Galveston, Texas

Our first day in the Houston area was spent driving down to the Gulf where we explored Galveston Island. This was about a sixty-five mile trip each way and served as my introduction to driving the freeway system around Houston. More about that later!

You know when you are one of the Gulf beaches when you notice that all of the houses are built on stilts. Think hurricane!


Even if they don't look like they are on stilts, that is just because they are wearing skirts. Look more closely,


The narrow island has two long sides. The seaward side is the one with the homes pictured above. On the back side, a series of lagoons has been built to give people docks and water access.


We were more interested in the ocean side where the waves were rolling in nicely.


Here, Linda climbed the stairs to walk out onto the beach. They don't just let you stroll through the grass here. That sign shows you why. We didn't poke around in the holes in the sand much.


After driving up the beach and back we found ourselves near the sea wall in Galveston and stopped at Gaido's for dinner. This restaurant has been serving seafood to both tourists and locals for a hundred years.


This was one of the best dinners that we have had in years. The local fish was excellent, the gulf shrimp are outstanding and the service was superb.