Ready Or Not, Galveston, Here We Come...

Remember our friends who lived in Galveston and suffered great loss as a result of Hurricane Ike last year? Well, they have had numerous meetings with countless insurance and government agencies and now the time has come to begin removal of their furniture and belongings from their two houses. The state is scheduled to tear them down after the first of the year so we're going down with them to help make this painful process a little easier to bear.



They have both run the gamut of emotions but after more than a year, they have finally come to accept the fate of their two dream homes. After the initial damage/loss of nearly $1,000,000.00 (for both houses together), they are no longer waiting for an answer. I believe they said they were being reimbursed for about $350,000.00 of the $1,000,000.00 price tag for both houses, which they are still having to pay the bank for, adding insult to injury. Yes, Mother Nature can be a real bitch when she feels like it. My heart truly breaks for them because this was their dream, to retire on the beach in Galveston.



So, we're going down next week to meet with them and our other best friends, to begin the packing process on the second house. Their family helped clear out the first house (their rental property). I think I'm going to need a lot of good humor and funny jokes (and vodka therapy).



Of course, I'm sure that my whole *cartwheel incident* will be a major source of entertainment for everyone, at my expense. However, when you do stupid things while drinking, you pretty much deserve whatever you get. I can live with that. I suppose. Still, it isn't going to be a fun trip by any means, although I know that we, as their friends, need to stay up and positive for them.



Galveston still hasn't fully recovered from the horrible devastation Hurricane Ike left behind. Fortunately, there are many strong people left in Galveston as you will see in this video. Galveston has has pulled together as a people and they are still struggling to get back to the beautiful beach town they once were. But, they still have a very long way to go.



Many of our favorite restaurants and places to shop are gone for good, although I hear that quite a few new ones have opened in the last six months. It will still never be quite the same.



Will our friends return to West Galveston? I honestly don't know, but they do love the ocean and all of their family is in Texas. Time will tell.



It's going to be rough two days for all of us, but even worse for our friends who had once retired there....



When I see pictures like these two it just makes me sick to my stomach...




I'm so excited about having only one more post to go for NaBloPoMo!