Farewell To 'Verano de Sol' And 'Casa de Sol'... It Was Fun While It Lasted... As Was This Blog

The first night (after packing boxes all day), we ate dinner at a lovely little place called Mario's Ristorante, just off Seawall Dr. and it was perfect. We ordered like everything on the menu and came close to eating it all too. They sort of secluded us (rather like the bunch of black sheep that we are when we get together) and our waitress gave us her full attention, for which she was handsomely rewarded at the grand finale of our dinner.




Honestly, we were all so exhausted, I didn't even remember the Cardinal Rule Of Blogging... Take lots of pictures. In summation, we were a total party unto ourselves which is our usual Modus Operandi. If you can't stare adversity in the face and laugh, then what the Hell is the point of life? To be weepy and miserable? I think not.




I can tell you this one thing... It isn't the *getting from point A to point B*, or who gets there first. It's what happens in between those two points and how you get there that really matters. Who in their right mind doesn't want to be proud of the way they make their journey? If you can't roll with the punches, then it's probably not going to be a whole lot of fun on your travels.





And, if you don't have good friends, then you're missing out on one of the great parts about living life to its fullest. Family has to love you (well, in most circumstances). Friends love you because they want to.... And, people with friends know how to cultivate friends.




Obviously, I am delusional about my picture taking abilities, because I didn't get very many decent shots. Most of the time we were feverishly packing and trying to make sure that nothing going into storage would break, making sure to mark on each box what was inside so that if and when they do get another place, they won't have to rip through all the boxes trying to find just one thing.

By the end of packing everything up, we were all getting tired and cranky, but there will still 4 mover guys coming to load everything into the 26 foot U-Haul truck and the guys still had to get the furniture off the 2nd floor deck. The. Heavy. Stuff. However, I was quite impressed with the solution they came up with. You know. As long as I didn't have to climb that ladder all the way up there. I would surely have gotten dizzy and fallen off before ever arriving at the top, where the deck was.



So, I watched and took a few pictures. What they ended up doing was tying heavy ropes onto the furniture and lowering it, kind of guided (sliding down) by the ladder. The wind was blowing like Mach 10 miles per hour and it was freezing cold. You know, it actually made sense that it should be dull and dreary weather as everyone said good-bye to the house we all loved so much.



Then, because we're all so bad and have such odd sense of humors, we stood at the bottom, shaking the ladder as the others came down. Whenever they would freak out, we would laugh and say we were teasing... then we'd do it again as they started down again. Yeah. We were grasping at whatever humor we could find.



When it was all said and done, we watched the movers leave, then our other friends who came to help left, and then the former owner of the house as he drove the U-Haul away. They were all leaving to drive back, but our plane wasn't scheduled to leave until the next day.



So, Mr. Snoots and I went to dinner at Landry's and it was perfectly delicious. I'm sure that our trip home was much less arduous than the others because we flew home and drank Bloody Marys all the way....

Then as we were heading back to the hotel we saw this middle aged man walking back from surfing in 35 degree weather. He was carrying his flippers in one hand, his surfboard tucked under his other arm, and he was barefoot. There is just no accounting for some people.



Did I mention that we're exhausted?  However, I don't have time to recover. I still have the outside decorations to put up and the kids will be home for Christmas next week.... Yikes!


Now, due to inactivity and disinterest in my blog posts, I am heretofore going on hiatus for the holidays. Apparently, no one wants to hear my ramblings, so I'm out of here. I've got much better things to do with my time than leave a couple of dozen comments, only to receive a few in return. Now, my attention will be turned on my internet business, my family, close friends (In Real Life) and getting ready for Christmas. Have a wonderful holiday season everyone! I hope all your Christmas wishes come true!

I'm thinking about giving up the regular blog after the first of the year (that would be this one). When I begin to feel like I'm talking to myself, or feel as if I HAVE TO leave a comment on someone's post, then I believe it's time to call it quits. I thought I could possibly go somewhere with this blog but apparently I was delusional, so it's time to get back to Real Life. I've made many wonderful new friends through blogging, but it seems I'm boring them as well, so it's time to move on to bigger & better things....

