Galveston, Texas

Today we drove about 45 minutes from Houston to the city of Galveston, which sits on the Gulf of Mexico--it was first settled by Pirate Jean Laffite in 1817. In 1900 the entire city was destroyed by a hurricane, which claimed more than 6000 lives, & it was hit again in 2008 by hurricane Ike. Fortunately, because of the construction of a series of sea walls, the town didn't sustain as much damage as it might have! A small storm system with high winds passed through a few days ago, so the waves are still a little churned up. In the distance, you can see the fun pier, which has all kinds of rides on it! It was originally built in the 1940,s, but part of the pier was lost in the hurricaine of 2008, & later was re-built. We also toured the historical area & took a ride on one of the ducks (amphibious vehicles that can drive from land right into the water). Ate at Max's wine bar on the way home--we all had just a perfect day!