After getting a slow start in the morning, recuperating from the long drive yesterday from New Orleans, we decided to get out and enjoy the day. We drove from Katy down to Galveston. It was already 2 p.m. when we arrived, so "lunch" for the first item on the agenda! We found an interesting restaurant - Cajun Greek Seafood, which had a good rating on Yelp!



After a nice lunch break (and break from driving), we set out to explore Galveston. One of the first things we "ran into" (not literally) is a round-about with a statue in honor of the heroes of Texas. The statue was dedicated in 1900 to commemorate the four major battles of the Texan Revolution to be freed from Mexico, which ended at the Battle of San Jacinto.


Close by is the Visitors Center housed on the old Ashton Mansion complex. While Roxie enjoyed the gardens and grounds, Sharon went into the Visitors Center to get information about Galveston. When she returned, we toured the grounds of the mansion. It was fabulous! There was a little plaza with an old fishpond that has been turned into a little garden, decorated for Easter. A statue stood close by that commemorated the emancipation that finally reached Galveston Island at the end of the Civil War ~ 2 years after it was signed into law by President Lincoln. The massive oak trees around the mansion provided some great shade. While it was comfortable temperature-wise, you could get hot standing in the bright sunlight. So, the trees provided some wonderful shade. While walking the grounds, we came upon a large domed gazebo. It has a wrap-around inscription of Ecclesiates 1:4, "One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever."(KJV)



Across from the mansion was a large steepled church. We seemed to have walked into a different era. I was snapped out of it as I had to move our truck under a tree so we could leave Roxie while we were the Rosenberg Public Library which was funded and endowed by Henry Rosenberg to the city. The lady at the Visitors Center had told Sharon that on the fourth floor was a nice museum of the history of Galveston.



The museum was impressive with so many historical displays of the city, industries, disasters, immigrants and restoration efforts in the last decade or so. It was also architecturally impressive, using marble and gorgeous wood paneling, trim and doors. Most of the following photos have full explanations, which you can read if you click on the photo, zoom in or read the comments that I have added to further explain the picture.



One of the most unusual displays was original handwritten books in the collection of Mr. Rosenberg. Pictured here is a 16th century handwritten Armenian copy of the Book of the Psalms. There was a handwritten copy of the Bible, as well as the Quran.


After touring the museum, we went to get some personal attention at a day spa with a manicure, pedicure and massage. Roxie enjoyed the pedicure! :-) Relaxed, we headed home to Katy.

The next day, we had a lot of chores to take care of .... you know the usual laundry and shopping. We also worked on keeping the blog up-to-date as best we could.

In the evening, I had made arrangements to meet with my cousin and her family who live in Katy. Helen is my father's brother's daughter. She and Dimitri have a wonderful family. We were able to meet their daughter, Vicki and her husband, Tony and their 5 children (Michael, Jimmy, Lucas, Nicolas and Andy - not in order of age!). Their youngest son, George was there and after dinner, Johnny had come back from working late. The only son that we did not have a chance to see was their son, Andy. After visiting with Tony, Vicki and the children, we went out to dinner with Dimitri, Helen and George. It was so good to see the family again! We were trying to figure out how long it had been since we had been together ~ it was about eleven years since our last visit. All too soon, it was time for us to return home for the next day was going to be a long drive from Katy to Texarkana, TX.