Two in Texas – December 2021

Posted on by Susan

We went to Houston to spend Christmas with family. And we explored several areas outside of the big city during our time in Texas. 

Galveston – First settled in the 16th century, Galveston is home to one of the largest ports in the US and a popular coastal resort city with colorful homes along 32 miles of beaches and fun shops in historic downtown. Fortunately our visit did not coincide with the summer/fall hurricane season. 

The Strand in historic downtown, featuring 19th century architecture and one-of-a-kind shops plus eateries to visit.
One of the city’s nine fountains sponsored posthumously by Henry Rosenberg. This late 19th century fountain occupies a prominent spot at Hendley Green along The Strand. Rosenberg, through his will, wanted to provide public drinking fountains for both people and animals. Originally 17 were constructed, but only nine still exist, each with each a unique design.
Most of the coastal homes perch on stilts to minimize high water damage during tidal swells and hurricanes. We loved seeing all many colors of houses during our walk on Surfside Beach.

We saw many of these pretty creatures on the sand and, at the time, did not realize that they were venomous Portuguese men-of-war, cousins of jellyfish. We did not touch the gas-filled bladders used for flotation and direction or the tentacles with subtle barbs, which is good since they can sting a person weeks after washing ashore. The name for these vigorous creatures comes from their resemblance to a special type of 15th century sailing warship developed in Portugal. 

Man-of-war tentacles can reach up to 50 meters in length. The ones we saw were only about a meter long.

Brazos Bend State Park – The Brazos River forms the eastern boundary of this large park that is popular with walkers, birders, bikers, campers, and fishermen. During several visits we explored just a fraction of the 5,000 acres with 37 miles of trails. The former hunting ranch is home to over 300 species of birds and 21 species of reptiles and amphibians.

We saw a bit of wildlife . . .

We could not accurately count how many babies were in this alligator nest.

. . . and many birds.

Anhinga with pond scum on its feathers
Anhinga drying its wings
Great egret
Great blue heron
Green heron
White ibis
Black-bellied whistling duck
Cardinal

2 thoughts on “Two in Texas – December 2021”

  1. Enjoyed the story about the drinking fountains. Looks and sounds as if your time was relaxed during a usually busy time of year. Glad you could be with family over Christmas.

  2. So many baby alligators!! What an amazing sight. We loved hosting y’all for the holidays and look forward to seeing you.

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