Hello everyone! Hope your Christmas was wonderful! We've been in Houston since the 15th enjoying family and sightseeing. Our Christmas was really nice. We tried to get back to the basics for this Christmas. The only Christmas decorations in Barnabas were a couple of decorated jingle bells we received on Christmas gifts and Christmas cards we received. That was it -- no tree, no presents, no cookies & treats. We really tried to focus on the simple gifts of Christmas. We did have a tree & decorations at my sister's house as well as lots to eat. Linda and Mandy actually cooked a turkey and the trimmings on Christmas day. WOW! It must have been good - it disappeared! We've seen lots of birds we don't normally see -- flocks of parrots on the lawn in our campground, white pelicans, roseated spoonbills (look like flamingos with green heads), and lots of seagulls. We would have loved to caught a couple of the parrots for Pastor Jake but they were very noisy and I'm sure they would have disturbed his nap times at home. :-)
We also traveled around the area surveying the damage from Hurricane Ike. It's amazing how much repair and clean up has been done in just three months. In Mandy's area - it looks as though there was very little damage, some fences and roofs which have all been repaired. Closer to the water, there is more damage but mostly on waterfront houses. Galveston was hit a little harder. The damage there is a lot easier to see. Any house on the waterfront has been damaged. A lot of the palm trees have been blown down and most plants damaged from the salt water that covered them. The beaches have been heavily eroded and in some places have disappeared. Galveston's sea wall held but it is just cement and rocks now - no beach. They'll have a lot of work to repair all the beaches.
We didn't get out to the Bolivar Peninsula (which is up the coast from Galveston - north). I understand it is still quite bad up there. The attitude here is much different than in New Orleans. In New Orleans, they are still trying to repair the area three years after the hurricane. There is a kind of despair. In Texas, it's a "let's roll up our sleeves" & "git er done" feeling just three months after the hurricane. Amazing!
Tomorrow we head for Guadalupe River State Park (north of San Antonio) for several days.
We also traveled around the area surveying the damage from Hurricane Ike. It's amazing how much repair and clean up has been done in just three months. In Mandy's area - it looks as though there was very little damage, some fences and roofs which have all been repaired. Closer to the water, there is more damage but mostly on waterfront houses. Galveston was hit a little harder. The damage there is a lot easier to see. Any house on the waterfront has been damaged. A lot of the palm trees have been blown down and most plants damaged from the salt water that covered them. The beaches have been heavily eroded and in some places have disappeared. Galveston's sea wall held but it is just cement and rocks now - no beach. They'll have a lot of work to repair all the beaches.
We didn't get out to the Bolivar Peninsula (which is up the coast from Galveston - north). I understand it is still quite bad up there. The attitude here is much different than in New Orleans. In New Orleans, they are still trying to repair the area three years after the hurricane. There is a kind of despair. In Texas, it's a "let's roll up our sleeves" & "git er done" feeling just three months after the hurricane. Amazing!Tomorrow we head for Guadalupe River State Park (north of San Antonio) for several days.
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