Hurricane & Birthday Parties

What a week! It's amazing what a storm can do! Just before I started nursing school, my dad moved me into an apartment on Galveston Island. On move-in day, we had the pleasure of meeting my new downstairs neighbor. What an interesting person! We arrived at my apartment around 10:30 that morning, and he greeted us holding his beer . . . already quite inebriated!! I'm not sure if it was 'drunk' left over from the night before or if he just got to an early start. As we tried to move past him, he continued whatever story he was telling us and then invited me to his next Hurricane Party. I just smiled and moved on, not knowing what the appropriate response to that invitation should be. He continued on by describing this "party" - sitting outside in lawn chairs drinking beer during the hurricane. Not my idea of fun, but I'm guessing that after enough alcohol, the wind, rain, and flooding wouldn't bother you too much!

Little did I know, that hurricane parties are a tradition on the Island! Apparently, the Poop Deck on Seawall sponsors them for the hurricanes that come to Galveston. Who knew?!? (not that it makes it a good idea just because it's restaurant sponsored, though!) Anyways, I've been searching through the online pictures to see how my apartments made it through Ike.

I was SO HAPPY to see that they're still standing, although most of the ground floors were destroyed by the high water. These apartments are on the north side of the island, so they just had the rising water from the bay side of the Island. The one tropical storm we had while I lived there had water that rose up to the parking lot from the bay, but no real damage. I can't imagine what it looked like during Ike! The boat slips are just behind where the person taking this picture must have been standing. Obviously, the water was VERY HIGH to get that sailboat up on top of the car. My old apartment was on the 2nd floor of the building to the man in the yellow jacket's right arm! HOLY COW!! It just blows my mind!!

The pictures of the destruction and devastation break my heart as I see some of our favorite places destroyed or damaged. I'm praying for my friends that still live there . . . that they all evacuated safely and that their homes/belongings weren't destroyed. I know that they would appreciate your prayers through this difficult time, too!

My roommate from Galveston, who now lives in Houston, evacuated to our house last Thursday evening. The commute was a nightmare, but we had fun once she got here. Like most people in Texas, we sat glued to the Weather Channel and Houston news websites most of the next couple of days. The pictures and videos were mesmerizing! Of course, she had SO MUCH more at stake with her home being in Ike's destructive path. She was able to go back to her home yesterday to find that it hadn't received much damage - Praise God! I think they had some limbs/trees down in the yard and maybe some missing shingles. Other than that, their house was protected. They were truly blessed!!

On to a happier topic . . .

Saturday, we celebrated my sister's birthday at a WONDERFUL restaurant in Dallas.

We were so happy that she was feeling well enough to come to the party! None of us were sure how she'd feel with the big storm on the way, but it looks like the newest treatment may be bringing some positive results!

I found a bakery that makes all their treats sugar free . . . very important for the diabetics in our family. So, we got a delicious chocolate cake from there to celebrate! To top it off, one of the waiters came to sing Happy Birthday in a few different languages. I got a little bit of it on video before my battery ran out.

We had a bunch of family there, which is always fun. Good times! I hope your weekend was safe and fun!