Cynthia Mitchell passed away just after Christmas at her home at The Woodlands.  She was 87 and had suffered from the ravages of Alzheimer's disease for about ten years. Her funeral was held at Trinity Episcopal Church in Galveston, the church she and her family had attended fifty years earlier when they lived on the Island.  Her ten children were there to celebrate her life as was her husband, George Mitchell, 90.  And the church was packed with friends.  Another lifelong friend, Trish Clason, sent me one of the printed programs and told me about the service. The program shows that five people, four of them family members, eulogized her.  And I know they did a great job, doing their best to remind all present of how remarkable Mrs. Mitchell was. But the one who captured and told it all... 01/14/2010

There are a number of my high school friends who live in Dallas.  Two of them, Martin Bowers and Erben Schuldt, join me for lunch from time to time to talk about what it was like to grow up in Galveston, and to discuss our Ball High School friends. Martin and his brother, Ralph, were excellent students.  Martin is a mechanical engineer with an MBA.  Ralph is a civil engineer who had an appointment to one of the military academies, but washed out when his entrance medical found he had an astigmatism. Martin and Ralph's daddy. A.A. Bowers, was a general contractor in Galveston.  I had a nice home that I had bought from an estate for a rent house.  The neighborhood was so good that I asked Mr. Bowers if he'd add a garage apartment on top of the garage. Ralph drew an exceptional set of plan... 12/30/2009

CHRISTIE "THE BEACHCOMBER" MITCHELL Ducky Wucky Was Santa to Crazy Frank, Pee Wee, Dirty Gertie and the Rest By Bill Cherry The Beachcomber told me this story.  It happened one Christmas Eve about 10 years after the war. There was a fellow from a good Catholic family who had two talents.  One was shoplifting and the other was picking pockets.  The downtown merchants referred to him as Gonif, a Yiddish word that means "thief."  The night people called him as Ducky Wucky.  Now I can't exactly lay my hands on one distinguishing feature that made him resemble a duck, but there was no doubt.  The guy looked like a duck. A lot of people made their living off the streets back then.  People like dirty little unshaven Pee Wee, who sold yesterday's newspapers, and Crazy Frank, who made-believe h... 12/05/2009

Galveston Texas and it's beautiful bay side Galveston Island not only has a sandy beach with gorgeous beach homes, but also a bay side which features our homes on many coves and communities on canals. Fishing and Boat enthusiasts love our bay side and take enjoyment in their homes with boat launches and canal front views.   Many of Galveston's Bay communities, such as: Jamaica Beach, Sea Isle, Terramar, Isla Del Sol, Bay Harbor, Pirates Cove, Indian Beach, Sunset Cove and others...feature everything from a small cabin on the water to go fishing on the weekends...to large luxurious mansions featuring million dollar prices. Galveston Island is 32 miles long and approximately 4 1/2 miles wide at it's widest point, and in many places on our far west end, you can see both the beach and bay f... 11/20/2009

I'm one of those Realtors that will go out to the beach, walk over dunes and get way out in the sand to take a photo of a property. I'm also one of those Realtors that will take other Realtors photos and fix them so they look nice, sometimes I even send them back to the Realtor so they can fix it in the MLS. I'm also a Realtor that will go ahead and waste my time occasionally. I will waste my time and money helping someone or explaining something about Galveston Island when I know I probably won't get a sale, I just do it anyway. I might not make as much money as possible, I'm sure I could be hard-nosed and make more...but it's not about that. At the end of the day, if you enjoyed sharing your thoughts and helping someone understand things; If you went the extra mile out of kindness and... 11/18/2009

Galveston Texas and Wood Pilings on Beach Homes I thought I'd share this story today about what I'm going through on this particular closings on a Beach Home in Galveston. This is a VA loan. In Texas a termite inspector is required to state that it is "conducive" to termites anytime wood is touching soil. If you have a beach home, wood pilings touch soil. Here in Galveston, only treated wood is used on wood pilings. The exact "treatment" is CCA which contains chromium aresenic. The aresenic kills termites and the percentage of CCA to wood is .60 percent. On average, a treated wood piling will last 40 years+ without any maintenance. Although it is standard in Galveston to meet code, standard in Texas to meet code, my job is to prove this particular home has treated pilings...so today I'l... 11/16/2009

