Holiday Time at Moody Gardens!   Living so close to it ALL is one of the many reasons I chose League City, TX as my home. Minutes away from the bay and the gulf and a short drive to the city makes for plenty to do when family and friends visit. A wonderful attraction that is only about 25 minutes or so away is a little enchanted place called Moody Gardens. Located on Galveston Island you are bound to find something to do at Moody Gardens. If you plan to have relatives in for the Holidays, why not take a trip to Moody Gardens. This holiday season is filled with fun things to do with the family and friends. Enjoy a Christmas Day dinner Buffet or enjoy a holiday dinner on other nights the Festival of Lights is open. The Festival of Lights is a mile long trail of more than a million lights!... 12/22/2014

These are the lowest priced brand new homes in West Ranch Friendswood. They are all soon to be ready to move in. Home builders will give you specials on homes that are alredy under construction. Contact James Potenza James@TexasHomeBuy.net to have him represent you with a brnad new home purchase. James Potenza is the West Ranch Friendswood New Home Buyer's Agent !     The list is current as of the posted date. For a current list of ready to move in homes, visit our website and contact James.   Single-Family ML #: 35425783 Status: A LP: $339,034* County: Galveston KM: 657P Area: 33 - Galveston County LP/SF: $ 145.13 Addr: 1503 Richland Hollow Lane City: Friendswood Zip: 77546- Sub: West Ranch State: Texas Country: United States Legal: SEC 0001 BLK 002 LOT 018 Close Date: Sec #: 1 Listing... 10/08/2014

Conventional 30 year Mortgage: 4.25% Credit score:740 LTV:80% Loan Amount:$200k APR: 4.59% FHA 30 year:4.125% Credit Score:640 LTV:96.5% loan amount:$200k APR:5.77% Conventional 15 year:3.375% Credit score:740 LTV:80% Loan Amount:$200k APR:3.52%   Rates are Subject to Change Call me today if you are thinking of refinancing or buying a home, for the best mortgage rate possible. 05/28/2014

Valentine's Day Romance in Galveston, TX Valentine's Day is right around the corner and there are plenty of great restaurants for the perfect romantic night out in Galveston, TX. If you are looking for something to do this Valentine's Day, Galveston is a great place to start! What's more romantic than the sound of the ocean waves? After dining at one of these wonderful restaurants take a stroll on the beach under the stars! Click on each link for more information and to make reservations for your romantic night! Make reservations NOW for Rudy & Paco's who received the Diner Choice Awards per Open Table. The Black Pearl & Oyster Bar is a great spot to spend your Valentine Evening. The M&M Restaurant and Bar is a great spot for Valentine's dining. The Galvez Bar & Grill will have your mou... 01/29/2014

Mardi Gras 2014, Galveston, TX!! The New Year is here but that certainly doesn't mean the celebrations stop in Galveston, TX! February 21st- March 4th will be a fun time for all in Galveston, TX. Enjoy parades, parties, food, and fun for the whole family. The first parade will be held on Saturday February 22nd starting at 12 noon.The 28th annual parade will feature over 50 units including 15 high stepping marching bands and dance teams. for the most and best beads do not miss this big parade. Krewe of Gambrinus Lights up the Night Parade – 6:00pm. King Gambrinus throws a party for 300,000 of his closest friends with over 650,000 throws. Searchlights will “Light Up the Night” as the parade processes down Seawall blvd from 57th Street to 25th Street (Rosenberg Avenue), then heads North on... 01/08/2014

Lone Star Rally in Galveston 2013 Had a great time at the Lone Star Rally in Galveston this past weekend!  Good food, friends and fun! There is nothing more exciting than the roar of motorcycles and I mean thousand's of motorcycles !! There were approximately 400,000 bikes at the rally ! I enjoyed looking at all the beautiful homes on the island. Let me know if you are interested in a second home in Galveston, I can meet you there and show you the condo's and gulfront homes! I will definitely be attending this rally next year! 11/05/2013

In 2000, my first book Bill Cherry's Galveston Memories was published by a small Texas press, VanJus Press.  Amazingly, the thing sold many, many thousands of copies.  Today, used copies sell for between 3 and 4 times the original cover price, while new copies that were horded by distributors being several hundred dollars each. For a few months after Hurricane Ike, they were selling for more than $900 a copy. Amazing! Within the past few days, I've published a second round of stories.  This time in the e-Book format, and it's available at amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com.  By the end of October, it will also be up at the Apple Store, etc. The price is just shy of 10 bucks. While the Damon Runyon-esque tales took place in Galveston, and are true, the only reason they happened there t... 10/19/2013

