Tours of Texas - Galveston

It’s been a rough year.  This is my first Christmas without my mom and I needed to be somewhere different where I wouldn’t be flooded with memories and my mind would be distracted.  Enter Galveston.  

It’s about a five hour drive from my house.  It’s far enough away to be considered a good road trip but not so far that the prospect of the drive is exhausting.  John booked a VRBO condo, we packed up and headed out.  

Our condo.  By the Sea.  That was the name of the condo.

Unit 609.  One bedroom, one bathroom and a kitchen fully stocked with everything but food!  I'd stay here again..

Our place was along the seawall, which is right on the beach.  I know what you’re thinking…beach?  In December?  In Texas?  Yes! We couldn’t have been luckier with the weather.  Upper 70’s to mid 80’s.

Galveston or Galvez Town, was established in 1825 by the congress of Mexico after they gained independence from Spain.  Prior to that, the island was a hideaway for none other than the pirate, Jean Lafitte.  It was the main port for the Texas Navy during the Texas Revolution of 1836 and after, served as the temporary capital for the Texas Republic.  

Then, in 1900, one if the deadliest hurricanes in history hit the island and basically wiped it out.  6000 - 12,000 people died.  There were so many deaths, that the bodies were put in boats, taken out to sea and dumped.  But then some of the bodies washed back up on the beach resulting in Plan B, which was a pyre.  More about that later.

After the long drive, we sat out on our balcony and enjoyed a cocktail.  It was very relaxing.  We had a little dinner and then a walk on the beach.

The sunset on our first day in Galveston. 

Our day started with a walk along the seawall.  The seagulls were every where and appeared to be pretty well fed.

The dividing line of history for Galveston seems to be before the hurricane or after, "the hurricane" being the one that wiped out most of the island in 1900.  Initially, the city was only 8 feet above sea level and they were constantly getting flooded.  After the hurricane, the city built the seawall.  Construction began in 1902 and was completed in 1963 and covers 10 miles.

After the walk, our first trek was out to the Strand in Historic Downtown Galveston.  This building was the original First National Bank.  It opened in 1865 and was the first bank in Texas operating under the National Bank Act of 1863.  It remained open at this location until 1955.  The building currently houses the Galveston Country Cultural Arts Center (which was closed so we couldn't go in).

We've been to this part of Galveston (the cruise terminal) several times but we'd never had time to walk around and check stuff out.  On Pier 22, there were several of these murals.

Goofing around on the pier.

Galveston has a plethora of churches!  This is St. Mary's Basilica.  Built in 1842, St. Mary's is the Mother church for the whole Texas diocese.  This church is one of the few buildings that survived the 1900 hurricane that devastated the rest of the island.  It did, however, suffer serious water damage during Hurricane Ike in 2008.  It suffered five feet of storm surge.  As a result, the church was closed for restoration until 2014.

The statue of the Our Lady, Star of the Sea at the top of the church.  The 11 foot statue of the Blessed Virgin was originally added in 1878.  It was taken down in 2019 for some much needed restoration.  The statue survived the 1900 hurricane, Hurricane Ike as well as Hurricane Harvey.  She has earned the title "the Protectress" for Galveston.

The only time I was ever in Galveston (other than to board a cruise ship) was back in the late 80's when I was in college.  I remember taking a city tour and driving by this sign.  I missed the chance to take a picture and drove all over looking for it.  I love these old signs!

Dinner at Jimmy's on the pier.  This place was pretty good.  About a mile from the condo, we could have walked but we didn't.  We sat at the bar and had dinner.  The restaurant stops where the white fence ends.  The pier that goes beyond requires that you purchase admission.  It was peppered with people fishing.

We drove down to the Pleasure Pier after dinner just to walk around.

To go past Bubba Gump's restaurant requires admission.  We didn't want to walk around that bad.  Plus, it was 7 pm and the the place was shutting down.  We drove by the next day about 11:30 and it was still closed.  I guess lunch at Bubba Gump's was not an option as it was inside the gates of the pier.

Right across the street was the famed Hotel Galvez.  I've always wanted to stay there.  It's haunted!  Seriously!  Room 501 is where a young woman hung herself because she thought her lover was lost at sea.  Now she hangs around in her room (no pun intended).

The next day we headed out to the Bishop's Palace (aka Gresham's Castle).  The house has 19,082 sf.

The house was built between 1887 and 1893 by Nicholas Clayton (who built/designed several of the buildings on the island) for Walter Gresham, his wife and nine children.  The house has 3 floors and a raised basement that was originally the kitchen.  There are over 50 rooms in the house.  This was one of the few buildings on the island that withstood the 1900 hurricane.

This is the kitchen, which was moved to the first floor, which also included a dining room, a music room, a conservatory, a parlor, a pantry and a rotunda staircase.  Check out the stove!  How would you cook anything for eleven people on that tiny little stove?

The staircase from the landing between the first and second floors.  The photos don't do it justice.  

The second floor has Mr. Gresham's room, which has a connecting doorway into Mrs. Gresham's room.  This is Mr. Gresham's room.  It has a cool little round sitting room where the Christmas tree is.  

Mrs. Gresham's room.  All the rooms had "wash basins".  In the corner of the room by the window, you can see the basin for this room.

Also on this floor, was one of the children's rooms, a bathroom (through that door in Mrs. Gresham's room) and a chapel.  All the boys' rooms were on the third floor be we couldn't go up there.

In 1923, the Catholic diocese bought the house as a residence for Bishop Christopher Byrne.

Directly across the street is the Sacred Heart Church.  The original church was built 1892 and designed by our old friend Nicholas Clayton.  The church was destroyed during the 1900 hurricane.

This current structure was built in 1903 - 1904.  The dome was damaged in 1915 hurricane but redesigned by...Nicholas Clayton!  (I'm beginning to think he was the only architect on the island.)

This is where the pier for the Balinese Room was.  This is cool.  Back in the prohibition days, this pier had a nightclub that went the length of the pier (600 feet from the seawall).  At the furthest part of the pier, there was gambling and drinking, both of which where illegal at the time.  The place was run by the Maceo Brothers (Sam and Rosario), who had their own syndicate right here in Galveston.  Every time the police raided the place, the band would play "Eyes of Texas".  By the time the cops got back to the gambling/drinking area, all evidence was gone.  In 2008, Hurricane Ike destroyed the pier as well as the buildings on it.  There was nothing left but a few stumps of wood sticking out of the water.

This was our only grilling option.  If we wanted to grill, we had to use this sad looking grill that was chained to the pole behind it.  The grill is at the edge of the parking lot.

Instead, we chose to go to Gaido's.  So this place has been in business since 1911.   John's sister, Michele, recommended that we try it.  We were blown away.

We decided to share a cup of the shrimp gumbo.  Fresh shrimp straight from the Gulf, it was amazing.

I got the shrimp and bleu cheese grits.  Holy cow!  The grits were so smooth and the bleu cheese was not overpowering.  It was just enough to give you the flavor.  There were also chunks of squash and zucchini and a sprits of balsamic vinegar.  It was excellent.

John got the redfish with the parmesan tomatoes.  That's fresh made tartar sauce on the side, which uses fresh made mayonnaise as a base!  They make all their sauces fresh daily.  Everything on the menu looked great.  We will definitely be back.

Sunrise as we head back home.  It was only a three-day getaway but it was very therapeutic.  There is a lot of history on this island and I plan to come back and check it all out!