Out West Adventure: Part 1--Houston

Herb and Betty Dorfan with Peggy and Marv

Galveston Beach

Pleasure Pier in Galveston

Jan. 23-26: (Wednesday) Our GPS took us right to the Lakeview Resort, where we stayed three years ago. It has several things going for it—it’s convenient to Houston, it has a pool and an indoor and an outdoor hot tub, it is safe and secure, there is free WI-Fi and popcorn, and there are not many people there at this time of year. However, we were placed backing up to the very busy access road to a freeway and it is near a busy railroad track so it is very noisy. But with earplugs to sleep we can make the most of it. We got set up and talked to my cousin, Betty Dorfan, about when we could get together and then found a nearby Kroger’s for groceries and a cash-only gas station where we could fill up at $3.09. After a dinner of grilled pork chops and red beans and rice we went over for a soak in the outdoor hot tub under the almost full moon, and then read and worked on the computers until bedtime. (Thursday) It was very foggy in the morning and things had dripped enough it looked as if it had rained. Our coffee maker isn't working well so it took a long time to get our coffee and we had to add more water to get enough. We had yogurt and toast for breakfast and then took our tablets over to the rec hall where we could have a reliable signal (and free coffee) to read the Lansing State Journal. I asked about a bike trail and a guy at the desk drew a rough map that synced with what Marv had found online. We made a simple lunch to pack onto the bikepack on Marv’s bike and drove to the Terry Hershey Walking and Biking Park. This is a really lovely parkway that runs along the Buffalo Bayou. It is all paved and has lots of twists, turns, and gentle hills. We parked near one end and rode to the other end and partway back before we stopped to eat our lunch on a park bench. It was breezy and mid-seventies and felt absolutely great. We saw some turtles sunning themselves but that was about it for wildlife. Not too surprising on what is really a very urban pathway.  And although we crossed many busy roads and even a freeway, we had underpasses the whole way. We rode 12.3 miles which seemed pretty good for our first ride of the season. The GPS on my phone showed us where the nearest Walmart was, where we hoped to find another Coleman coffee maker and/or an insulated French Press to replace our faltering one, but we didn't find anything. We decided to let it go for now since we can get our coffee at the Resort for the next two mornings.  From there we went to Betty’s, where we chatted and drank an excellent white wine while we waited for Herb to get home from work.  When he returned they took us to Lousie’s (the ex-wife of a colleague of Herb’s) for a really wonderful meal. Marv had seared tuna and I had Parmesan crusted trout with crab meat and it was all fantastic! We had such a nice visit and will go back to their townhouse tomorrow night for a home-cooked dinner. Back at the camper I blogged and Marv watched some TV before we showered and went to bed. 

Marv biking on the Terry Hershey Bike Trail

(Friday) After eking out a scant few cups of coffee this morning, I happened to see a small plastic piece in the sink drainer. It was a valve for coffee maker! Marv reinstalled in and we think we should be able to get some more time out of our drip coffee maker. Whew! We had a couple of Monica’s wonderful organic brown eggs for breakfast and then drove about an hour to explore Galveston. It was an easy drive there and the freeway ends and then dumped us right onto Broadway, which is the main street down the middle of the island. We stopped at the Visitors Center in the Ashton Villa and picked up a map and description of the walking/driving tour through the Historic District. The Mooney Mansion didn’t have another tour until 1:00 and we weren’t inclined to wait for it so we contented ourselves with walking by several historic Victorians on our way up to “The Strand”. What used to be a very questionable and crime ridden-part of town has been rebuilt and/or re-storeed with gas lights and upscale restaurants and shops. After walking the length of The Strand we jogged over to Harborside Drive but didn’t see anything that appealed to us so we returned to The Strand and sat outside to share a fabulous Mediterranean pizza at Yaga’s Café. On our way back to the truck we went to the Museum on the second floor of the Library and learned more about the history of Galveston. Of primary importance were the Hurricane of 1900, which killed between 6000-8000 of the 37,000 residents and wiped out three quarters of the structures, so what remains is only the sturdiest of buildings, and Hurricane Ike in 2008, which also was very destructive. The walk had been 2.21 miles so from there we drove to the south side of the island to the beach along the Gulf of Mexico. We easily found a parking place along the Seawall Boulevard so we could walk up the beach and back for 1.66 miles. It was sunny and eighty and the waves were crashing in so it was quite wonderful for us northerners! Since we were about in the middle of the Boulevard we drove nearly to the east end and then returned to drive nearly to the west end before getting back on I45 to go back to Houston. I quickly showered and washed my hair before we drove back to Betty and Herb’s for an amazing dinner of beef tenderloin with green peppercorn sauce. Betty is a wonderful cook and it was a delicious dinner and a good time to visit. Sadly, Betty wasn’t feeling very well, so we cleared the table, got a photo of the four of us, and then Marv and I went back to the camper to begin getting ready to leave tomorrow. It had been another really nice visit to Houston, (markedly different from our first, which was cool and rainy), made much nicer by the generous hospitality of Betty and Herb. 

Retreat Center owned by Univ. of Texas

Mooney Mansion

The Strand