Off To Galveston We Go...

As it turns out, there is no electricity (STILL, more than a year after Hurricane Ike) in our friends' sub-division on West Galveston Island, which means that we won't be able to raise the window storm shutters for light. We're going to work by candlelight and flashlight. There is also still no plumbing, so you know what that means. Sounds like a fun time, doesn't it? There will also be no place to use the restroom. WHAT? We're all staying at the same motel, which is the closest one to their beach house. That would be 15 minutes travel time to the nearest restroom. So, I guess we won't be having Bloody Marys.




There are still no roads and there are nothing but gigantic chunks of what used to be their street (concrete and blacktop). Therefore, we are spending the extra moola to rent an SUV (which is a completely outrageous cost per day in Houston), from the airport. That way, we can hopefully pull right up to the house. We would ONLY do this for our best friends.Trust me.



Our other friends are driving their Suburban down, so last night we got together and devised a plan for a *make shift* port-a-potty. They have one they use for camping as well as a canvas screen they put up around it for privacy. God forbid anyone should see my baggy old arse. Thank. The. Lord. I do just love our friends, quirky and eccentric though they may be. They know how go almost anywhere in style. Necessity IS the Mother Of Invention.



Honestly, this is not going to be any fun and none of us are taking anything nice to wear. It's going to be nothing but a working weekend, where we fly there, get the job done, and fly home. I'm missing two Christmas Tea(s) parties and we get back home a mere 3 hours before THE Christmas party of the year, which I refuse to miss. Period. Whether or not I feel like going is entirely another story. Houston and Galveston are always so hot and humid that I usually arrive home feeling *sticky-icky*, so we'll have to wait and see. I haven't even bought a new outfit to wear to the party, but I'm sure no one ever really notices what I wear anyway, so I'm good with wearing an old outfit. If anyone does notice, and says something, I'll just thank them for pointing it out.



To tell you the truth, our friends have handled this whole tragic mess far better than I ever could have. I'd still be a blubbering mess anytime someone brings it up. What am I saying? I'm that way now and it isn't even our house...




So, today we had the winds from Hell... gusting up to 65 MPH, wreaking havoc all over town. Another huge limb was snapped off our Texas Laurel tree, which is right by the kitchen. I was standing there preparing dinner, at the kitchen windows, when it happened and it totally freaked me out. Thank Heaven we have screens on those windows because when the limb snapped, it fell to the windows and basically bounced off the screens then hit the ground. Whew! Disaster averted. I checked, and those are the only screens we have on the entire house. I'm dead serious.








Also, they were re-roofing the house across the street today and I was just sure that one of those guys was going to get blown of the roof. However, I think they must wear boots with weights in them. I never saw an ambulance. :-)

We aren't even taking our laptop, so I'll read you when I get back home....

The Proof Is In The Pictures...

Remember my cartwheel incident on the beach in Galveston? Well, oddly enough, my Galveston girlfriend did get some pictures of my folly. I'm sure I should be embarrassed by them, but at my age it's just hard to be embarrassed about anything. I came, I fell, and I was conquered. Conquered by my aging body and brain, simultaneously.

So, I present you with The Cartwheel Incident, in a sequence of pictures:

On another, sadder note, our Galveston friends sent us an email telling us about some video footage that had been shot by a neighbor of their's. It is quite shocking and it looks as if our friends might eventually lose both of their houses. The saddest part of all this is that they still have to pay off the bank for both houses. Texas is one of the few states that has laws against re-building after hurricanes and tropical storms when the amount of beach left is an issue.

While insurance covers repairs, it doesn't cover houses deemed to be destoyed by the state. If the state decides your house needs to go, then you still have to pay it off with the lender anyway. So, in other words, you pay out the wazzoo for nothing. A few good years on the beach, then a hurricane and it's all gone. Something that no longer exists but keeps on taking from you until it's paid off. Beach houses on West Galveston mostly sold for around $350,000.00 up to the millions. You would have been hard pressed to find a beach house under $350,000.00 before Hurricane Ike made landfall. I'm pretty certain you could get a bargain these days.