Galveston Texas Lone Star Bike Rally This weekend Galveston is hosting the "Lone Star Bike Rally" again...a traditional annual event hosting upwards of 250,000.00 bikers that travel to Galveston to enjoy tons of music events, historic strand entertainment, biker events and other attractions.   There will be continuos live music on two huge stages, hundreds of vendors, demo fleets, biker attractions and more. Rick Fairless and see his unique motorcycle creations! Moody Gardens will host Superstar concerts featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd, Edgar Winter, Leon Russell, Pat Green and James Otto.   Last year, despite hurricane Ike, the bikers came in December...to support our island, and it truly was a sight. I won't forget watching the dozens and dozens of bikers come over the causeway to Galveston,... 10/30/2009

  Galveston Historic Flagship will be New Amusement Park over water   Landry's unveils plans for FlagshipBy Leigh Jones The Daily News Published October 29, 2009 GALVESTON - Officials with Landry's Restaurants are planning to restore the Flagship Hotel and bring amusement rides back to the historic pier.During a meeting with several neighborhood groups on Tuesday, Landry's representatives announced plans to build a double-decker carousel, a Ferris wheel and an amusement area on the pier, 2501 Seawall Blvd.The area will be renamed the Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier Hotel and Resort and will resemble the area the company operates at the Kemah Boardwalk.The amusement rides will be consistent with those at the pier when it was built in 1940, Dancie Ware, a spokeswoman for Landry's... 10/30/2009

The Beauty of Galveston Texas Photography is one of my passions. For potential real estate buyers, it helps to see what Galveston has to offer and the many joys of living the beach lifestyle. I thought I'd share some of the spectacular beauty of Galveston Island with everyone.       10/26/2009

  Galveston Texas Dickens On The Strand Tickets are now available to Dickens On The Strand, the Galveston Historical Foundation's 36th annual Victorian-style street festival   filled with costumes, music, food and wares straight from the streets of 19th-century London. The festival, set this year for Dec. 5 and 6, is always held the first weekend in December in a 10-square- block area in historic downtown Galveston. Last year, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, which inundated Galveston's 19th-century collection of cast-iron commercial buildings with 13 feet of corrosive flood water, a scaled-back version of the festival took place as the first large outdoor event to be held in Galveston after the storm. *We were all very proud to have held Dickens on the Strand last year...and we will ... 10/26/2009

                                                    Look what's going on Galveston Island for October 2009.  Who would have thought there was so much to do?  Check it out, and check out Galveston, a great little gem on our coast. Things to do in Galveston, TX, October, 2009. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   10/18/2009

For those of you who own motorcycles- there is nothing like a huge rally to get excited about. Well Galveston's bike Rally is one of those events!This year should be HUGE! This year's Lone Star rally will be a great time and feature cooler weather. Oct 30- Nov 1 will turn Galveston into a bikers dream! Ryson Real Estate and Vacation rentals looks forward to helping with all of your vacation rental needs. Call 409-740-1600 to book your stay now!   Discounts: book 4 nights for the price of 3, or book 3 nights for the price of 2!!! 10/13/2009

October 10th & 11th the third annual version  of the "LyonodellBasell Bike Around the Bay" is the a tow day, 148 mile bicycle ride around Galveston Bay with the natural beauty of Galveston Bay and benefiting the Galveston Bay Foundation.  For more information and to register visit www.bikearoundthebay.org   10/04/2009

THE BIG HURT  By Bill Cherry, Realtor I don't know who had chosen which records would be among the 100 on the Seeburg Selectomatic jukebox with the neon-style lights that added the only tinge of brightness in the teeny night club, but it didn't matter, really.  Because out of the 100 possibilities that were in the jukebox's record slots, five had inadvertently been found that the clientele would play over and over again, almost always ignoring the rest.  The favorite one was sung by a one-tune wonder named Toni Fisher.  And even though it had come out in 1959, seven years later it remained Number 1 on the Metropole Club Hit Parade, six plays in succession for a quarter.  Its title was "The Big Hurt."  It went like this: Now it begins, now that you've gone Needles and pins, twilight till... 10/04/2009

