Galveston: May 12

Events of Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Location: Galveston

Up again early to get ready for another work day. We are so paranoid about freezing ourselves out again with the A/C that we (unknowingly) turn it up too high - so this morning, we all wake up sweating. Groan. We'll figure out the temperature before this week is over, I can only hope.

Lunches are made and packed in our cooler and it's off to work. It's nice that our work site is all of 5 minutes from our sleeping quarters - Galveston is small enough that it really doesn't have a "rush hour" and doesn't have the traffic problems that a big city has.

Today we learn how to install a Pergo floor. A Pergo floor is a laminate floor that is installed by laying down a pad, and then placing the sheets of laminate down and connecting each with a tongue-and-groove. We began in the living room.

We all settle into our "jobs" - or areas of expertise - and Gina and I take on the measuring and cutting role. Which involves use of a saw. Several saws, actually. For smaller cuts, we use the Miter Box Saw.

For larger cuts, we use the table saw. Or, should I say Gina used the table saw - I would just watch.

Anne places the floor in the tongue-and-groove after we've cut it, and Sherri S. is "Hammer Lady" - she takes the rubber mallet and gives it a good whack to knock it into place. Don and Judy work in the bedrooms, installing the quarter-round trip along the baseboards. We've got our music playing on the Ipod speakers, we're jamming, and life is good.

After another brief break for lunch (at the beach - where else?!), we work until 4:30 pm when we finish the living room. Success!

We head back to Crockett, clean up, and then head to Casey's for dinner. Casey's is where I ate several times when I was in Galveston last September after Ike - it was one of the few restaurants open for business. You can't miss it - it's along Seawall Blvd and it has a giant shrimp on the roof.

Now here is where the fun begins. We have a little waitress who is from China - she doesn't speak much English - and so ordering is quite the adventure. I recommend the Crabcake Salad - I had it before when I was here - and Gina takes me up on it. Well...to say that Gina enjoyed her salad is a bit of an understatement. The sounds of pleasure - the sighs of delight - that Gina made while eating that salad - were something else.

We were cracking up before dinner was over - Judy is almost crying.

After dinner, it was time to walk off the meal - and so we crossed Seawall and went down on the beach and along a pier. It was very windy - my hair was looking just a little windblown before it was all over!



After walking along the pier, we stopped for a bite of ice cream at Ben & Jerry's. We became quite the regulars there all week. While savoring our ice cream, we had quite the discussion about the proposed dike that will be built around Galveston. Don't even ask.

We then drove around the island to sightsee: over to the bay side, where we saw all of the boats in the harbor; down to the Strand area; and then down Broadway. We then went to Johnny & Christina's house - the family I met last September during Ike. They're a little surprised to see us there - but considering that 6 people (5 of which are complete strangers) show up on their doorstep unannounced, I think they handled it rather well.

It was now getting dark - time to head back to Crockett and settle in. We actually manage to get the thermostat just right tonight. Sleep will be good.

Peace.