Spring Break Adventures III: Galveston

I had totally planned to stay home on Friday, the last real day of Spring Break, and clean house.  I had laundry to do, dishes to wash, and cheese cracker residue to scrape off of every non-permeable surface in the house.

This did not get done.  Princess announced after breakfast that she wanted to go to the beach, so Sven prepared to take Princess to Galveston for the afternoon.  Sven Jr., seeing them leave, began to cry.  Sven sighed dramatically and put shoes and socks on his son.  In other words, Sven was preparing to take both children out of the house for several hours, leaving me there alone.

Like a complete and utter fool, this prospect filled me with dread.  I wanted to be there if Sven Jr. got to walk on the beach for the first time.  I wanted to know if Princess said or did something adorably precocious.  So, instead of taking advantage of the solitude and cleaning the house or napping, I said, "Wait for me!" and joined them in the car.

It was totally worth it.  Galveston still shows a lot of damage from Hurricane Ike, but it's coming back.  Here's a picture of Princess and Sven on The Strand, the historic district next to the pier on the bay side of the island:

The mark above Sven's head is the water mark from Ike's storm surge.  Sven is about 6' tall, so you can imagine how much damage there is to repair.

The good news for me: Galveston Bookshop, my favorite used book store, located on 23rd Street right off The Strand, is fully re-stocked and looking great.  GB had 7' of water in the store, completely wiping out the first floor, but they now have brand new shelves, a beautiful new tile floor, and replenished stock.  Anyone who reads my blog who goes to Galveston needs to check out this excellent book store.  (If you click on the link I provided, you can see pictures of the new look as well as right after the storm.  Very impressive.)

The better news for me: I got to see Sven Jr.'s first time on the beach, as he played in the sand with his sister:

I guess it's okay that the house is a mess.  I think I made the right call.

Adieu, Notre Petite Maison

Something that 2008 will always be, in my mind, is the year of Ike.  Hurricane Ike hit us during the second week of September, and the effects still linger.  Sven and I were lucky- no real damage to the house, no long-term loss of power- but the communities and landmarks so dear to us were not so lucky.

On Monday, we decided to drive down to Crystal Beach and see for ourselves what became of Sven's childhood vacation home.  This house was a huge part of his life, and remained so after we met and married.  It was our first home together.  Sven's mother sold it in 2002, but we miss it.  Here it is now:

Even though it wasn't ours anymore when the storm hit, it was still a hard thing to see.  Most of Bolivar Peninsula still has no power; when we went to board the ferry to cross to Galveston the landing was lit by portable lights and generators.  There wasn't a functioning gas station, restaurant, or supermarket that we saw.

Please keep the people of the Bolivar Peninsula, Galveston, Smith Point, High Island, and other communities hit hard by the storm in your thoughts.  I promise more humor and fun in tomorrow's post.