Alvin, Texas

Alvin was founded by Alvin Morgan 100 + years ago as a railhead for the cattle industry. Area ranches would trail the cattle to pens in Alvin where they were held until loaded on trains headed for stockyards farther east. Morgan had a pet dog……..and a pet duck. Both the dog and the duck followed him everywhere he went.

Alvin is a small town in population – about 21,000, but good sized in land area. Lots of open land to grow into.

Years ago, Joy worked at the First National Bank in Alvin. One day, a regular customer came in with 3 baby alligators he had found in his rice fields. The bank had an atrium that for some reason, plants would not grow in – one of the officers suggested they put in a pond to put the 3 alligators in, which they did. The gators became real conversation pieces. They also grew. And grew. And grew more. Eventually, they outgrew their pond. The bank officers had a meeting to decide what to do about the gators. The solution? Build a bigger bank. And so they did. In the center of the lobby in the new bank is a very large atrium with pools and water falls, and rocks, etc just for the gators!!!

In the older sections of town, huge, stately live oaks line the streets. This was a project taken on by the ladies league ages ago. They bought hundreds of seedlings for about a penny a piece and planted them throughout the town.

One day, we visited Kemah – a small coastal community that has been developed into a waterfront recreation/entertainment area. They were either building or repairing a large wooden rollercoaster. Joy doesn’t remember it being there before.

Creeks and Bayous. Joy educated me on this subject. Using Montana creeks and rivers as comparison, she said Bayous were slow moving waterways, bigger than creeks and smaller than rivers. So there you have it, folks, in case anyone asks you.

Mexican food. If you love Mexican food as I do, this is the place for you. You can walk all day from one restaurant to another. I’ve never seen so many Mexican restaurants.

Yesterday, we went to the Space Center. The good news was that it was Spring Break, and the tickets were half price. The bad news is that it was Spring Break!!!!!! Wall to wall screaming kids. I did get to see Mission Control and the Saturn V rocket which was so awesome it made my knees shake, but I couldn’t stand the crowds, so I vowed to come back another time.

The day was saved by a stop at Joy's brother's home, and I got to hold a 2 day old .
kid (the goat kind) I was setting up to take the picture as Billy was walking toward me with twin kids when all of a sudden I had an armful of bleating, struggling kid, trying to focus the camera with the other hand.

Tomorrow I leave for San Antonio – about 200 miles and I have all day to get there!!!! I’m taking the back roads, and have some stops planned for along the way.

My wireless keyboard quit, my laptop keyboard is enough to drive me insane, and I still haven’t figured out the photos, but I’ll keep trying.

Until next time,
Bear Hugs
Boots