On the road: Galveston, Bolivar Peninsula & adding Louisiana

A statue was erected in honor of the hundreds of people lost to the 1900 Galveston hurricane. Due to the loss of life and property they built a high seawall and raised the whole island 17 feet at the seawall and sloped downward at a pitch of one foot for every 1,500 feet to the bay. So this would not happen again. There were 6000 people lost on the island and 10 - 12,000 total lives lost. for more info see: http://www.1900storm.com/rebuilding/index.lasso More than 3,600 homes were destroyed on Galveston Island and the added toll on commercial structures created a monetary loss of $30 million, about $700 million in today's dollars.

The trip across the ocean in the coach on the ferry from Galveston to Bolivar Peninsula.

The famous concrete ship -- the S.S. Selma -- in the foreground, while downtown Galveston, in the background, seems to float on the Gulf of Mexico. The Selma served several ports in the Gulf of Mexico quite successfully. Unfortunately she ran aground on the South jetty at Tampico, Mexico on May 11, 1920, creating a size able crack about 60 ft. long in her hull. She was towed into Galveston for repairs. Although the damage was repairable, the dry-dock crew lacked the knowledge and had no experience repairing a hull of such material. With no guarantee of proper restoration, the U.S. Government's Emergency Fleet Corporation decided not to gamble. see http://www.texas-flyer.com/bolivar/selma.htm for more info.

This is an old metal lighthouse on the Bolivar Peninsula.

A house on Bolivar Peninsula left from the last hurricane damage. There were only a few left like this.

the majority of houses are built on stilts so the high tides from the hurricanes will go under and not damage the house.

Bill was doing some surf fishing. Either he had a big one and lost it or was caught on the bottom. no fish but he did not loose the tackle so it is open to interpretation. Note how bent over the pole is.