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Dodged a line of thunderstorms on the way in. Rob has impressive weather tracking capability in the air. There was a massive line of nasty cells between where we were and where we needed to be, and we got here anyway, and we didn't do anything dangerous.
I am now on Galveston Island, Texas, possibly one of the odder places I have ever been. The breakers rolling in from the Gulf are beautiful. The deep red sunset behind the cumulus was beautiful. I do not know why I didn't expect the humidity: because I am a moron? Anyway, it's humid. And warm. I'm sitting around in a lightweight rain jacket because I ate a chocolate-covered ice cream bar in the warm air, with predictable results, and oops had to wash my shirt in the sink.
Some of the streets here are narrow enough that two cars can't pass. Unlike sane places such as Scotland, there aren't pullouts; each vehicle just puts a couple of wheels on the edge of someone's lawn.
Architecture here is weirder than we predicted. 1) It is illegal to set foot on the dunes, so every house by the beach has its own cute little boardwalk and all beach access points have their cute little boardwalks. Please don't ask me how they're constructed if no one can set foot on the dunes. 2) Air conditioners stuck into the sides of seventeen-foot-stilted houses get their OWN little seventeen-foot-stilted platforms to SIT on. It is the most hilarious thing I've seen all day, and this is coming from a woman who has seen those boardwalks.
Google Maps gets negative points for telling us the Sea Isle Grocery Mart was about five miles west of its actual location. We almost paid the toll to get off the island westbound ("WARNING: THIS DIRECTION IS NOT A HURRICANE EVACUATION ROUTE") looking for the darn thing. I want a picture of the sign saying THIS DIRECTION IS NOT A HURRICANE EVACUATION ROUTE.
If I can even think about my current Life Ick by tomorrow, I will be pretty surprised.
I am now on Galveston Island, Texas, possibly one of the odder places I have ever been. The breakers rolling in from the Gulf are beautiful. The deep red sunset behind the cumulus was beautiful. I do not know why I didn't expect the humidity: because I am a moron? Anyway, it's humid. And warm. I'm sitting around in a lightweight rain jacket because I ate a chocolate-covered ice cream bar in the warm air, with predictable results, and oops had to wash my shirt in the sink.
Some of the streets here are narrow enough that two cars can't pass. Unlike sane places such as Scotland, there aren't pullouts; each vehicle just puts a couple of wheels on the edge of someone's lawn.
Architecture here is weirder than we predicted. 1) It is illegal to set foot on the dunes, so every house by the beach has its own cute little boardwalk and all beach access points have their cute little boardwalks. Please don't ask me how they're constructed if no one can set foot on the dunes. 2) Air conditioners stuck into the sides of seventeen-foot-stilted houses get their OWN little seventeen-foot-stilted platforms to SIT on. It is the most hilarious thing I've seen all day, and this is coming from a woman who has seen those boardwalks.
Google Maps gets negative points for telling us the Sea Isle Grocery Mart was about five miles west of its actual location. We almost paid the toll to get off the island westbound ("WARNING: THIS DIRECTION IS NOT A HURRICANE EVACUATION ROUTE") looking for the darn thing. I want a picture of the sign saying THIS DIRECTION IS NOT A HURRICANE EVACUATION ROUTE.
If I can even think about my current Life Ick by tomorrow, I will be pretty surprised.
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They construct the boardwalks by leaning out of airships, or scaffolding suspended from either side of the dunes, or maybe cranes.
[/ humor]
Actually, I'd guess that they'd have some kind of special permit & mitigation methods (to limit damage to the dunes or restore dunes elsewhere) in place to build the boardwalks -- similar to such processes in place for when someone wants to build on a wetland in spite of the "no dredge or fill" EPA rule for wetlands (managed by the Army Corps of Engineers).
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PS Cute new icon!
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Thanks!
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We saw one of those trucks that roll by ringing bells like the ice cream man. He was selling shrimp. Definitely not something I've seen before.
