Still More from Galveston, TX

April 1 thru 13, 2021

Today, April 1st, we visited Surfside Jetty County Park which is at the west end of Galveston Island. It was super windy but what a cool spot! The jetty goes out over a half mile. You can usually walk to the end, although this day it was too windy and there was water splashing over the jetty. We went as far as we could! After the Jetty adventure we parted company with Stacie & Johnny and Bev & Monty. We had to hit the grocery store since it was our turn to cook this evening. BBQ Chicken and mashed potatoes were on the menu. We had a fun dinner with everyone as usual then fed the horses carrots and did our usual nightly walk around the campground. During that walk we also said goodbye to Debbie & Dennis who were leaving the next morning to slowly make their way back to NH. We will miss them! When we returned to our tiny home I realized there was a beautiful flower arrangement sitting on the bench near our site. A thank you from Debbie & Dennis for helping them with some RV stuff. I’m not sure how helpful we were, but the flowers were absolutely gorgeous and SO appreciated!!! Stunning bouquet that lasted for almost two weeks! Thank you so very much you two! That night Gary & I were also able to schedule our second Moderna shot. Woohoo! 

Friday, April 2nd, happened to be Good Friday. The six of us decided to complete the downtown East End Historical District Tree Sculpture Walking Tour that we had started the prior week. Since it was Good Friday (a holiday for some) several homeowners were working in the gardens and were totally willing to chat about their beautiful neighborhood. They all lamented the storm in February and the havoc it brought to their gardens. Another wonderful opportunity for us to see more of these amazing historic homes, and enjoy the sculptures made from trees destroyed by Hurricane Ike in 2008. 

Saturday, April 3rd, we all drove over to the private community of Beachtown near East Beach in Galveston to ride our bikes. Gary & I ended up doing 8 miles, partially in the community and partially on the Seawall. S&J and B&M ended up doing a partial ride on the beach and the Seawall. Gary & I thought that riding on the beach might require more effort than we wanted to expend! We ended up crossing paths with the others back on Seawall. A fun ride on a part of the Seawall we hadn’t been on before! 

In the afternoon Gary made a horseradish accompaniment to go with our ham and kielbasa Easter dinner we were preparing for the next day. This is in honor of Gary’s Mom as she always cooked ham for Easter dinner, which was one of her favorite holidays. She also made pierogis for Good Friday, which I haven’t learned to make although I should try some time. We bought horseradish and set Gary up outside with the food processor so he could grind away. If you’ve never worked with horseradish, it is strong. We added pickled beets to it and he ground some more and voila we have our horseradish topping. Honey mustard is also an option for those who don’t like horseradish. ☺️

Sunday, April 4th, Easter, we all took a drive over to the Texas City Dike located about 30 minutes from our campground. It’s the longest man-made fishing pier in the world, stretching 5.3 miles into Galveston Bay. Great to see so many families out enjoying themselves on the beaches after being shut-in for so long. We also drove Skyline Drive bordering the levee, which we discovered would be a great place to ride bikes. On the levee we saw Texas wildflowers in bloom, a replica of a lighthouse, and Kite Surfing Beach. Cool to see all the kite surfers! Afterwards when we returned to our campground, Gary & I enjoyed an hour long zoom call with dear friends Meigs & Paul in San Marcos, TX and Carol & Charlie in Maine. So fun to catch up with everyone! Afterwards we enjoyed our Easter dinner with Stacie & Johnny, Bev & Monty and of course Niky. I think we did Mom Troy proud! 

Monday, April 5th, Gary and I had dental cleanings scheduled in the morning. The dentist’s office is right along seawall so when you’re getting your teeth cleaned you can look out at the waves and the gulf. Pretty cool! We played cornhole in the early afternoon with everyone then enjoyed a lun-din, as Stacie calls it, at Sunflower Bakery & Cafe. Afterwards Gary & I did a 2.5 mile walk on the beach while the others rode bikes. Another fun day! 

Tuesday, April 6th, Gary and I had dermatology appointments at the UTMB (University of TX Medical Branch) campus in Galveston. All good… clean bill of health. But while there, we had a chance to see “Old Red.” A massive (gorgeous!) Romanesque structure which was dedicated in 1891 and was the first Medical College in TX. Just an incredible building. I’m not sure what the building is used for today. S&J and B&M visited the NASA Space Center in Houston today. We had visited that last year so passed on that activity, plus I got to babysit Niky while they were gone. He was a very good boy. 

