By Georgia Osten
This year, mine was spent with a water shortage situation, and worse – no electricity for 25 hours. The question of where to go out for dinner to celebrate was pretty much out of the question. Nothing open! That’s okay, we had our generator going, which controls our bedroom with A/C and the refrigerator in the kitchen. We plugged in the second refrigerator and the TV in the living room and we were set. I started a pot of black-eyed peas, fixed some pork chops and a pan of cornbread and we were in Heaven.

Last weekend, my husband feeling a bit guilty, invited me for a night at the Tremont and dinner out. We left home by noon and I was all excited about strolling on the Strand and doing a bit of shopping. But no, first stop the Bryan Museum. Now, wait a minute, you’ve invited me out for a romantic night, my birthday night, and we’re going to a museum!?! Well, at least it wasn’t the Railroad Museum, the Children’s Museum or the Airplane Museum…

A bit of culture can’t hurt anybody, so I went in with my eyes open and fell in love. Right, it’s all about history, a lot of Texas history, art and artifacts, storytelling and the sweetest little gray-haired lady following us around or “stalking” as she insisted. She was Joyce, a docent for the museum. She knew everything! Well, if she didn’t know everything, she sure had a great story to tell. I was most fascinated with the fact that the Bryan Museum used to be an orphanage. The orphan train movement began in 1853, transporting orphans from New York to the “nation’s farm belt,” thinking the orphans would have a better chance of being adopted and therefore lead better lives. Interestingly, none of the children or adults at the Galveston Orphans Home died during the September 8, 1900 hurricane. Ironically, we were visiting the Bryan Museum on Friday, September 8th. As Joyce lead us around, she would point out the dining hall for the orphans, their kitchen (the same), their dormitories, the play area in the basement with the wading pool, and the stairwell where some of them secretly played and carved on the wall sad lamentations about being without parents.

The Bryan Museum, located in the historic Galveston Orphans Home, houses The Bryan Collection, one of the world’s largest collections of historical artifacts, documents, and artwork relating to Texas and the American West.

I was able to get some shopping in, a birthday present and a Christmas present. The most fun was the Galveston Bookshop, around 23rd and Mechanic, a must see (and Carson, the cat)!
Dinner at Nonno Tony’s down at Harborside, Crème Brulet for dessert, more walking and a nightcap at the Tremont Rooftop Bar.

Good thing there are no orphans at the Galveston Orphans Home anymore, I could have been tempted.

Happy Birthday to me, thanks Honey for taking me to a museum!
[9-11-2017]

GO’s Sand Bucket is only one beach bum’s journal of life at the beach, probably something each of you can relate to. Please feel free to email me with your thoughts, visions and/or feelings of just exactly what the beach means to you. Email: [email protected]