Day 42 - Galveston

Galveston has seen a lot. From pirates to hurricanes, from riches to rags, people with big dreams have never given up on this town, and they have always rebuilt.
Stuck in paradise island, people don't want to leave... no matter what might happens in the future.
Jean Lafitte came with his misfits and took the land from the natives, pirated Spanish vessels and made a fortune trading slaves. He was given notice to evacuate the premises or else death by hanging since he made the mistake few times to assault American ships.
People moved in and built a harbor on the bay to transport cotton to other cities. The town grew to be one of the richest in the area.
Then in 1900, the Great Storm happened and 6000 people lost their lives and one third of the town was wiped away together with the town wealth.
So the people raised the town by 17 feet and built a seawall.
Through the years, two major hurricanes came through but did not cause destruction as it could have happened without the seawall. The last one was just two years ago. Still there are new house developments all along the coastline of the island. As this local lady put it, people forget...
All new homes are all built hurricane-proof.

First thing, we asked at the information office what we needed to see. The list was long, so we started with the first item: the Tree Sculpture Tour in the East End Historical District. They gave us a map where all the sculptures were located and more brochures and discount coupons for museums and dining.
The tree sculptures were commissioned by home owners to create sculptures in their properties, out of oak trees that died during the Harvey hurricane/flood of 2017 (due to salt water killing the trees). We drove around. The sculptures were interesting but the homes around them were stunning. I took a gazillion pictures. Bill was on Zillow to assess their values; not even close of what it would be in California. I feel like I am in a candy store and I want to buy everything. No, we are not going to do that. Who knows? These homes might be under water in 50 years...but then there's the people factor...they always come back.

We had lunch at Farley Girls Cafe, a diner of local cuisine. It was all good.

We took a tour of the Moody Mansion, which belonged to a wealthy family from Virginia. They made their fortune in the cotton trade, but also in banking, hotels, insurance and ranching.
The mansion was built in 1895 and was bought by W.L Moody Jr. from the heirs of the original owners soon after the great hurricane of 1900. He honored his bid before the hurricane, even though all the other bidders ditched town. He was a true Galvestonian believer.
This mansion is one of the richest that I have seen in the states so far. It is very luxurious for its time, but also warm and cozy. Some of the photos are out of focus, but I hope they still give a sense of its grandeur.

The following are more pictures of Galveston environs.

Artistic photo ;) of Moody bank from the 70's, on three stories high stilts

Oldest soda fountain shop

Water fountain for man and beast donated by the Rosenberg will