After a morning of birding then sharing a yummy lunch with our husbands, Mona Liza and I bid adios to the guys and off we went to explore more of Galveston. Two days earlier the four of us stopped in at the Galveston visitor center. The gals at the center were extremely friendly and helpful. This was the perfect stop to begin our Galveston explorations.
We left the center with plenty of information, brochures, and maps to assist us in getting the most out of our stay on the island. Mona Liza and I used the ‘birding’ brochure that morning to help direct us to various spots for the best bird sightings.
Now it was time for us to pull out the ‘Tree Sculpture Tour’ brochure. When Hurricane Ike hit on September 13, 2008, the combination of damaging winds and tidal surge led to the demise of many of Galveston’s tree’s.
A group of homeowners decided to turn destruction into symbols of rejuvenation by commissioning local artists to turn these downed and damaged trees into works of art.
These carved tree sculptures are located throughout Galveston but the bulk are concentrated within Galveston’s East End Historic District.
Although many of the beautiful, majestic oak trees are long gone, they are not forgotten.
With map in hand, ML and I set out to see as many of these sculptures as possible. Although we enjoyed the whimsical sculptures, we were pleasantly surprised by the beautiful architecture. Each house was unique and lovely in it’s own right.
Without the tree sculpture tour incentive, I’m not sure we would have ventured up and down all the residential streets, but I’m really glad we did.
I was so taken by the houses, the architecture, and the gardens that I just had to show the area to hubby.
The next day Al and I went for our morning walk up and down the streets of Galveston’s East End Historic District in lieu of the usual walk on the beach.
The Galveston tree sculptures represent a very small percentage of the trees destroyed by Hurricane Ike. Several organizations worked together to ensure 100% of the “Iked” wood was kept out of landfills.
Some of the wood was used to restore an American historic whaling ship, 200 tons went to Malago, Spain, to build a full scale replica of the Brig “Galveztown”, and a local lumber yard took a fair amount. And yes, 100% of the destroyed trees were repurposed in some form.
No trip to Galveston Island would be complete without a visit to Galveston’s Historic District and that includes “The Strand“…. our next stop!
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