61 degrees this morning, but very foggy. We finally got to take a walk along the beach, in the fog. :)   

After several blocks along the Seawall, we did a big square and walked thru the neighborhood . It's a mixture of some nicely restored houses, some okay houses, and a lot of pretty shabby houses. I guess a typical beach neighborhood. It was interesting because as we left the seawall area, the fog subsided, but then appeared again the further we walked because we were approaching the harbor side of the island where there was fog as well.

We walked as far as Broadway, which is a main drag here and has several of the big fancy mansions, including the Moody Mansion. I got curious about this Moody name ... if you recall, the aquarium yesterday was at Moody Gardens. So, this Moody fellow is William Lewis Moody Jr. (1865 - 1954), an American financier and entrepreneur from Galveston. He founded a private bank, an insurance company, and the Moody Foundation, one of the largest charitable foundations in the United States (it awards grants to various civic and environmental causes in Texas). Moody Gardens is owned by the City of Galveston but is funded and operated by the Moody Foundation . Besides the three main pyramids, Moody Gardens also has Palm Beach, a white sand beach with freshwater lagoons, a lazy river & tower slides; three theatres (one with motion-based pod seating, a 3D Theatre, and a 4D special effects theatre); a paddlewheel cruise boat, a hotel, a golf course, and a convention centre.

It appears there is no shortage of money when the Moodys are involved. Moody Mansion is one of the fanciest mansions in Galveston. Built in 1895, it has twenty rooms and is 28,000 square feet! The Moody family lived there for over 80 years (from 1900 to 1986), but it is now a
restored mansion open for public tours. Pretty fancy!!

Moody's insurance company, American National Insurance Company, is headquartered in downtown Galveston. The 23 floor white modern building is starkly different than the other early 1900's buildings in Galveston.

For Valentine's Day, we went for seafood at Olympia Grill at Pier 21, which is on the dock on the harbor side of the island. Then after, we went to see the chick flick "The Vow" at the only movie theatre in town. We went to the late movie (9 pm ... lol), which we haven't done in ages because I usually fall asleep. ;o) There were so many previews, I almost fell asleep before the movie even started! But I didn't, and it was a good movie so I stayed awake for the whole thing! :oP