Lone Star Quilter and I decided to take a short day-trip to Galveston Tuesday, not to search for boxes, but just to see how the island looks now compared to how it looked before Ike. I must say that it's looking a little dingy and worn. Many of the trees and plants didn't survive, including the oleanders. New ones are coming up and blooming, and that'll take a little time. It looks like most of the palm trees survived, but they're a little ragged and brown around the edges. We walked through the Old City Cemetery (I may be placing a letterbox there in October) and it was overgrown with tall grass and grassburrs. You couldn't even walk along the paved paths without getting cuffs and socks full of stickers. Some trees have been cut down, including the one along the fence line that "Celtic Cross" once called home. We were there only a short time but a woman and two little girls decided to follow us, another woman parked and apparently watched us and an (apparently) homeless man walked by giving me the eye. Still, the box I have made needs to be there, so I'll try to be careful when I hide it. Who knows, in October it may look entirely different. Crews were mowing in some of the other cemeteries, but nothing more. I know the city has other prorities, but the cemeteries are in sad shape and could use some watering and trimming. We went out to the state park and the building that once housed the store and restrooms is completely gone, but otherwise looks about the same. On the bay side, the park is really pretty; there are some good trails, but their nature, grassy flats and low dunes, may not lend them to being good hiding places for letterboxes. Storm surge would probably wash away anything that's not tied down. I guess it's not any worse than I expected and in some ways better, considering what they went through. I'm looking forward the the Eat Play Letterboxing event. See you there.

Boots Tex