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Where's Liz? Just rollin' along

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 6:04 pm
by Liz
Wednesday, Birdie and I toured some more of Galveston & area.

We headed south and stopped to walk along this beach....
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so many beaches just waiting to be enjoyed.
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Oops, watch out for jellyfish.
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Passed this place where wind turbines are manufactured.
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We went to this bird sanctuary in Quintana. Roe didn’t much like it.
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So he and I walked down the street while Birdie went through it.
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Afterwards Birdie held Roe while I went through. It was beautiful and peaceful. This was the easiest bird for me to see and identify.
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We ate our picnic lunch at the park by the beach. Coastal defense?
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In the afternoon we went into Galveston and stopped at Moody Gardens, but the tropical gardens we were interested in were not open. So we walked around a little.
This is the pyramid housing the tropical gardens.
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A paddlewheel you can ride.
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I think Birdie called this a desert something.
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We were lucky and arrived at the “Bishop’s Palace” in time for their last tour.
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It is presented more as the Gresham house, with changes made by the Catholic diocese noted. The main change was one of the girl’s bedrooms converted to a chapel.
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Side view...I believe the round room on the top floor was Mrs. Gresham’s art studio. No pictures were allowed inside, and we were not allowed on the 3rd floor due to fire code. We were told it held the boys’ bedrooms, the studio, and storage.
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Front view. This house survived the great hurricane of 1900 with water in the basement and some broken windows. Two adult children who were home at the time had the servants stand on the porch and wave people inside during the storm, saving many lives, no doubt.
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Detail of carving. The inside was very ornate with beautiful woodwork, and fireplaces. It was modern for its time with both gas and electric utilities.
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The Catholic church across the street. (This is #2, #1, built at the same time as the house did not survive storms)
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Some other houses in the neighborhood.
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This house had beautiful wood carvings in the yard.
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We liked this dog.
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Our campsite at Galveston Island State Park.
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Bandit finally got brave enough to get out and explore the marshland.
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Thursday morning was time to say goodbye to Birdie and head back east. She escorted me as far as High Island. Sunrise in Galveston along the seawall.
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Waiting for the ferry to High Island.
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My trip through Cameron County, LA was enough to bring tears to my eyes. It was apparent that nothing survived the hurricane 2 years ago. Destruction is still so evident.
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Cement slabs with steps to nowhere.....too many to count. The only homes I saw were new ones, built high on stilts, or just as commonly, fifth wheels parked near a bare cement slab.
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But then I arrived at Martha’s (Acadiamom) for another mini gtg! We had a great visit, along with her dh, and she served me yummy shrimp pie with a flaky crust and fixin’s....ate way too much.
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Roe and I enjoyed walking around her farm and down the road. These horses are across the street from the house. Roe especially enjoyed meeting their dog and trying to meet all their cats.
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Sunset in Abbeville. Sunrise looked pretty much the same, only in the opposite direction. Thank you Martha, you are a fine lady. If you ever get down Ocala way, I’ll welcome you to my house.
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Martha helped me pick a fine route around New Orleans using some of Louisiana’s scenic byways.
Rtes 70 & 22 (On edit, that says, 90....but the others were pretty too.)
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I can’t remember exactly where this was, but my favorite segment was when the road followed the curves of a bayou, lined with little houses...each with a dock for fishing or tying up a boat.
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Living on the bayou..
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Ponchatoula is an historic town....got there at the beginning of their strawberry festival....no place to park to get a really good picture.
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Mural
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Route 90 in southern MS is a pretty road. Lots of places to pull over and access the beach.
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A little history about Long Beach.
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We’re camping in MS tonight. I think Bandit remembers this cg. We picked the same site as before, and he is in heaven, rolling in the clover...and the sand....and the pollen.
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Roe’s pretty content too...and so am I.
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Re: Where's Liz? Just rollin' along

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 6:16 pm
by mitch5252
Wow, Liz - what a great trip you're having! Thanks again for taking the time to share with us.
Too bad you couldn't have made a side trip to NW TN!! :(

Re: Where's Liz? Just rollin' along

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 6:31 pm
by Ladyhawk
Thanks for the tour. If I can't be there, I want to "be there" with Liz. :D

Re: Where's Liz? Just rollin' along

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 6:52 pm
by carold
Liz, you're certainly "rolling" thru some beautiful places. Don't know why I thought you were just continuing your travels now to the NW. I enjoyed meeting Martha last year, but didn't get to see her "farm" or get to eat her shrimp delight -although it would have to be crab, since I'm allergic to shrimp :( carold

Re: Where's Liz? Just rollin' along

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 7:11 pm
by bluepinecones
Thanks again Liz. I have really been enjoying your trip.

Re: Where's Liz? Just rollin' along

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 7:14 pm
by snowball
how very nice just loved the trip!!!
So enjoyed the pictures
sheila

Re: Where's Liz? Just rollin' along

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 7:21 pm
by sharon
Awesome Liz! There is so much history in the South. One of these days I'll make it down there! Oh yeah, the green plant with the red flower and the bee is called Red Apple. We have a lot of it here and the bee's love it! So do the snails. Lot of folks here use it for ground cover.

Re: Where's Liz? Just rollin' along

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 7:30 pm
by avalen
what a fun trip this has been

Re: Where's Liz? Just rollin' along

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 7:44 pm
by retiredhappy
Think we're going to make you our Official Forum Guide. You take the best pictures and I always love your narrative. Let me know where you're heading next summer - I may just tag along behind you.

Re: Where's Liz? Just rollin' along

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 8:00 pm
by Acadianmom
I'm glad the route worked out for you. I will have to try it sometime. Ponchatoula is a neat little town known for it's antique shops. You can find some neat places on your travels. I was going to give you your food back this morning but I forgot. Can't do 2 things at once. :roll:

Martha

Re: Where's Liz? Just rollin' along

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 8:22 pm
by cpatinjones
Hello Liz,

It seems you are having a great time. I have been enjoying the pics of your travels.

I see you stopped by to visit with Martha. Martha and I are caravaning to the TRR Rally on April 15th.

Keeps us posted of your travels.

Re: Where's Liz? Just rollin' along

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 8:25 pm
by Birdie
Ah, Liz, we should have just continued the GTG all the way back and then turned around and started off some where else. This has been a great adventure traveling with you and via pic with you. Keep safe and tell the kids to be good. Glad to see Bandit finally was able to be out and about. Great birding here at High Island, you would have enjoyed getting more new birds for your life list.

Re: Where's Liz? Just rollin' along

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 8:54 pm
by dpf
As always Liz...great pictures! We call that plant with the bee on it Ice Plant.

Re: Where's Liz? Just rollin' along

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 9:00 pm
by Liz
Birdie wrote:Ah, Liz, we should have just continued the GTG all the way back and then turned around and started off some where else. This has been a great adventure traveling with you and via pic with you. Keep safe and tell the kids to be good. Glad to see Bandit finally was able to be out and about. Great birding here at High Island, you would have enjoyed getting more new birds for your life list.


Roe has an appointment at the vet on Monday. I've some business to tend to. Then when Roe's better, I might just start off for somewhere else..(mts)..gonna be getting hot in Ocala. Now that I have that great bird book, I'm starting over on my life list. So far, I have one. Glad you're enjoying....

Re: Where's Liz? Just rollin' along

PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 10:17 pm
by VickieP
Great to see another segment of your trip. Is Roe still having problems with his foot?
Just a bit of trivia, Louisiana is the only state that doesn't have counties, they're called parishes here.

Carolyn and Martha will have to show us their route pics too. Come on ladies, Liz keeps trying to teach us how it's done. :D