Our first stop in the 2nd largest state was in Galveston....an island some 40 miles south and east of Houston. Good friends Lainie and Larry used to live in Galveston, so we toured the beach and the Strand area of the city with them in mind.
Galveston seems to have come back fully from the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Ike (2008), which hit the island with the full force of its Category 4 status. Ike was the third costliest hurricane to hit the US mainland and the most costly to ever hit the State of Texas.
Galveston has miles and miles of unspoiled beaches. Here is Ali getting her feet wet at one of them....
The downtown of Galveston is known as the Strand....and it has much in the way of 19th century Texas history and offers up one after another of gorgeous architecture from the period. Here are a few examples.....
These are just a few of the mid 1800's Victorian buildings on the Strand, much of which used native stone such as Texas Red Sandstone. The Strand is just a gorgeous place to stroll and a nice place to stop and enjoy an ice cream on the sidewalk.
We didn't have a lot of time in Galveston....but we did get a real flavor for the place renowned by the Glenn Campbell song in the blog title. It must be noted that the drive from Houston to Galveston is pretty much on the "ugly side" with one very large oil refinery after another after another. But once you get there it is like another country....worth a visit.
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