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Don't it though?
Re: Don't it though?
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My statement - rolling eyes and all - was meant to be satirical. Especially considering that I live in California, recycle everything, and drive a Prius. ;)
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No, that message came across perfectly.
My statement - rolling eyes and all - was meant to be satirical. Especially considering that I live in California, recycle everything, and drive a Prius. ;)
But I'm afraid that this I don't understand. Was "I just can't imagine a Texas lawmaker being environmentally sensitive enough to pass such a law." satirical? Does that mean you are suggesting that you would expect Texas lawmakers being environmentally sensitive enough to pass laws protecting the barrier islands? Or is it just the bit where you were imitating a Texan accent? I'm not sure how just trying to sound like a Texan is satirical, but perhaps you could explain it to me. Or is it just that when a Californian who drives a Prius talks about Texas it's automatically satire, no matter what?
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The sand might also be unstable or have quicksand in it; one swallowed two-year-old would be _really_ bad publicity. People walking on the beach might hasten eroding it away. People walking on the beach may also necessitate lifeguards, because _somebody_ _will_ go in the water and drown, and this is the Land of Litigation.
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Was it the dry line? *ducks* ;-)
Rob has impressive weather tracking capability in the air.
I imagine when I do finally get to meet him, we would probably weather-geek for hours. :-)
I didn't expect the humidity.
Can you say "Maritime Tropical airmasses/climate"? I knew you could. :-)
Google Maps gets negative points
You could have stopped there. Lately, I'm finding more and more large-scale mistakes and issues with Google Maps that tick me off. It has failed to calculate directions for me several times lately for the most basic of point-to-point calculations.
I want a picture of the sign saying THIS DIRECTION IS NOT A HURRICANE EVACUATION ROUTE.
Heck, I wanna see that, too. :-)
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This one even appears to be from galveston, via google images:
http://miscellaneousheathen.com/life/050920bachelor.html (http://miscellaneousheathen.com/life/050920bachelor.html)
You know, you could put those up all over the country. Kind of like our plan to put "Bridge Freezes Before Road" signs on the bridges on the coastal roads in Kauai, HI :-)
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Oh, that's truly excellent!
I think I'll wait a couple of years before putting NOT A HURRICANE EVACUATION ROUTE anywhere here. The Bay Area in general has zero sense of humor.
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You'll have to give me your general impressions of Galveston -- we've been thinking about vacationing there.
(All the signs around here say "Hurricane Evacuation Route", because we live right on the recommended route.)
West end impressions
2. Humid
3. Wild-haired people in bathing suits and T-shirts wandering into the only mini-mart for miles and buying a couple six packs of beer
4. Bugs
You can probably skip impressions 1, 2, and 4, because those are mainly the contrast from California. :-)
The beach is truly pretty. Seems like that's what people come here for: sit around, drink beer, swim, watch the waves. It's a very relaxed sort of place.
Re: West end impressions
If possible, while you're in Galveston go through the Seaport Museum and take a tour of Elissa. She's damn impressively restored. My wife and oldest daughter used to crew as deckhands on her six-seven years ago.
Re: West end impressions
Thanks for the tip!
Re: West end impressions
2. Humid
3. Wild-haired people in bathing suits and T-shirts wandering into the only mini-mart for miles and buying a couple six packs of beer
4. Bugs
Ah, so it's just like here, then, only with a beach? Sounds perfect!
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Think about sandworms in Dune. The dunes really do resonate when you trod upon them, though not to the extent in the book, so your footprint is affecting the soil further than you think.
More importantly, there's the too many people effect. Sure, one or two people walking on the dunes won't really make a difference; the ecosystem is sufficiently robust to recover. But a million tourists are going to trash them totally in a year. So put those million footprints on a wooden boardwalk in a defined place instead, and save MOST of the ecosystem.
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you and me both. glad we both got to do some of that. :)