"Galveston, oh Galveston"

Not quite the romantic place I had conjured in my head after decades of listening to Glen Campbell's refrain, I wandered around there wondering why Jimmy Webb chose this place when writing that anti-Vietnam war song. Galveston is an old Victorian era industrial port town on the Gulf of Mexico, which had certainly suffered the ravages of Hurricane Ike in '08, with many boarded up buildings and shops with placards indicating the high water mark inside their doorways.
Our visit was spiced up with one of the largest gatherings of motorcyclists in the US, 80% of them on Harley's, and a good number of them on open exhausts.  Took the shine of what I'm sure is normally a quiet seaside town.

Some of the more badly affected buildings from the hurricane

The historic Star Drug Store, with one of America's oldest still functioning Coca Cola Signs

Bikers and their babes

Bikes galore

Pussy Galore

Birds of a different variety

The Ocean Star drilling platform, now used as an educational resource for the energy sector

More modern architecture pops up around the island

Even more bikes

An example of Galveston's grand Victorian homes

Shipping in the Gulf of Mexico

An amusement park along the coast

"on the beach where we used to run................at Galveston..."

Part of the fishing fleet