Galveston "The Strand"

Well, we arrived at "The Strand", the historic shopping district in Galveston but before we could look around, we had to figure out how to work the parking meters. You have to find the number along the curb by your car and then enter it into this machine with your money. Then you get a piece of paper to put on your dashboard. It sounds a lot easier than it was. Several others were working on another parking meter since we had several carloads of Pink FlaminGoes.

Our first stop was the famous LaKing's. (We visited more than once during our time in Galveston, lol).

They have an Expresso Bar and a Soda Fountain.

You can see where the crowd gathered. Scoops were huge.

And then on the other side was the confectionery. I didn't get a photo of all the salt water taffey choices further to the left. It all looked so yummy.

There are lots of interesting buildings.

In an earlier post, I mentioned that most of Galveston Island was raised from 8 to 17 feet after the big 1900 storm wiped much of the island out. A decision was made by a council of businessmen not to raise The Strand area as many of the buildings are connect by steel and concrete and could not be jacked up.

This huge trumpet came from the World's Fair.

Just another shop window.

Several of went inside of this building.  Look at the intricate flower sculptures that are part of the railing.

The elevator was also very unique. It looked like a basket.

We didn't make it inside of this building but Vicki said it was very interesting and boasted of being the only surviving genuine government surplus store.

It's very difficult to get Carolyn to pose as she is always first with the camera but she was a good sport since she made a good friend while posing.

You can see here how the buildings were interconnected when built but they each have their own design and architecture.

We were ready for some relaxation after this busy day.  Relaxing in the Clubhouse, pooling food for dinner, and then the hot tub.