Galveston - The Redux

In December of 2021, we came to Galveston for a quick change of scenery.  As we left, I did my best Schwarzenegger impression and said, "I'll be back!".  

And, here we are.  This time, we're not on vacation.  We've decided to work remotely this week.  We're lucky that both of us can do our jobs anywhere.  So, 9 - 5 we're on the job but after that we can take advantage of being in this beautiful historic city.

This is our favorite part of coming here...the view from the balcony.  Our condo is directly across the street from the ocean.  The drive down was fairly easy.  There was a little rain but not bad.  We skipped lunch in favor of having an early dinner in Galveston.

We did a quick google search and found this place.  The Original Mexican Cafe.  They opened in 1916 and claim to be the longest continuously operating restaurant in Galveston at it's original location.  It's located on the Strand (which I originally thought was the seawall but it's not.  The Strand is downtown by the cruise terminal).

I don't know about their claim to fame but I do know it was good!  I got guisada, which is like a Mexican beef stew.  These refried beans were amazing.  John got cheese enchiladas.  The cool thing about staying at a condo is that I can bring my leftovers home to have for lunch the next day...which is what I did!

Our evening happy hour out on the balcony.

Sunday, we went to breakfast at this place, Miller's Seawall Grill.  The wait was an hour!  But, it was good.  

Later we went walking around the Strand. I saw this mural and thought it was funny.  Apparently, these are dairy cows and this building, at 24th and Winnie, used to be the Galveston Model Dairy Co.  Built in 1915, the building housed the Model Dairy.  Using milk from 31 dairies around the Galveston area, they supplied milk to the Galveston School district as well as to private customers.  In addition to the 5000 gallons of milk per day, they also produced cheese and ice cream.  They sold products until about 1980.  In 2002, the company dissolved.  The artist, George Graham, said he wanted to remind people that this used to be a dairy, which is cool.  Without his mural, I'd never have known.

This is the Lyceum of Galveston.  Currently, it's a wedding venue.  Built in 1845, this structure was built as a meeting hall of sorts.  It's one of the few structures that survived the hurricane of 1900.

Monday, we got up early and went for a walk along the seawall and watch the sunrise.  That's right, I said sunRISE.  That's a rarity for me but it was worth it.  It was a brisk morning and the sunrise was gorgeous.

We took two or three walks a day along the seawall.  This was our second walk on Monday.  It was cold by that time.

61st Street Fishing Pier.  For $12, you can go on and off the pier as you like.  I would assume that you can get into the bar without paying.  The ramp to the pier looked like one big gust of wind would take you over.  We kept walking.

The seawall at sunset.

Tuesday we got hit with a storm.  We knew it was coming but it was still scary and yet cool to be caught up in it.  Before the storm hit, the waves out in the ocean were very choppy.  In the condo, you could hear the wind howling and it was loud.  In fact, it was so loud we had to put towels around the door to keep the noise down.

I was listening to a call when I felt the building rumble a little.  Then I heard a loud noise.  I ran out to the balcony to see what was up and it was storming.  You can barely see out the window.  The trees were being tossed around by the wind.  The thunder and lightning was incredible.  John said he saw a lightning strike hit the water.  Then after about an hour, it was calm.  When we went out for dinner later that night, it was soggy with a lot less traffic than the night before.  I guess everyone stayed home.  

Wednesday night for dinner we went back to Gaido's.  We really like that place.  The atmosphere is great, very old-timey.  Even the drink glasses are reminiscent of another time.  These drink glasses contain a cosmopolitan and a vodka martini.

We got a lovely table by the window.  That blue that you see is the night sky and the ocean.  Too bad that car was parked right there!

The specials that night were really good.  I had a pecan crusted snapper with lump crab and beurre blanc sauce.  John got some kind of mahi-mahi that came with baked parmesan tomatoes.  It was really tasty.  And there were leftovers!

This photo is on the wall at Gaido's.  If you look closely, you can see the Gaido's sign next to Murdoch's (to the left).  The original location of the restaurant was on the pier next to the bath house.  The Great Storm destroyed the pier.  Murdoch's rebuilt on the pier.  Gaido's chose to build on solid ground.

On one of our walks along the seawall we found this plaque.  It commemorates where the original orphanage was.  I thought it was odd that any kind of building would be right on the beach but I found an old photo of it on the internet.

The orphanage was created to care for the children that were orphaned due to the yellow fever epidemics that had swept through Galveston and it was not the only one.  On September 8, 1900, the hurricane hit Galveston.  The Sisters tried to calm the children by having them sing as they went up to the second floor as the water continued to rise.  The Sisters cut up clothesline so that they could tether themselves to the children.  By 7:30pm, the big tidal surge came ashore.  The buildings were lifted from their foundations and they collapsed.  There were only three children that survived.

