Moody Mansion and Tree Sculptures

Let me preface this by saying that I'm really tired and my tummy hurts because I stuffed myself at dinner AGAIN!  So, I'm going to try to make this one quick.   Today was my last full day in Galveston.

I got started late and my reason this time is because I'm on vacation and I don't have to follow a clock.  I got my act together and drove around for a bit to try some side roads I hadn't tried before.  Found another main drag with bars and places to eat...nothing exciting.  I then hightailed it to the historic district because I had pre-purchased a ticket to the guided tour of the Moody Mansion. I had walked around the grounds earlier this week.

We had a full tour group and the tour guide was a bit slow and difficult to hear sometimes.  However, he did have some interesting tidbits to share...apparently, he had delivered groceries to the house as a young boy...and could tell us that they tipped well. Of course, no photos.   Most of it was much more impressive inside than the Bishop's Palace, mostly because the Moody family had it completely restored in the 80's and the majority of the original furniture was still there.

While Moody Mansion did not have as impressive an exterior as The Bishop's Palace, it had it's moments.

A bit of the front porch

Some of the nifty wrought ironwork.  If you don't rem.ember what the house looks like go back to this day.

There are also photos of the antique cars on display, and I decided to try taking some cool pics of the Cadillac hood ornaments.

After the tour was over, I bought my Christmas tree ornament for the trip (remember, gotta have one) and headed out on my next mission The Galveston Tree Sculpture Tour.

Back in 2008 Hurricane Ike managed to kill a lot of the 100 year old oaks that grew along the residential streets in the historic district (they spent all this time growing since the last big hurricane in 1900).  Many of the broken, dead trees were sculpted by local artists.

I ended up driving the route, but missed a bunch of them.  I think I was just cranky and impatient.  Here are the best of the ones I did find

Of course, the last one is my favorite and the one I really wanted to find.  The Tin Man and Toto are at 1702 Winnie St. the childhood home of King Vidor who, for a brief time, was the director of The Wizard of Oz.

Here's the house,  you can see the sculpture to the right beside the tall palm tree.  There are lots of cool old homes in the historic district, so I took a lot of house photos too.

By this time, I needed sustenance, so I headed to The Strand.  I shopped a bit, bought a bit, but didn't find any restaurant open that seemed appealing.  So I went back to La Kings and bought a root beer float.  Yummy.

I headed back to the condo and stopped at a junky souvenir shop, where I bought a few junky things. I got a coupon for a free appetizer or desert at a seafood restaurant on Seawall...BONUS!

I got back to the room, unpacked some crap and rested up a bit because I was pooped!  I changed my shirt, combed my hair and headed out to Fish Tales, apparently another chain connected to Landry's (the unimpressive schmantzy place I went last night).  This place was much better...I had a view.

of Pleasure Pier, which I was unable to adequately capture on my camera phone.   I opted for the gastronomically dangerous Shrimp Trio (3 types of fried shrimp)

 Which was YUMMY!  That tall, cool frostiness is a swirl margarita.  I had the caramelized pineapple cheesecake for desert...or I tried to.  Most of it came back to the room with me.

I am tired and my belly is full.  I have to get up early tomorrow and clear out of here.  However, I'm NOT heading home...surprise side trip!  Stay tuned for The Texas Clay Festival!