Report from Galveston

Our Dave writes:

Hi to all,

So I returned from Austin at 5:30am on Tuesday morning. A trip that was 6 hours to flee, was only 3 1/2 hours to return. I had a wonderful time in Austin and so did Rowdy (the dog). He smiled the whole time, and for those who know him, ya know what I mean.

Thank You goes out to Dave and Charles for hosting us and putting up with the evacuees from Galvatraz. If it wasn't for ya'll, I would of probably been stuck in the 32 hour traffic it took my friends just to get to Dallas. I appreciate ya and can't express enough what you both mean to me.

The Island looked unchanged upon crossing over the Causeway. However, upon driving a little further I saw palm trees whose leaves were all on one side due to the wind. Most traffic lights were out and most businesses were closed......including whataburger. All but one gas station had bags over their pumps and were still out of gas. At the apartment, a gutter had collapsed in front of my door. Some windows were blown out of other units and shingles and debrious was everywhere. With the apartment spared....from the looks of the ice cream in the freezer, all the food will have to be tossed....i'm sure the power was off for sometime. But was working when we made it home.

Work is vacant. It's like a ghost town around here. UTMB is 7 hospitals in one and has a very errie fell right now. May lose some hours due to the patients aren't back yet. It's the first time UTMB has ever evacuated. WOW! No one seems to know when things will get back to normal here.

At the least everyone is safe. No deaths had been reported so far, with the exception of the nursing home patients from Galveston on the bus that caught fire. A lady was burned at her art gallery on the island and she lost her life's works. But last I heard was still alive. A few stories are coming in that a few Galveston area residents died on the highway stuck in traffic. But those seem to be minimum (5 or so).

We are very luck. Not so for a bit east of us. We were blessed this time. But we are all on borrowed time here on the coast. We dont know when, but it is just a matter of time when we will be hit again. Never an if here, always a when.

Well wanted to update ya'll and thank ya for the offers and the thoughts.

Sincerely,

Dave