Harvest Moon Regatta in Galveston Texas Today was the annual "Harvest Moon Regatta" in Galveston   Every year sailboats begin a race that takes them from Galveston Island, Texas to Port Aransas, Texas along the Gulf Coast, approximately 150 miles.   It was a beautiful sight as always!   I am lucky enough to live right on the seawall and I get some amazing photos from my balcony. I also had to go down to the beach and out onto the end of a jetty along with all the other photographers to try to get some really good shots.       It's wonderful to see the beautiful sails of all the different colors as they go across the waves.   Today the water had it's "green and blue stripes" as I call them...makes the water look even more gorgeous in photos. Next time you visit Galveston Island, Texas...... 10/01/2009

Galveston Texas and Investing So, you want to invest in Galveston, Texas. Great idea! There are many options. Galveston has beach front homes, condos, canal homes, bay front homes, and also multi-family residential and historic, just to name a few. A large portion of our investors purchase beach homes and use them as vacation rental income investment. A beach home close to the beach can earn an income of 30-60K per year in vacation rental income. Many owners of beach homes such as these also use them on occasion themselves, and the income generated through vacation rental helps offset the cost of ownership.   Another option is condo investing. Many condos in Galveston can be purchased between 80-200K and on up, depending on location, size and development. Vacation rental income on a con... 09/28/2009

In 1900 Galveston boasted being the "third richest city in the United States in proportion to population" and efforts were being made to increase its sea port value. All major railroads served Galveston and 60% of the state's cotton crop was exported through its port. At one time, Galveston, Texas was considered the Wall Street of the south. Galveston had the first electric power in Texas to residences, and telephone pole's before the 1900 storm.         The hurricane that destroyed Galveston on September 8, 1900, is the nations's deadliest natural disaster. Although its death toll will never be known precisely, the 1900 Storm claimed upwards of 8,000 lives on Galveston Island and several thousand more on the mainland. In Galveston, it destroyed 2, 636 houses and left thousands more dam... 09/28/2009

This week I went bungalow shopping with some clients new to the Galveston, Texas area. Craftsman details, hardwood floors and vintage tile had all of us excited and eager to see the next one. Then, the downpour started. Average rainfall here is about 48" per year, but it is never distributed evenly. This precipitation seemed more like the 4" per hour kind. . . Cats and dogs, with some chickens and hogs thrown in. We finished examining the details of the house and decided to make a run for the car. But, aye-eeee! The rain was ice cold so we huddled instead on the generous covered porch waiting for it to stop. It did not stop! It rained and poured and rained some more. So we examined the lot as best we could, watching its drainage in action. Decided to make another run for the car. The gu... 09/24/2009

Murdochs in Galveston, Texas With all the destruction that Galveston suffered from Hurricane Ike in September of 2008, it's great to see some of our seawall businesses come back over the water. Many shops were destroyed from the crashing surf, including the historic Balinese Room. One of Galveston's most beloved is Murdochs, which was built in the 1800's and was known as Murdoch's Bathhouse. It's nice to see Murdocks being rebuilt. Opening is planned for spring 2010. We've come a long way in one year, since the storm. Our island has been busier this year than it has in the last 5 years. This photo below shows the place where the former Murdoch's once was located. We are all glad to see the new construction, and know it will be back, as so many other "over the water" shops will be. 09/24/2009

To Tweet or not to Tweet I used to tweet. I had amassed quite a few other tweeters. I tried my best to get into tweeting. I'm not sure of all the benefits of tweeting..but I do know it was hard to keep up with everything I was doing!  I think I'm such a perfectionist, that if 30 minutes went by and I didn't tweet, then that was an incorrect tweeting so I was perplexed!         Is the appeal of twitter to let everyone know what you're up to?...or is it to see what THEY are up to?... I'm still perplexed. lol.       I guess someone should enlighten me on tweeting. I talk on facebook, I talk on myspace I blog and talk on activerain..I update and talk to my clients through my own website. I check email all day long. Should I also tweet? I think I can chirp fairly well..maybe that will help. ... 09/23/2009