I drove into Galveston yesterday to meet three girls from work for lunch. It was nice to catch up with all of them in person and spend some time on the water. The beaches have been empty since the storm. It's probably a cross between everyone being busy cleaning up with no free time and the risk you run going in the ocean with all the runoff from Galveston after the storm.
After lunch, I stopped by where Ariel and Travis are each working. First, I brought Travis and his work buddy some Gatorade. That proved to be a a task in itself. Many businesses still do not have functioning credit card machines. It took me a couple tries to find a store that would take my Visa (and I got some cash back to be prepared the next time). Travis was working at an apartment complex on the east end of the island and it had about five feet of water. All the AC units and breaker boxes were messed up and needed to be replaced.
Once I had gotten a tour of that place, I headed over to where Ariel was working in the middle of the island. That particular area got about nine feet of water. The house she is helping to gut is about 3 1/2 feet above the ground on pilings, so the inside got about five feet of water. They have to take out EVERYTHING: 4 layers of flooring, sheet rock, wood paneling, cabinets, appliances and all electrical. That neighborhood smelled like crap too. The mold and mildew is out of control. I feel for all the people who have to rebuild.
I also drove by the new garbage dump on the island. It's huge. They have an area sectioned off that they are filling with vehicles that have been towed. In this first photo you can see part of the tow lot, then the trash pile, then the Galveston Courthouse in the distance.
I don't know when or where this stuff is going to be moved, but it is going to be a long process.
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