Galveston's Pleasure Pier Gaining World Recognition Galveston's Pleasure Pier Gaining World Recognition! Living just a short drive from Galveston Island, I am very happy to announce The new up and coming boardwalk pier on Galveston Island, known as Pleasure Pier has been awarded as being one of the five best boardwalk amusement parks in the WORLD! Amusement Today has recognized that the wonderful Galveston Pleasure Pier is one of the best around. The winners are picked by an international board of park enthusiasts. The pier will is packed with restaurants, rides, shops, games, live music and entertainment. Rides will include a 36-foot diameter, double-decker carousel and a 100-foot tall Ferris Wheel, and for the more adventurous, a steel roller coaster with a 100-foot vertical climb, 20... 09/30/2013

Are you looking for something fun to do this weekend?  Look no further!  It's time for the annual Galveston Island Shrimp Festival.  This popular event has something for everyone from a 5k fun run, children's parade and of course amazing food and entertainment.  You can find full information on their web-site, but here are the basics. The event will be held on The Strand in Galveston.  The web-site above has ideas of where to park, but there are many paid parking lots in the area.  You can also park on the street by the meters which are free on Sundays. This fun Galveston Festival is free!  You are welcome to wander through the booths, check out the entertainment and watch the children's parade.  You only need a ticket to do the Gumbo Stroll.  These tickets are available on-line here or... 09/22/2013

Okay all you beer aficionados, I have the perfect event for you! The 4th Annual Brewmasters Craft Beer Festival will be held in Galveston at Moody Gardens August 30th through September 1, 2013. 400 craft brews!!!! This is becoming a popular local event. It is held throughout the 242 acres of the Moody Garden grounds as well as at a couple of off-site locations for special events. There will be live music, food, fireworks and of course, BEER! Click this link for a list of events during the festival. There are a variety of ticket options available on the Brewmasters Craft Beer Festival web-site. Sorry, you must be over 21 to participate. Also, please be responsible. Choose a designated driver or book a room at the Moody Gardens Hotel and enjoy a mini-vacation. Have fun and be safe! 08/21/2013

As we approach the end of summer, you may be looking to slow it down a notch. We are fortunate to be in a coastal region this time of year since the beach is a short drive from anywhere in the Houston/Clear Lake area. If you’re thinking about taking one last drive to Galveston this season, there is one thing you must do to round out your summer. In 2008, the island was slammed by Hurricane Ike. It was a long road to recovery, but Galveston has once again become one of our areas most beautiful places to visit. In fact, it was recently named as one of the nation's top 30 beach towns, seriously. Many visitors to the island go there to hit the beach, visit Moody Gardens, or to check out the new over-the-water amusement park, Pleasure Pier. But, here’s something you can do a little off the b... 08/15/2013

There is Special Government Home Renovation Loan Program with FHA 203K Loan for Galveston Texas that is offered.  Many are not aware of a special government loan program that is actually a part of FHA (Federal Housing Administration- a department within HUD). This FHA loan program allows the buyer or existing owner of a home to do significant amounts of remodeling or updating to their home without a higher cost second lien.   However, this loan program doesn't allow for items of luxury in your home such as a swimming pool, hot tub, or other accessories. But you can repaint, replace flooring, remodel cabinetry in kitchens and bathrooms, add wallpaper, replace appliances – even add a room to an existing structure (which can significantly add to value as you increase the square footage of ... 06/20/2013

The AIA Sandcastle Competition is this Saturday (June 1st) in Galveston. This is a fun annual event where sand artists, who are architects, engineers and designers, come to compete in a sandcastle competition. These are true works of art and take hours to complete. The contestants will be building their creations from 10:00am until 3:00 pm on the day of the event and judging will be from 3:00-4:30 with awards to follow. There will be live music and refreshments available all day and the public can vote on their favorites. It’s amazing to watch what these artists can do with sand! The picture above is from last year’s competition. Attending the sandcastle competition is a great way to spend a day by the beach. The competition will take place at Galveston East Beach (1923 Boddeker) and p... 05/31/2013

