Love Affair

OK, it's official. I'm head over heels in love with Galveston. Yesterday, I blipped one of the many buildings that suffered badly from Hurricane Ike last September and remains in disrepair. Today I toured the historic Strand district. There's a wonderful business district, and many, many blocks of historic homes, the overwhelming majority of which have been beautifully restored, renovated, and repaired. All over the island, repairs and renovations of homes and businesses are underway. What devastation must have been evident right after the storm.

This is only my 67th blip, but today proved the hardest yet in selecting a single photograph. I was literally driving block after block, stopping and photographing each house. I didn't dare get out of my car to shoot or I'd never be able to leave. The details and finishing on these homes is magnificent. There is clearly a lot of pride and resilience here in Galveston. From that aspect, it reminds me of Kansas. I did some pretty extensive public safety consulting work in Kansas a few years ago, and along with just liking the genuine people there, I quiickly came to admire their resilience in dealing with repeated adversity, whether catastrophic tornados or crop failures. The people here must be of similar stock.

The business district here reminds me of NOLA's French Quarter, and the historic residential areas remind me of Savannah. This is a great town - I need to come back with more time. I could spend the rest of my days photographing Galveston - in fact, that doesn't sound a bad way to spend them!