GALVESTON AND DICKENS ON THE STRAND 2009

Friday morn about 10:00 am,  Sharon, Roy and I began our journey and adventure to Galveston for Dickens on the Strand, amid weather alerts of rain, Snow and cold weather.

We had reservations at a Bed & Breakfast and had already purchased tickets for a home tour, Bottom to Top at the Bishop’s Palace, The Oaks and the  others.

It rained and snowed on us nearly the entire way, but we were not to be denied.  We ventured to Kemah and the Boardwalk for lunch at Landry’s.  There were a few other brave souls there.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch, this is Roy’s.

Then we traveled on to Galveston.  We were too early to check in, so I talked Roy into a quick trip to my favorite shop, Coastal Creations owned by the Deas family  for many years.  Many of the things in my lake house came from this wonderful shop.

These are my purchases.

Roy bought me two Christmas presents…we don’t wait, he will be at work for Christmas.

It is a beautiful glass serving dish, it is quite large.

I collect pelicans and have many pieces by John Perry.

We then stopped at Wal-Mart ( no trip complete without ) to purchase some wine,cheese, crackers, etc for a late nite snack.

Then on to our B&B, I am not going to mention the name, our experience was not a good one, but she was a gracious lady, and I truly believe that under other circumstances things would be great.  It is a lovely home and was beautifully decorated.

 

 

 

We had tickets  that night to tour 5 Victorian homes decorated for Christmas, so after hauling our clothes,  etc. upstairs to our room, we were off the the home tour.

The weather was nasty, but we enjoyed seeing the homes.  I am not showing these now, because I only have pictures of tablescapes and will save them for Thursday.

Our greatest problem at the B&B was cold, the small heater would hardly heat the bathroom and certainly not the room.  When 3:oo am rolled around, you would have found Sharon and I downstairs wrapped in quilts and still cold.  The thermostat was set on 62 and I did not feel free to raise it.

There was another serious problem, I will not tell out of respect for the owner.

Finally about 7:00 am we went back upstairs and I took a quick shower, we packed up, talked to the lady and left. 

Our next stop was the famous  Star Drugstore , that serves a great breakfast  and has an eclectic  assortment of unique gifts. The drugstore has out in front, the oldest Coke sign in Texas and is also the oldest drugstore in Texas

Then on to search for a room or two, we found a lovely suite with two great bedrooms, frig, microwave, sink , coffee pot , large bath and three wonderful beds and plenty of heat at the La Quinta Inn & Suites.

The weather had improved, so we were off to Dickens on the Strand.

Our first stop once we entered the Strand was at the Elephant and Camel rides.  One of the things on my list to do in this life time was ride on an elephant…..and so I did.

 

 

Her name was Paige and she is in her 20’s.  The elephants and the camels live near Conroe, Texas and work 13 weekends a year.

Now I can mark that off my list!

Dickens was back as big or bigger than ever.  There were people everywhere and tons and tons of booths selling any and every thing including great food.  Coral groups were singing carols on nearly every block.

 

I have other pictures and stories to tell, but rather than bore you, I will post them tomorrow…

Needless to say, we had a great time and it continues……….