On Friday, I had some time so I took the truck and I drove around the city.  I love old churches and historic buildings.  Here's what I found:  This is St. Augustine's Episcopal Church.  Established in 1884, it's the oldest African American Episcopal Church in the diocese.  This church moved to this location in 1940.

This is St. Patrick's Catholic Church.  The Great Storm had demolished the church.  The bell tower had collapsed, killing 200 people that had taken refuge there.  The church was rebuilt in 1902.  Shortly after that, they had to raise the church up by five feet.  Doing so saved the church during Hurricane Ike in 2008.

As I was driving around, I saw this house.  It's called "Trube Castle".  It was built in 1890 by John Clement Trube, an immigrant from Denmark.  The family still occupies the house.  This house withstood the 1900 hurricane.

This is Ashton Villa, built in 1865 by James Brown.  It's the first all brick home built in Texas.  During the Civil War, this house was used as the headquarters for both the Confederate and Union armies.  It is also one of the very few homes to survive the 1900 hurricane.  Apparently, the owners, opened the front and back door to allow the flood water to flow through the house.  This prevented it from being pushed by the flood waters.  Today, you can rent out the first floor but the rest of the house is closed to visitors.

This is the Texas Heroes Monument. It's at the intersection of Broadway and Rosenberg.  The monument is to the heroes of the Texas revolution of 1836 (against Mexico).  It was funded by Henry Rosenberg.  His name is all over this city.  He was a great philanthropist and when he died, he left a huge chunk of his estate for things like this.  We'll see him again...

This is one of my favorite churches.  I have yet to go inside.  Every time I go, it's closed.  Of course I haven't gone at mass time....This is St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica.  There are six catholic churches in Galveston, which I find to be quite a lot.  They are all part of the Holy Family diocese.  

The statue that you see at the top, is of Mary.  A couple of years ago, they took her down to "clean her up" and found the statue infested with termites and in bad condition.  The statue was fixed, repainted and put back along with a lightning rod.

This house is called "Open Gates" and was owned by George Sealy.  He built the mansion for his wife, Magnolia and was completed in 1889.  The house survived the Great Storm and the occupants of the house were able to save quite a few people by pulling them into the house as they floated by.  In 1979, the house was donated to the University of Texas Medical Branch of Texas.  Now it's used for conferences and stuff.  Sadly, no tours.

This is the Bryan Museum.  I didn't go in but I will next time.  This building was originally the Galveston Orphan's Home.  It was founded in 1878 by George Dealy (of Dealy Plaza fame)  and moved to this location in 1880.  The building of this structure was funded by Henry Rosenberg (remember him?).  When he died, this was another of the bequests in his will.  The home was destroyed by the Great Storm and was rebuilt in 1902.  It's now a museum.

This beautiful house is called the Letitia Rosenberg Women's Home.  It was built by...guess who?  Henry Rosenberg!  Well, it was funded by him for his wife Letitia as a home for elderly women.  It's pretty fancy too.  I saw an ad that was listing it for sale at $2.2M.  There are three large bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms that include sitting rooms.  Kind of like a small apartment.  I wonder who lived here.  It was used as a women's home until 1970.

This was one of my favorite things we did this time.  The Star Drug store has a soda fountain/lunch counter and is only open from 8 -2.  You can get breakfast and lunch there as well as treats.  Last time were were here, we didn't get to go in.  This time we did.  On Friday, it was a slow day so we went in for lunch.  I was super excited that we could sit at the lunch counter.

I remember my mom telling me when she was little, she and her mom would go to Woolworth's and get a hamburger at a lunch counter similar to this.  I wish this could have been one of our adventure trips.  

I'm glad that John and I were able to come here.  It was a very cool experience for me.  I got half a bacon, avocado and turkey sandwich with a Cesar salad.  John got a grilled ham and cheese with a Cesar salad.  The girl that waited on us reminded us of Bailey.  I wanted to get an ice cream treat but my jeans were so tight...but I'll be back.  Next time I'll skip lunch and go straight for the treats.

Friday afternoon, we went driving around.  This is Jimmy's on the Pier.  On Tuesday when the storm hit, this place was closed.  On the website it says it was closed for "inclement" weather.  This was our dinner spot.

When I was in college, I went out with this guy who used to work at a restaurant in Austin called Maceo's.  I had no idea what that name meant.  On this vacant lot used to be a motel called the Hilltop Motel.  It was owned by the Maceo family.  They let us stay there for free.  That was my very first trip to Galveston.  I read where the hotel burned down in the '90's.

Last night in Galveston at Jimmy's on the Pier.

One last sunrise walk and then we're headed home.  Goodbye, Galveston.  You haven't seen the last of us!