Wednesday, April 7th, Gary & I had our second Moderna vaccines scheduled at a mass vaccination location in a park in League City. It went smoothly except for the fact that I got my vaccine about 4 inches below where it should have been on my shoulder. What’s the big deal right? Actually, it was. I swelled up and it hurt for a week. The young woman who gave me the shot was short and didn’t step up on the truck’s running board. (We weren’t supposed to get out of our vehicles.) I think she misjudged it. Other than that… Gary and I were both pretty tired (and achy) later that day and the next but then rebounded by the evening of the second day. Very thankful to have both shots! 

I started a new historical fiction book called “The Engineer’s Wife.” It’s about Emily Roebling who was instrumental in helping her husband Washington Roebling (and father-in-law John Roebling) build the Brooklyn Bridge, which is considered by some to be the 8th Wonder of the World. She practically taught herself to be an engineer… the bridge took 14 years to complete and opened in 1883. Great story of human perseverance. 

The next few days we recovered from our 2nd vaccine and did some chores. One little issue that cropped up was our truck alarm started to go off for no apparent reason… three times one afternoon and once in the middle of the night. It was making us VERY popular with our neighbors. Gary sleeps in the buff and we both woke up out of a sound sleep in the middle of the night to hear our truck alarm going off. Dang! I waved him out of the way so I could run out there and open the truck door and shut it off since I don’t sleep in the buff. TMI about our sleeping habits???? We started leaving the truck unlocked after that. We’ve got truck servicing scheduled in a few weeks so will have it looked at then. 

Saturday, April 10th, was Gary’s 63rd birthday! It started with him making breakfast for the two of us. We chatted via phone with family, saw 40 cattle egrets in the pond behind our tiny home, enjoyed a 3 mile walk on the beach with Stacie & Johnny, sat poolside, and had a birthday dinner over Stacie & Johnny’s with Bev & Monty, and of course, birthday cake afterwards! A fun day! 

Sunday, April 11th, we had plans with everyone to take the free ferry over to Bolivar Peninsula and Crystal Beach for the day. Gary and I were actually up early enough to see sunrise. Shocking for us. We drove over to catch the ferry with the boys in one vehicle and girls in the other. Note to self: in future DO NOT do this on the weekend! 2+ hours later we were across to the other side! Crystal Beach was packed and it was “entertaining” to see all the families at the beach and people watch. Homes on Bolivar Peninsula are on stilts and the land here is flaaaat! They also have RV’s parked on cement pads with a wooden structure to park the RV under to give sun protection and a top deck to see the gulf and open on the sides. In the event of a hurricane, the RV can be pulled away but with luck the cement pad and decking structure should remain intact. We’ve seen this in a few different locations but it’s most prevalent here. 

We had a fun lun-din at Stingaree Restaurant & Marina to celebrate Gary’s birthday. Thank you everyone! Cool to see the barges come right past the restaurant. We had another long ferry wait and eventually made it home! A fun day! 

Monday, April 12th, Linda & Andy drove down for a visit for a few days so they could meet Stacie & Johnny and Bev & Monty. We had a fun afternoon of visiting and playing cornhole. Dinner was at our place. I had two one-pot meals going… a creamy ranch chicken dish and a taco stew. Everyone could have their choice. In the evening we played “Blank Slate” for awhile and roared with laughter. In this game you’re trying to add a second word to a first word. For example “fair ____”. The goal is to have two or three matches with others because that’s how you score points. You don’t want to be the lone wolf or match everyone else. No points. It’s a fun happy hour or sitting-by-the-campfire game! 

Tuesday, the 13th, we did some more visiting… both inside and out, and had a chance to watch a Great Blue Heron out our back window eat a snake! That was unique! For dinner (not the best segue) we ordered pizza from Russo’s on the Eastern end of the island and the boys went and picked it up. My pizza was topped with arugula and drizzled with a fig chutney which nobody wanted to try, but was delicious.  We enjoyed dinner outside and called it a night when the winds started whipping and the sky got dark. Winds ended up over 33 mph based on our weather station. It was a tough night of sleeping. 

Our time with friends was drawing close to ending but we still had some amazing adventures awaiting us over these next few weeks before leaving Galveston to head north to NH.