Galveston, Oh Galveston

I have had a habit in past blogs to use the titles of songs for some posts but stopped doing this for reasons of causing boredom and nausea to anybody reading my output.  However, following a visit yesterday to Galveston, I was left with no option but to use the title from a very famous Glen Campbell song released in 1969 and considered to be one of the best country music tracks ever released.  It is particularly relevant in this case because the song is the official anthem of both the City and Island of Galveston.

The forecast wasn't great yesterday - more on the weather in another post - so we decided to head 60 miles South in the hope that we might avoid the worst of what was to come.  It proved a fortuitous move.

Galveston's major growth came in the 19th century when it became one of the largest ports in the United States.  Unfortunately, in 1900, it received a direct hit from the deadliest hurricane ever to hit this nation which caused the deaths of up to 8000 residents.  It proved a major blow from which the area took a long time to recover.

Today it has become a popular tourist destination accounting for over 5 million visitors per annum, many of whom take advantage of the island's location as a centre for Carribean cruises.  Its maritime history has enabled it to retain deep water facilities and the largest cruise ships in the world are able to dock here.

When we were there yesterday, it looked particularly unappealing as a holiday destination!  The skies were grey and stormy and the sea instead of cobalt blue looked more like the type you get in Scarborough on a cold Winter's day.

There is a historic centre to visit within the city, some of the attached photos are of this area, but we didn't find it particularly inspiring.  More so when we couldn't even find a cafe to grab our morning fix of caffeine and cake!

The most fascinating thing that we came across and paid the entrance fee to tour, was the Bishop's Palace.  It's a truly magnificent building both internally and externally although we continue to find it amusing that a building completed in the very late 1800s can have such historic value here?  Sarah's first home in Skipton was older than this but after we had completed its renovation, we never once considered opening it to the public!  Perhaps we missed a trick?

Sunshine would perhaps have improved our impressions of Galveston but that was in short supply yesterday and as we drove back up towards Houston, the skies started to darken ominously!

If you want to know more about what occurred later that day and during the night, you will have to read the next post.