It's that time again.  Mardi Gras!  There are many local Mardi Gras celebrations in our area, but the biggest and most well-known is Mardi Gras Galveston.  This fun-filled event begins this Friday, February 1st with a night parade.  There are parades and parties beginning that night and continuing until Sunday.  There is then a short break as real life interferes during the work week and the rest picks up again on Friday, February 8th for another night parade with parties and events continuing through the weekend and concluding on Fat Tuesday with a Mardi Gras Ball. There is a full lineup of parades, routes, activities and more here on the official Galveston Mardi Gras web-site.  You can find more information about tickets (which start at $15+fees) and parking there as well. One of the... 01/29/2013

The Island’s Domestic Goddess By Bill Cherry   It seems to be more generic to Galveston, Texas than any other place I know about.           I’m talking about this special breed of people who seem to intuitively know how to make money, how to contribute to the whole, and how to gain and keep their self-esteem.   <<<==Debra Weaver, the Island Domestic Goddess Formal education rarely seems to play a part in the equation.           The famous Galveston surname, Teichman, comes to mind.  Henry, Antone, and Rudy were like that.  Their wives were, too.           And you can’t leave out the first three generations of the Galveston Moodys, beginning circa 1865 when Col. William L. Moody movcd his family to the Island.            None of them had college degrees.  The Moodys built one of the US's... 12/29/2012

Dickens on the Strand is coming up! This Saturday and Sunday, December 1st and 2nd, the Galveston Historical Society will host the 39th Annual Dickens on the Strand! I love this festival! It has something for everyone and really brings out my Christmas spirit!   You enter the festival and step back in time to 19th century England. Complete with a queens parade, carolers in full costume, Victorian weddings and street vendors its a great way to start the holiday season! All entertainment is family-friendly!  I was looking on the web-site for more information, but they didn't have many details available so I can only speak to what was there last year!  Last year they had fantastic school choirs dressed in period clothing, a children's area complete with petting zoo and elephant rides, a b... 11/26/2012

  Sunsets on Galveston Island in the fall can be absolutely gorgeous. I took this picture a few weeks ago from the balcony at the San Luis Hotel during the Lone Star Motorcycle Rally. The San Luis is one of Galveston’s most beautiful hotels, and all of the rooms have wonderful ocean views. At sunset, the views are stunning!   11/11/2012

  I took some time off today to go to the Lone Star Motorcycle Rally in Galveston with my husband and some good friends. Today was the first day, and the rally runs through Sunday, Nov. 4 The rally is being held on Galveston’s historic Strand. The street is blocked off for motorcycles only, and the Strand is lined with bikes from one end to the other.  I have never seen so many motorcycles in one place, and this is considered to be the “slow” day!  All of the side streets are lined with vendors selling lots of motorcycle gear, t-shirts, and some really great-smelling food! You can’t walk down the street without getting hungry! There are some big entertainment names scheduled to perform during the rally, including Bret Michaels, who will perform for free on Friday night. The Geico team i... 11/01/2012

Labor Day Events Galveston 2012 Events and Ideas   Labor Day is fastly approaching. Do you have plans? Well if not below are a few events and ideas to help make this Labor Day memorable and exciting for the family! Sunday September 2nd, 2012 Looking for special events and things to do on Labor Day Redfish Raft-Up Weekend in Houston? Welcome Aboard Star Fleet’s Labor Day Redfish Raft-Up Weekend Party Cruise to Redfish Island featuring Kelly McGuire and band and benefiting the Galveston Bay Foundation. This 2012 Labor Day Redfish Raft-Up Cruise will be the 8th annual event and has a huge following of fans who come year after year. The Star Gazer yacht will depart from Star Fleet's private Kemah marina and head past the Kemah Boardwalk and out into Galveston Bay. The yacht will cruise 8 mi... 08/30/2012

The word vacation is a unique word. It makes people from all walks of life feel a sense of calm. Vacations are carefully planned with the intention to create memories and are a yearly tradition for many families or groups of friends. Whether you are planning a quick weekend getaway or a week away, beach lovers from near and far have discovered Galveston Island. The most important part of the vacation planning process is deciding where to stay and call “home”. The most common options available to the consumer are staying at a hotel or renting a condo or a home owned by an individual owner.  Most of you reading this article have probably experienced a stay from a hotel type accommodation.  A vacation rental property is usually discovered by searching the internet to locate properties base... 07/20/2012