Here is some video footage of our friends' neighborhood. One of their neighbors was able to take video of their street. Their new house is the one standing out in the water. Their first house is the one leaning to, at the edge of the water:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtVyxdtbmf4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn7sy3IZKWc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJYl3Caznkk

Reality Bites.... The Portrait of A City In The Aftermath of A Hurricane

The news out of Galveston continues to get worse. Our friends who were living there also still have their home here in West Texas, so of course, they are not homeless. However, they own two beach houses right on the beach and they will not know for a while about the fate of those two houses. Several years ago, the pair decided they would retire down in Galveston. Retirement not being as fun as they thought, forced them to decide they would also keep their home here in our town. As it turns out, that was a wise decision. So, they are here, safe and sound.

However, Galveston is actually a very poor town, on the whole. I'd venture to say that most towns who depend on tourism, are poor, when all of the bright lights of *The Season* go out. Aspen was like that in many ways. The people who really live there, not just those passing through, are just hard working folks who are not wealthy. Galveston is like that as well. There are many small towns and cities located down by the Gulf Coast that are poor towns, which is why it makes this damage done by *IKE*, worse than it would be elsewhere.

I'm not talking about the people who own the beach houses. I'm talking about the people who build them, clean them, rent them out, and protect them. I'm talking about all of the people who work in the hundreds of restaurants and hotels, the grocery stores, the souvenir shops, etc. These people aren't wealthy and were probably just able to make ends meet before the hurricane. Now, they have lost their homes and their jobs and most of their belongings, with no hope of help on the horizon. How depressing is that?

Our friends have a beautiful home here and had furnished both beach houses with excess items from home, buying other things at places around Houston and Galveston. So, they will not lose anything too valuable if the state decides to take down their beach houses. The state has laws about homes being built too close to the water. So, with each tropical storm and each hurricane, they have seen many houses go by the wayside, that weren't destroyed in the storm, just too close to the beach after the storm. Even the burms were wiped out along with all other vegetation. It's all covered in sand now.

It's not going to be any fun getting there, either. Here's a video of what it's already like with prople trying to get back into Galveston:

http://www.khou.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=283337

You see, every time there is a hurricane or a tropical storm, it takes sand away from the beaches. So, you have to realize that our coastline is receding with every single storm and this is not a good thing. Not. At. All.

Yesterday I donated money to the American Red Cross, because they're going to need all the help they can get. This is going to be a long, nasty process, I'm afraid.

If you want to make a donation, you can go here:

http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ggl_main&s_subsrc=DonateToRedCross&s_src=F7FWE001&gclid=CPielpuA45UCFQSwFQodq26GgA

GALVESTON, OH GALVESTON....

All week the old song of the same name has been constantly going through my head as I worried for Galveston and everyone else effected by Hurricane Ike. As I watched the horrendous video footage, I could only fear for the worst, although I prayed for the best. West Galveston Island was really hit hard and it will be a long time before anyone can even get back there from the Galveston side. A stretch of the four lane highway just after it turns from being Seawall Drive, into The 3005 (or the San Luis Pass Rd.), completely collapsed after the ground underneath had been washed out. The road is completely gone. You can go to the following URL to see the video from KHOU TV in Houston:

http://www.khou.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=282684

So, our Galveston friends called this evening to say that they watched this same video and were able to see both of their houses are still standing. But, you can't even see where the paved streets used to be in any of the private subdivisions, and many houses (mostly older ones) are simply no longer there. They lost an amazing amount of beach from one end of the island to the other. The debris everywhere is incredible, as if you're looking at a miniature set of Galveston. And, who knows what will be left by the time residents are allowed back in to Galveston?

The highway could take months and months to repair and the only other way back to Galveston is to continue west for 55 miles take the first right, go another 30 miles, take another right and go back east for another 55 miles to reach I-45. I haven't heard if that stretch of road survived or not. Sounds like it's going to be a major pain at any rate.

Half of the restaurants on Seawall Blvd. are either completely annihilated or just no longer there. This is really hard for me to wrap my brain around, especially since we were just there in July. I can't imagine how much worse it would have been if they hadn't hustled everyone out of Dodge ahead of time. The seawall did exactly what it was designed and built to do, but the wall only goes so far and it doesn't extend to West Galveston. This is why the private beach houses were hit so hard. The ocean is a powerful force, especially when paired up with Mother Nature.

