WED., MAR. 1 thru SUN., APR. 30, 2023
After a short 136-mile drive and skirting Houston traffic, we arrived back at Stella Mare RV Resort in Galveston on March 1 (2023) and reunited with Cheryl and Joe. The original pod is together again after traveling apart for two months! We celebrated with champagne… compliments of the Hannafords!
Gary and I splurged on a Premium site so we have more space. Now we have lots of room for cornhole… that’s if the wind cooperates! This marks Gary’s and my 4th consecutive winter staying at this campground in Galveston. It’s become our “home base” for medical appointments for 2 months every year at this time. Nothing like cramming all your medical stuff into a 2-month window! But it works for us, then hopefully we’re not having to find doctors on the road… she says with fingers crossed!
On Friday, March 3 (2023) the pod traveled around Galveston locating many of the 19 “Washed Ashore” sculptures that have been on display here for two months. It’s a traveling art exhibit aimed to educate the public about the hazards of plastic pollution in the world’s waterways. All 19 sculptures are constructed entirely of plastic debris that have washed up on America’s beaches. The Galveston collection marks the first time these sculptures are on exhibit for free public viewing in the U.S. Very cool… and sad… that all this plastic debris finds its way into our waterways.
“Washed Ashore” facts since 2010:
• 95% of all debris collected is used in the artwork.
• 300+ miles of beaches cleaned.
• 60+ sculptures created.
• 38,000 lbs of marine debris have been processed.
• 14,000 volunteer hours by 10,000 volunteers
One of our favorites was “Rosa the Bald Eagle” with a 17 ft. wingspan created by 1500 people in 7 states working on the feathers.
The weekend of March 17 (2023) we enjoyed a great visit here in Galveston with long-time friends Meigs and Paul Freeman. We first met M&P almost 40 years ago when we moved to Nottingham NH and our dog Prussia escaped from our yard and landed at their house. We’ve been friends ever since! While none of us live in NH any longer, we are still the best of friends. Love these two! We had a delightful weekend catching up with each other. We visited Moody Gardens Rainforest & Aquarium and saw lots of interesting birds, adorable penguins and beautiful jellyfish. We drove around the island and state park, shared some very fun dinners and taught M&P the card game “Golf.” Next year it will be our turn to visit them in San Marcos.
The weekend of March 25 (2023) our pod of 4 was so excited to see our adopted family from Austin… Olivia, who Gary & I have known since she was 5 years old, her sweet husband Cesare and their amazing daughter Celia. Truly one of our favorite families on this planet. We had the best time! They treated us all to dinner at Mario’s on Friday night. So much fun! We talked and laughed for several hours. On Saturday they joined us at the campground. We played various games all day, laughed, talked, drank, ate, and began Celia’s month-long 25th birthday celebration! Gary and I love these three! Cheryl & Joe met them last year and fell under their sweet spell as well. They are an amazing family that light up a room with their generosity of spirit, kindness, and laughter. We’re blessed to have them in our lives!
Gary & I enjoyed a wonderful visit with my Aunt Elizabeth the weekend of April 1st (2023) in Corpus Christi. So blessed to have this woman in my life.
On Thursday, April 6 (2023) we boarded a flight to Quito, Ecuador to spend a day sightseeing in Quito before boarding a 7-night Galapagos Island Cruise! I’ve already blogged about that in an earlier post so I’ll skip the details here. Other than to say it was an amazing adventure which we enjoyed with dear friends from Massachusetts. While there we celebrated Gary’s 65th birthday! We returned home on Mon., April 17.
Once back in Galveston, we had various medical appointments to finish up. We did manage to squeak in a visit to see our friend Carey on Tues., April 25th (2023) at her beautiful home on the island. We enjoyed a golf cart ride, delicious dinner, lots of laughs, and playing “Play Nine.” All the hummingbirds and orioles that entertained us at her feeders were icing on the cake!
On Friday, April 28 (2023) we were treated to another visit with Celia. She was in town with friends but took time away to come meet up with us in the afternoon! She is such a delight! She’s an incredible young woman, and we are excited to see her future unfold!
That same night we had a powerful storm arrive in Galveston. Fun to sit on the picnic table and watch it unfold before the rain, high winds and thunder drove us back inside. Thankfully no damage, just a very interesting sky.
For our last day in Galveston, Sunday, April 30th, our pod headed to Riondo’s Restaurant on the Strand for brunch. It was the perfect way to end our 2-month Galveston stay. As always, we’ve enjoyed our time on the island. It’s such a delight to drive along the 10-mile long seawall seeing the gulf coast at your doorstep. Galveston has tons of charm with a historic downtown and residential district, a few excellent museums, historic mansions to tour, beaches, lots of birding, and a state park. It also has excellent medical facilities with UTMB (Univ. of Texas Medical Branch) which works for all our yearly medical needs. We’re still happy with this region as our late winter/early spring destination!
But for now it’s time to say goodbye to this area until next year. We have new sights that are calling to us!
