Galviston Oh Galviston

Well Galviston is not quite what the song evokes. We spent 3 days sweltering in a public camping shelter. It was very tropical weather, raining in the afternoon and humid as hell. The town is really flat and below sea level. At one time it was devastated by a cyclone along the lines of what happened to New Orleans. There is a long road running parallel to the beach and we saw some amazing looking beach houses. They were all different shapes and pastel colours and looked like something from a film set. I would have loved to transplant one in Bateman's Bay. They were a bit out of our price range for property starting at around $800,000.

Al was very keen to visit the Ocean Star Off Shore Oil Rig and Museum. We spent at least 4 riveting hours there (yawn) looking at all sorts of deep sea diving, oil drilling stuff. Al loved it. They had an oil men wall of fame and George Bush Snr was on it. I looked for Jed Clampett but he had not been given the acclaim that he truly deserved.

Back in the States; The Alamo

We nursed the car to San Antonio where we paid to get the fuel problem fixed.$1000 later it went like a dream. While we were there we stayed in a very interesting B&B ( used to be a youth hostel) called General Bullis House. It was a magnificent old mansion built by General Bullis who was a famous Civil War General instrumental in capturing Geronimo. Have a look at the link to the Bullis House homepage but don't be taken in by the glorious pool pic it was so green we didn't think it was safe to swim in. While the house was lovely and you could imagine the grandeur of the past, our room was in the attic and was about 100f with a noisy struggling air con in the window that had to be left on the whole time just to cope with the heat. The area the house was in had a faded glory sort of feel to it. There were some beautiful old houses there but most were run down and would probably cost a fortune to renovate.

We actually liked San Antonio. We went for a river cruise in the city centre. Civic could do with canals linked with the lake and meandering through Garema place and out to the museum before flowing back into the lake. It would be a great tourist attraction. Someone should talk to Jon
Stanhope about it. Of course we visited the Alamo, saw Davey Crockett memorabilia. He came from Tennessee and after visiting Tennessee you wonder why he would ever go out of that beautiful lush state to fight in Texas. The link tells you all about it.
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Do we ever get out of Texas

Well, yes we did and travelled to many other great US destinations which I will endeavour to up date you on but right now we are actually in London.

We arrived on 1 August 2008. It was 17c and raining and has barely stopped since. To be honest we have been a bit flat since we arrived. The USA, while it has its warts is vibrant, energetic and in your face and London feels stodgy in comparison. We have been living in a hostel which costs a fortune. 180pounds a week for a small room with a double bunk, a sink and a fridge. The other people here are like us; broke, looking for work and somewhere cheaper to live just younger. Alan took down every scaffold number on the buildings that we saw and has managed to get a job with a scaffolding company doing casual work. I have my name with the recruitment agency and am waiting to see what happens. If I hear nothing in the next week I will send my own CV out to different places.

We have been looking for a flat and have had an unpleasant encounter with someone who after a few emails was very certain that we should go to Western Union and send money to each other so he could be sure we had the cash. He sounded more and more sus so we told him we were no longer interested. A lot of people find work and accommodation on a website called Gumtree but I think there may be plenty of shiesters on there ready to rip you off. The real estate agents here charge 79pounds just to release the stuff on their books. I think its probably better to pay it than have to put up with these other people.

Anyway we have been into town and had a look at the tower bridge and walked around Kensington Gardens and the Kensington Palace but we cant afford to go inside yet. We also wandered around Greenwich yesterday which is a lovely area. The Cutty Sark which was moored there unfortunately burned and only the hull is left. Such a shame.

I will keep adding our other adventures in America as I can. Its been difficult getting to an internet spot and having the time to do it. So sorry if its out of sequence.