As far as I could tell, our favorite Biker Bar "Woody's" is gone which caused me a moment of reflection. Of course, they will be back. Eventually. I hope.

We told our friends that if and when the time comes to begin cleanup, we will head down there with our shirt sleeves rolled up and do what needs to get done. I'm not even talking about repair work. I'm merely talking about helping them sift through their things at both houses so repair work can begin. Who knows when we'll be going down there to help? Then, we figured we can volunteer ourselves to neighbors. There is so much that is going to have to be done, it just seems overwhelming, but we figured the more people there are to help, the faster everyone can get their dreams back up and running again.

I also want to give a BIG shout out to all of the brave Galveston rescuers and those who stood vigil through the storm. I would have never been able to do that. And, thank you to everyone for all your prayers. Galveston may be down for a time, but its going to be back. Eventually.

Hurricane Ike Predicted To Hit Galveston Head On...

It appears our Galveston friends have chosen the perfect time to come back home. Ike has been gathering strength and already left some damage in his path. I was looking at the Weather Channel this morning and the footage they showed of the Sea Wall was very scary. They also showed beach houses with the ground floor already flooding. That means our friends' new house (ground floor) is most likely flooded. Luckily, the ground floor is just the lower patio, garage, and elevator. No one at the beach actually has living quarters on the ground floor. Everything is on stilts.

They still own the first house as well, but I doubt that it has flooded yet either, because it's one block farther away from the beach & somewhat higher. However, they are predicting that Ike will reach Category 3 status by the time it makes landfall. At this point, no one really knows what the outcome will be. Mandatory evacuations have been issued for Galveston, so they are apparently expecting the worst.

This just breaks my heart. Our friends have worked so hard on their new home and it is so beautiful. Of course they have insurance, but that cannot begin to pay for all the love and time they have put into this place. Still, they knew the risks of buying beachfront property and they are good with it. They must have some great insurance.

I'm also thinking about our Louisiana friends, as they live in Mandeville.

So, I'm asking for prayers for Galveston and the entire Gulf Coast. It looks as if they are going to need them.

Last Installment of Galveston & Good Friends...

I miss the beach and our friends already, but they will be back in West Texas for 3 weeks very soon. Still, I miss our Louisiana friends too. SO... Now where was I? Oh, yes.

After another Heavenly good night of sleep our hosts fed us another delicious breakfast and it was all too soon time to go. Sadly, as I've always said... "Fish And House Guests Stink After Three Days". We were definitely beginning to get a tad smelly, in my opinion. Besides, we had plane reservations that couldn't be changed, so that deal was sealed.

However, Dear Readers, I'm not letting you off that easily. I must first make another soul cleansing confession about my oh-so-mature behavior on the beach the previous day. The little girl who had built the sandcastle was doing cartwheels on the soft part of the sand and it really took me back to when I was a kid and could do terrific cartwheels. Can you see where this is going?

Apparently I had just the right amount of cocktails in me to think I could accomplish this act without damage. Frankly, it probably wasn't even enough to account for a cheap bottle of wine. It wouldn't even make a Mastercard commercial. How badly can you get hurt on the soft part of the beach? If I fell, it would be on the oh-so-soft sand, right? Which shouldn't hurt, right? I probably would have been perfectly fine if I had just stuck with the first cartwheel, but I had to go and push it to the edge and go for cartwheel #2. Big Mistake. Huge. And, I'm afraid our hostess may have gotten scary film footage of this brazen act of Stoopidity ummm Pure Genius ummmm... Total Immaturity. I haven't been 10 years old for quite some time. Or. So. I. Thought.

I had the great joy of discovering (the hard way) that cartwheels have, alas, gone the way of making hula-hoops work & trying to dress Barbie dolls. Please. Somewhere deep down inside I'm sure that I already knew this. So, do women have groins? (It just sounds like something I would so not have.) That can hurt when a limb is nearly ripped out of its weak socket by the sheer force of gravity? For several days afterward? If so, then I think I have a groin injury or whatever it's called when women have it. No, I didn't take anatomy 101. Or if I did, I wasn't paying attention. Now, I will do no more whining about another self-inflicted wound. Enough. Said.

