Galveston, Oh Galveston

The folks recently made a return visit to Galveston.  They decided to visit Bishop's Palace.  The house was built between 1887 and 1893 for lawyer and politician, Walter Gresham.  It survived the great hurricane of 1900 because it was built of stone and steel.  In 1923, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galveston purchased the house and it served as the residence of Bishop Christopher E. Byrne who is from Missouri which is our home state.  The cost to built the house was $250,000. The value today is estimated to be over $5.5 million.

The home is quite impressive.  Home tours are given twice a day, but visitors are able to take an audio tour on their own and that is what the folks chose to do since they arrived 2.5 hours before the next tour.

We apologize for the crooked photos.  We fixed all of them, but the changes are not saving and we are tired of playing with it.

Bishop's Palace

Stained windows are throughout the house.

Tulip chandelier which hangs over the foyer.

Impressive fireplaces are located in every room.

The stairway.

 

The basket holds calling cards from guests.

Photos of the family were displayed in this.

Sitting area.

 

Ceiling of the above picture.

Kitchen

Dining Room

The wood carving is amazing.

View of windows on the second floor.

Bishop's bedroom.

Chapel across from Bishop's room.

View of staircase from second floor.

Mama said she enjoyed touring this house.  It was a little chilly even though the fireplaces were all running on gas. 

The folks visited a few other places, but we will save that for another day.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Thinking Of His Friends Who Are Having Bad Weather Today

New Year, New Look

No, we didn't change our look.  BOL!  We spruced up the motor home a little bit.  Mama has been wanting new rugs since we bought the rugs for this place last February.  She didn't have time to look for rugs because we needed them immediately.  I fell the first day in the motor home so rugs were urgent as far as Mama was concerned.  The folks were tired and only went to one store and bought what they had.  Mama thought she wanted color because the whole place is beige, but she quickly learned that color shows hair and lint....a lot.

This was our old rug.  We had 4 runners and one rug that was 5x7.

The rug only looked clean for about an hour after vacuuming.   We hate the vacuum, so we were not thrilled with the rugs either.

Mama looked for rugs while Dad was away, but couldn't find anything that she liked in her budget.  She only planned on replacing the 5x7 rug.  Dad told her that she wouldn't be happy just replacing the large rug, but she thought it would be fine.  After Dad got home, they looked for rugs together and finally found one that they liked. They brought it home and Mama decided the kitchen ones needed to replaced.  She then decided that the bedroom should also match.  BOL! Dad just laughed because he knew that is what was going to happen.  No, Mama did not stay within her budget.  Dad thought the budget was unrealistic anyway.

Ready to see our new look?

Scout approves.

Yep, the whole place is beige, but we like it.  The carpet does not show our hair at all.  We think it makes the place feel and look more cozy.  The only thing that looks out of place now is the rug that is under our food dish and the one at the door. Sounds like more shopping is necessary, doesn't it?  BOL!

Dad decided to make Mama a shelving unit for her laundry supplies. It turned out really nice.  It is in his closet.

It even has a spot for the ironing board that folds up.

We are really enjoying the new look of our home.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Happy That The Vacuum Is Not Being Used Every Day

We Are Ready!

Joey and Scout,
The Greyhounds Who Are Wishing All Their Friends A Happy New Year

A Visit To The Texas Prison Museum

We have driven past the the Texas Prison Museum several times and the folks decided to stop in yesterday and take a look around.

The prison museum tells the history of the prison system in Texas.  Mama said it was pretty interesting.  There were many items on display that prisoners have made.

Furniture made by prisoners.

A saw blade with several sketches by a prisoner.

A chess set made out of soap!

Jewelry box made out of match sticks.

A stump carved into several heads.

Old Sparky is on display.  It is the electric chair.

A cell that visitors can explore.  Mama said she felt very closed in just being in the cell.

There were several newspaper articles about the deaths of Bonnie & Clyde as well as this pistol.

The museum has a gift shop and many of the items are made by in the inmates such as leather wallets, some wood items and badges. 

Mama enjoyed the museum.  Dad said it was okay, but it wasn't a must see for him.

The folks ate lunch before they visited the museum.  Dad wanted to try a restaurant that was ranked as number one on Trip Advisor.  The folks had a heck of a time finding it.  GPS told them they had arrived when they were in front of a cemetery.  They kept circling around and finally found it.  The signage was hard to see and the restaurant was in a double wide trailer.  The folks decided to try it anyway because the reviews were so good.  Another family came in while the folks were there and also commented on having a hard time finding it.  Dad said it just shows that social media can really help small places because that is how people are hearing about them.

The restaurant is small. The furnishing is quite simple.  It looks like they probably bought all the table and chairs at garage sales, but it works.  The staff was very nice and checked on the folks several times.

BBQ at Bennie J's Smoke Pit

The folks both ordered ribs and brisket and they both said it was really good  They have not been impressed with BBQ in Texas, but this was by far the best.

We have another Ninja update.  Mama fixed Cornish hens this week.  They were good.  She baked the Cornish hens and then seared them at the end.  That is not the normal technique, but she wasn't happy with how the skin looked without the searing.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Wonders What 2014 Will Be Like

Our Year In Review - Part 3

The second week of August found us in Sycamore, IL which is near Chicago.  Mama loved this small town.  She was able to walk to shops and restaurants. It was here that Buddy, the scooter, came into our lives.  Mama was able to ride Buddy in Sycamore and DeKalb.

Our campground.

 We attended the Mutt Strut where we met Bryn, Scout and their folks, Donna and Chris.  Donna reads our blog and she identified that we were in the town next to her and invited us to the Mutt Strut.  It was a lot of fun!

Us and Bryn and Scout. Yes, another Scout.  BOL!

The folks found a lot of things to do in this area such as visiting Ronald Reagan's boyhood home, John Deere Historic Site and a car museum was much more than a car museum.  Oh, we can't forget the sock museum. 

Monkey Sock Museum

We were supposed to stay here until Thanksgiving, but Dad's work plans changed and we were went to Kansas City at the end of October.

We enjoyed our time in the Kansas City area. We actually stayed in Platte City, MO.  There is so much history in the area.  The Pony Express started here.  Jesse James grew up here and was killed here.  Harry Truman is from the area and the folks toured his library as well as his home.  The WWI Museum is also here.

The campground was decorated for Halloween.

Harry Truman's Home

Scout relaxing at Basswood RV Resort.

We left Kansas City at the end of November and headed home (St. Louis area) to visit family for Thanksgiving. 

We arrived in Houston on December 2nd and that is where we will finish 2013. 

2013 has been good to us. We have explored and sniffed new areas. We have made new friends along the way. We have found some places are hard for us to leave and others we are thrilled to leave.  BOL!  Where will 2014 take us?  Stay tuned as our adventure continues.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Not Tired Of The RVing Lifestyle yet