Few things bring me as much simple joy as walking on the beach. The sound of the waves colliding with the shore, the fresh breeze, the soft sand on the bottoms of your feet - the beach is my happy place.
We are on the island of Galveston, TX and while the temperature could be warmer, it's a lot better than what we left back in Illinois. It seems to always be windy here but nothing that my trusty hoody can't take of. And it's way too cold to actually get in the water, though we did see a very brave soul wearing a wetsuit getting in some surf time yesterday.
You can see all kinds of art along the beach, both the natural kind and the manmade kind. I made the little heart design out of the handy seashells. There were all kinds of rock artwork where people had stacked the rocks to balance on each other by the seawall. These miniature sculptures are all along the seawall, it makes me wonder if there was a contest going on.
The seawall, which extends about three miles along Seawall Blvd, has murals painted in several sections. The original seawall was built in 1902 after a devasting hurricane in 1900 and was founded on wooden pilings. It has since been upgraded to a 12-foot concrete wall and has been protecting the city of Galveston for many years. But it didn't provide absolute protection, Hurricane Ike struck the island in 1998 and there was extensive flooding damage, though engineers say that it was much LESS damage that came from the 1900 hurricane even though IKE was a more powerful storm.
In reminder of that 1900 hurricane, in which over 6000 lives were lost, this statue was erected in their memory. It's simply called 1900 Storm Memorial and was created by artist David W. Moore. We take a moment here to pause and reflect on the grief and the thought that life is precious and can be taken unexpectedly. Sublime Sundays are perfect for appreciation of what we have in our lives in the here and now.
Nature paints her own canvases though, without the help of man. Sunlight peeking through the cloud cover makes a stunning background to complete our walk. This is the perfect season to be here because it is NOT prime time tourist season. We have the beach practically to ourselves and that is a beautiful thing in itself.
And now, for a perfect complement to my own Sublime Sunday, we are getting ready to watch a Bulls NBA game. Good food, family, and a Bulls game - after a beach walk - life is good!
All photos were taken by me with my Samsung (camera for dummies) phone.
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Very nice post @blueeyes8960, and you are right, the only thing that would make this vacation better is a warm up of about 5 degrees. But still the temp here is much better then it is back home. I love the history you put into the post, and your main picture really set it off!
Sea turtles can eat the balloons and get sick. You know it was a 1st or 2nd grader on that one 😁
Definitely walking or being at the beach is one of the most rewarding events I can mention. I know it's not the same for everyone, but I share with you the feeling. Plus the scent of the sea is something unique and unrepeatable. Unfortunately the weather was not favorable to complete the experience of a good sea bathing. In my country (Venezuela) on the contrary, it is usually warm and the beaches are incredible. Although some of them have cold water but the external heat creates a good balance. Thanks for sharing your experience😉.
Nice post, @blueeyes8960!!!
That memorial to the 6000 live lost is very sobering.
It is true, nature paints her own canvases!