In closing, I shall leave you with some random pictures from the trip. Shrimp boats are always fun to watch, as the seagulls flank them in search of fish gut goodies. We didn't get to go to Woody's (The Biker Bar) this trip because being a holiday it would have been insane for anyone over the age of 40 to try & get in. We might have been attacked. However, I was sharp enough to pull the car over on the way to the airport and snap a quick click. This is as good as I've ever seen it look and I've only seen it at night inside.

As always, we had a fun, fun time and yet still very different from previous years. They have worked hard at making every year a great new experience for us and I truly appreciate that. It's almost like going somewhere different every year. So Dear Galveston Friends: I'd like to raise a glass to you both for all of the amazing experiences you've made for us. It's just too special for words and you all are too. We've never felt more comfortable than when we're with you two and our Cajun buddies.

Oh and just when I thought my travels were done for a while, I realized I'm off to see my San Antonio friends next week.

Galveston & Good Friends... Day 3

I have a confession to make. Mr. Snooty has informed me that I've gotten my Galveston days screwed up somehow. Go figure. Rather than try and straighten the entire mess out, I'd rather go on with the story. Just know that we did all of these things... just not necessarily in this particular order. Whatever. So Sue Me.

The third day was Saturday and we awakened to a glorious morning with blue skies and everyone was feeling rested. Our host fixed some kind of delicious Mexican quiche or fritatta, which he served with his own pico and crispy bacon strips, with juice & coffee. It was excellent and I doubt that there was even a morsel left of that. The guys went down to the beach and once again set up the canopy, folding chairs and horseshoes. We busied ourselves making drinks, filling the cooler and preparing to head back down the trail between the burm, to the beach, loaded with books, cameras and what have you.

I walked along the beach picking up shells, watching dogs frolick at the edge of the water, people flying kites (some on huge skateboard things), while the others were swimming in the surf. No Thanks. I've seen what washes up on the shore... I've stepped on crabs that pinch and felt the salt water sting my eyes & skin. Again, No Thanks.

So, this brings me to my next subject. My camera. I casually asked our Louisiana hubby friend if he could figure out what happened when I dropped it and he said maybe, then began to look at the camera. Now get this. He turned it every direction, determined that it got jammed on the zoom lense, adjusted it with his fingers and it suddenly whirred back into place. The guy is a freaking genius. In my diary anyway. Suddenly, I felt so silly for having gotten so upset. (Although I must say no one else had any idea of what I was going through because I thought I'd have no pictures for my blog. Is that sick or what?)

The family staying next door to our friends house had an adorably shy little girl who made the most lovely sand castle that included a moat and landscaping. Of course, I had to take pictures, but she wanted no part of it although you can just barely see her chubby little legs up in the corner. She worked so intently on this masterpiece that she caught my attention and I watched her for quite some time.

The hostess and I then took turns taking a group picture with my underwater camera and they came out rather well. Their house is the gray one behond the canopy on the right.

We spent the day at the beach, breaking for lunch, which Mr. Snooty made all by himself. Fresh lump crabcakes & horseradish sauce that were absolutely divine, served with green salad and fruit on the side. Sorry, but I totally forgot to get pictures, even though I thought I did. But then, I took 15 pictures with my disposable underwater camera and I only got 4. I'm still uncertain as to how that happened.

When the sun began to set, the men did a traditional shrimp boil outside in the turkey fryer, while I made our friend Don's Chinese Cole Slaw and someone else made bread. So, it was a sure thing that no one would go hungry that night. After dinner we had a few rounds of Texas Hold 'Em Poker but no one wanted their picture taken since we were playing for money. You know, so they wouldn't go to jail or anything. Whatever. I didn't win but I also didn't lose much and it was a fun time. I think we all hit the hay around midnight. Being on the beach all day can really wear you out. Or maybe that's just me. I guess I am getting to be an old fart...

To Be Continued Tomorrow....