability to change your plans as you go. On the other hand, without reservations you would be spending a lot of time in third rate RV parks or Walmart parking lots. This time of year the better parks fill up quickly. 

We head for San Antonio tomorrow, then Austin, and then on to south western Texas, the area around Big Bend National Park for about a month, hopefully leaving the cold and rain behind.

So, after Galveston, not only do we need to warm up but now we need to dry out too.