“Galveston, oh Galveston, I still hear your sea winds blowin'”

We lived in Galveston for 6 years.  And, they were good years.  Our house was on the west-end of the island in a subdivision called Sea Isle.  At that time the neighborhood was more resort than full time living so Monday-Friday, there were few people around.  Weekends were a different story – lots of neighbors ready to relax.  

The house, located on a canal that emptied directly into the bay, offered all sorts of beautiful views .  The beach was a short walk.  There was a sea breeze more often than not.  There were sea gulls cavorting in the sky.  Pelicans made a huge comeback during that time and it wasn’t unusual to see groups of them swimming down the canal (the fisherpeople hated that).  I walked down to the beach every day and, yes, I brought something back every day - shells and driftwood and coconuts and unusual glass bottles and whatever else caught my attention.  

One day I went down to find there had been a Red Tide and a swarm (cell, pipe, or array) of eels had been washed up onto the beach.  Really kind of icky.  Once, a ship out in the gulf had lost several crates of oranges and they washed up on our beach.  Very odd, seeing oranges all along the beach.  Then, one day I was standing on the porch looking out to the bay and I saw a cow swimming along with a cowboy in hot pursuit, lasso in hand, in a boat right behind it.  Speaking of cows – one afternoon the cattle in the pasture just east of us, broke through the fence, walked across the mud flats and roamed through the neighborhood.  It was a little surprising to be sitting on the bulkhead, fishing and look up to find a very large cow peering over your shoulder.

I miss it still, every day.

Next: Storm Warning

Take care.