Moody Gardens Are Delightful

Most of the Pink FlaminGoes had arrived by Thursday morning so we took a group photo. Liz provided us all with lovely Flamingo eyewear. Then we were off to Moody Gardens.

Moody Gardens is a vast place that would take far more than a day to see in its entirety.

Our plan was to visit the Moody Rain Forest. Rainforests are important because they provide medicines and stabilize global weather and rain patterns.  Many of our foods and spices come from the rainforest....from coffee and chocolate to vanilla, cinnamon, and bananas.  They also recycle carbon dioxide into oxygen so the Earth can breathe. In addition, rainforests take in carbon from the air so that there is less carbon gas to trap the sun's heat and raise the planet's temperature.

Once inside, the first thing we saw were the Scarlet Ibis.

The Macaws were equally colorful.

The Butterfly House.....

Kim and Deb were very popular with the butterflies so we took advantage of it for photos.

See the bat? Don't worry, he is much enlarged here.

This is a White-face Saki. He was pretty friendly too.

This bird's coloring makes his eye look huge.

Another shot of the White-face Saki.

The plants are interesting as well.

We didn't go to the Aquarium but we did see some fish.

Ah, young love.....

Okay, so these birds were visible from several different locations on the paths and I really liked them.

Crested Wood Partridge....

We saw a number of lovely orchids.

There is also a paddle boat that is moored at the Gardens.

A beautiful view of the bay from below the Rainforest Garden.

I think we made our second trip to Fish Tales for lunch.

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.

Galveston Grand Opera House

We took advantage of Jamaica Beach's fantastic indoor hot tub last night. It's as big a small swimming pool so everyone had lots of room.

The next place on our itinerary was the Grand Opera House. Since you can see it, I might as well mention right now that we had lunch at O'Malley's Pub next door after our tour. The food was very good but it is really more of a pub than restaurant so it was rather smoky inside.

Henry Greenwall raised $100,000 for construction of the Opera House in 1894 from a handful of prominent businessmen and civic-minded Galvestonians.  The Opera House was built on the site of an old ice house and is made of St. Louis pressed brick with buff stone trim, cupolas, and terracotta ornaments and was designed with four floors housing a theater, hotel and shops.

$8 million was raised for the restoration between 1974 and 1990. Support came from volunteer efforts of thousand of residents from Galveston county, the greater Houston area, and the state of Texas as well as from businesses and corporations, local government and generous foundation support such as the Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund, the Moody Foundation, Houston Endowment, and George and Cynthia Mitchell. 

During the restoration, thousands of volunteers under the direction of skilled restoration craftsmen removed 10-12 coats of paint revealing red heart pine.  Wainscoting was replaced with wood from demolished turn of the century buildings and carpet was manufactured to match the colors and designs on a scrap of the original carpet found in the second balcony.

The finished theater seats 519 people on the main Orchestra Level, 280 on the Mezzanine Level, and another 209 on the upper Grand Tier.

The Grand survived the storms of 1900 and 1915, as well as Hurricanes Carla, Alicia, and Ike as well as periods of neglect at times during its history. Here you can see Karen standing in front of a plaque marking the water level in the lobby during Hurricane Ike in 2008. 

We were given a great tour by an employee of the theater. These are the steps leading from the ticket booth to the Lobby.

The elegant Lobby leads to the Orchestra Level with a staircase to the next level.

This beautiful detailed staircase was uncovered when sheetrock was removed during the major restoration.

The crew was working on the stage production for an upcoming performance.

Here we are up on the highest balcony which is where servants sat when they attended with their wealthy patrons.  As you can see, they may have had the best view.

These balconies were added in a later restoration. People came primarily to be seen when they occupied a box rather than to see the production since they were facing somewhat towards the audience.

The Grand is one of the few remaining theaters of it’s era in Texas and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  In 1993, the 73^rd Texas Legislature proclaimed the Grand “The Official Opera House of Texas.” 

Sorry this picture is a little blurry but it was something unique we got to see. On display on the upper floor is a sand painting (Mandala) created on stage by Tibetan Monks of Gaden Shartse. Normally the monks destroy the Mandala after it is completed but the Opera House negotiated an agreement whereby they got to display it as long as they didn't advertise it.

Hard to believe this is made from grains of sand isn't it?

Next is lunch and then we are off to see The Strand up close.