Friday, February 9 - We are now in Corpus Christi, after a long drive from Galveston. Mixed cloud and rain for a good part of it, so although it's nothing new, this weather, it took away somewhat from the drive.

 I posted the first picture, a view of the huge oil/gas processing complex that welcomes you as you enter Texas at Port Arthur. It's massive, with towers in vast numbers spewing who-knows-what into the atmosphere. But it's not the only complex of this nature. As we drove along the coast today  toward Corpus Christi, there were at least 4 more complexes of even larger dimension scattered along the Gulf. Huge expanses of complex processing equipment! Truly, there is so much strategic importance to these processors, it makes one wonder what would happen to the U.S. economy and general order if they were put out of commission. I hope Big Brother isn't monitoring this as I speculate.

The second picture is The Bishop's Palace in Galveston. Gail says it's the most beautiful house she's ever been in, and I have to agree. The design and the details are hard to fathom, as there is so much artistry in the interior, so many imported materials from Europe used to complete rooms, stairways, entries, library, salon. The owners were a prosperous couple, he a lawyer and statesman, she an artist and good at spending his money. They oversaw the whole business of design and construction, an immense job. After their deaths. the Catholic Church purchased it as a residence for their Bishop, a most imposing place for a humble member of the cloth. He put up with it for his 30 years in office until his death. Poor soul.

The third picture is of a demonstration ocean drilling platform in Galveston Harbour. It's barely visible in the fog, which engulfed the city the first day of our arrival there. We walked all the way down-town and back, so despite the weather managed to get in a 3 hour walk. That's about all we did this time in Galveston...walk, walk, walk, as it was too cool to ride our bikes along the seawall avenue.

We're hoping tomorrow will be better, as there is a Mardi Gras parade on the beach, which we may try to get to. We had a little mechanical problem on the way today, so that's something we have to sort out, but it can probably wait until Monday. Watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics, as I imagine many of you are, so will close for now.

More later. Stay tuned.