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.