Any Day at the Beach is a Good Day

Oh the joys of living so close to the ocean! We left the mainland early this morning and crossed the causeway to Galveston Island for a breathtaking morning walk along the seawall. It was a beautiful bright day with little or no humidity. The crowds hadn't arrived yet and we enjoyed the almost solitude overlooking the beach during our two and a half mile walk on the seawall.

The rental umbrellas and chairs looked inviting, but we weren't prepared to spend the day. A few had already staked their claim to the choice spots and were already beckoned into the water by the inviting call of the waves. We just walked.


We passed by our favorite place to eat on the island "The Spot". It seemed almost strange not to have people eating out on the decks, but then again, I don't think they serve breakfast!






This photo was taken when we first arrived, coming from 61st street as we turned on to Seawall Blvd. Guess he was an early riser! The photo below was taken later in the morning - this is the jetty nearest the Flagship. Fishing must have been good today.

Lots to see on the seawall. By the way, if you haven't been to Galveston (yes it's really an island) then you may not be aware that there is a long walkway atop the seawall overlooking the sand and surf. There are no businesses beach side, except the Flagship Hotel, Murdoch's Bathouse/Gift Show, and the historical Balinese Room, and one or two fishing piers which were all destroyed by Ike. This is the view of the rebuilding of Murdoch's -- which is a welcomed site!! The brightly painted concrete is all that is left of the entrance to the Balinese room -- quite a lot of history distroyed with the passing of this historical landmark.



These monuments below document the building of the seawall at the turn of the 1900's. If you look close you can see how Ike pushed the top domes to the side. I guess they will eventually straighten these, will take large heavy machinery I'm sure. That's the left overs of the Flagship Hotel behind these pillars.


As we neared the Flagship Hotel, or should I say what was left of it after the flurry of Hurricane Ike, we decided to go down the concrete stairs descending from the seawall to sea level. I guess I'm always complaining that we don't actually walk on the beach but instead take our walk on the seawall....well, today was different. Up close and personal, sand in my shoes! Oh the joy of being on the beach!

And oh the sunburn! Even though the morning was a lot cooler than it would have been in the afternoon, it was still a bright sun shiny day!

It was worth it! Now it feels like summer! I hope we can resume our Galveston seawall walks more and more, I've missed this "routine" that was interrupted by the hurricane. Maybe, just maybe things are going to soon feel like normal again. I love these one day vacations, or as in the case today, half-day vacations!

Yep, any day at the beach is a good day !