Galveston and Houston/Katy, Texas

 

Galveston, oh Galveston
I still hear your sea waves crashing

The waves weren’t crashing too badly, but it was a gray and stormy morning when we drove down to the tip of the Bolivar Peninsula and caught the ferry over to Galveston—it takes a little longer than the Anderson Ferry crossing the Ohio River, and the other big difference was there were dolphins following alongside the big ferry boat the whole way. We also dodged a couple of big ocean-going ships, which wasn’t much different than the Deborah Ann negotiating around the big barges on the Ohio. But I always enjoy a nice ferry ride, especially when it’s considered part of the highway system and it’s free.

The view from the ferry heading from the
Bolivar Peninsula to Galveston Island

Galveston was an interesting place. Not exactly as I’d imagined it from the song, and from editing many Texas history books that go into detail about how the commission form of city government was created in Galveston after the devastating 1900 hurricane there. Called the Galveston Plan, it was considered a revolutionary form of city government that created a system where elected leaders each oversaw specific areas of municipal responsibility. Some cities in Texas still use the commission system today. All I know is that if you want to have a history book considered for Texas adoption, you’d darn well better include a boxed feature about the origins of the system in Galveston.

It’s not a big island, but as we drove down the main road, it sometimes looked like Key West, sometimes like New Orleans, but there were also run-down parts of town that had definitely seen better days. It’s a big port still, I believe, and it has something in common with Cincinnati—both cities were hit by the infamous Hurricane Ike in 2008.

A big house on the main road on Galveston Island

When we crossed the inlet that separates Galveston Island from the mainland of Texas, we were pretty much in the outskirts of Houston. That is one big town. We drove for quite a while, north and west, before we got to Katy, Texas, where our friends Gary and Tina live. We found their house without any trouble and fortunately did not arrive at the end of the school day, when the locals use their circle for a turnaround. I couldn’t figure out why dozens of cars were turning onto their street, which only has four houses on it. Well, it’s easier to loop around than make a left turn in the huge housing development of Cinco Ranch in Katy.

When we got there, Mike and Gary were figuring out how to back our camper up into a space alongside their garage—through a fairly narrow gate. Then the mail lady pulled up, determined to park right where Mike was lining things up to back in. There was a Mexican standoff for a few minutes until the mail lady gave up and parked a bit away from the mailbox tree. Then Mike wove that camper through the fence like he’d been doing it for years, not months. (Although Gary’s neighbor Rusty did come over and offer to do it if we wanted; he said he’d driven a trailer for years.) I can't believe I didn't take a picture of the Scamp wedged in alongside the garage, but I didn't. You'll just have to take my word for it, it was a primo parking job.

After the trailer was parked, we went in to reintroduce ourselves to the dogs, Bella and Kassie, and later Gary got his pellet-fueled grill going and made us a real Texas BBQ of steak and chicken. Tina made brussel sprouts that were also delicious, and Mike went out to get the fudge stripe cookies from the neatly parked camper for the meal’s finale. Perhaps the best part of the dinner was that we ate outside on their patio. In mid-December. I won't forget that, nor the dinner, which was all delicious! After that, we watched Monday Night Football, and somehow or another the Bengals held on to beat the Dallas Cowboys in the waning moments of the game, much to our surprise but delight.

The next day, Mike straightened up the van a lot and determined that we were never going to use the rug I bought. Everybody with an RV has a rug they put out in front, as far as I had seen, but he was right—we had never, ever used it. So we found a nearby donation center and gave it to a thrift store, so somebody will get the use of it, and we have some clear space in the middle of the van now.

Later we had dinner at a “real” Mexican restaurant that another friend had suggested, Tonita's Grill, and it was indeed delicious. My tacos had pineapple in them, which was tasty; we also had a great appetizer platter with Mexican elote (corn), mushroom masa, and flautos with queso, I forget what all else, but everything tasted grand.

The appetizers at Tonita's Mexican Grill in Katy