And life goes on...

... for our family.

Hurricane Ike turned out to be less of an "event" than originally forecast for those of us in this part of Texas. Ike slowed, then turned more north and spared central Texas. We had a little wind - not even as much as would be caused by a normal thunderstorm - and no rain. We could have used some rain.

Our friends on the coast didn't fare so well. Despite the fact that the damage from hurricane Ike was less than forecast, the devastation is still overwhelming. Our hearts are breaking for the community of Galveston Island. We wish we could head down there with a mop, bucket and some tools to assist in getting the mess cleaned up - right now. Get things back to normal. Right now. In reality, we know it will be months before anything even resembles normal in Galveston. The new normal, not the one of our memories.

Here's our memories of the Galveston Yacht Basin. (No, we don't have a yacht, but we used their boat ramp to launch our boat when we were down there.) This picture exemplifies our memories of returning to the Basin at the end of a fun day of fishing in the Gulf. (Thank you, Alan, for this gorgeous picture!)

Here it is on fire. As Ike made his final approach, an exploding transformer ignited the club's dry storage area. Did you know fuel on board boats makes a great fire accelerant? It does. You'll see that there is water all around the area. Some of the water you see is covering streets and parking lots. This kept the fire department from being able to extinguish the fire so it was allowed to burn.

This is all that remained after the fire.

(Updated: My original post had an inaccurate photo that we thought was of the destroyed boat slips at the Yacht Basin. I've removed that photo as we have since found more reliable pictures showing that area of the marina is relatively unharmed. Good news!)

This is Seawall Boulevard. It is the main road that runs alongside beachfront on Galveston. The seawall was originally built 17 feet tall after the hurricane of 1900, although engineers say it has sunk over time to approximately 15 feet. This wall is what kept the east end of the island from total devastation.

Seawall Boulevard after Ike. Looks like total devastation, doesn't it?

This is the Murdoch’s Bathhouse (also known as Mermaid Pier) on Seawall Boulevard. It is one of Galveston Island's most historic shops and has been family-owned since 1910. We shopped here just last month while we were on Galveston for our family vacation. I bought a gorgeous piece of coral from the shop that I now proudly display in my home.

The Murdoch's/Mermaid Pier after Ike.

This is historic downtown Galveston, also known as The Strand. This area had been lovingly, and beautifully restored by Galvestonians. Stephanie, my BFA&F, and I spent a good portion of our day shopping on The Strand when we went to Galveston in April.


The Strand immediately after Ike. It could have been worse. The buildings are standing and only the lower levels have been damaged. I've read that some of the stores have several "steps up" from the street level and may have been spared.

We haven't been able to find any reliable information yet about one of our favorite spots, Gaido's Seaside Inn and Restaurants (Gaido's and Casey's). I've found several blogs and comment threads indicating they have survived with, all things considered, minimal damage. The most recent news I found from a blog posting:

"I work for a lodging administrator who has had contact with the Gaidos Hotel. They are still standing, minus a roof. The restaurant is also still intact. The crab is no longer sitting in his usual place. They have sustained damage to the Hotel and restaurant but hope to be back up in running in the next few weeks."

We are desperately hoping this information is accurate. I did find an article in the Galveston Daily News announcing that Paul Gaido was hosting a free shrimp boil this Thursday for anyone on the island, including media. That's Galveston "grit" for ya!

And this is just Galveston news. All the neighboring communities have been affected. Some much worse than the island. Please continue to pray for these people and their communities as they work to regain their lives on the Texas coast.