We left San Antonio a day earlier than originally planned so that we could head to Galveston, Texas. We had always wanted to go and a quick overnight trip would give us a taste of the surroundings. We stayed overnight at the Haak Winery (@Haakwinery) due to our membership with Harvest Host. This winery was “the first and only commercial winery in Galveston County”. “It all began in 1969 on the 10th wedding anniversary of Raymond and Gladys Haak. Gladys’s gifts to Raymond that year were two Concord grapevines. What began as a hobby with those two vines soon turned into a great passion for both of the novice winemakers. With these and numerous other grape varietals that came after them, Raymond tested which varieties would survive the climatic conditions along the Gulf Coast of Texas.” “
“A few years later, Raymond read about a hybrid grape variety that was said to be resistant to Pierce’s Disease and grew well in dry, hot environments. It was called Blanc du Bois.”
“Haak became one of the first wineries in the country to cultivate Blanc du Bois. And Raymond’s foresight has proven positive as the winery has produced numerous medal-winning wines from the Blanc du Bois grapes. The once-small gathering of two lonely grape vines in 1969 has turned into 3 acres filled with 1,800 vines and production of the first commercial Haak wines in 2000.”
Today, the winery consists of more than 25,000 sq. ft., including an 1,800 sq. ft. cellar, which is used for storing and aging wines in oak barrels.”
With this kind of history, we looked forward to the stay.
“Galveston is an island city on the Gulf Coast of Texas. It’s known for Moody Gardens, where giant glass pyramids house sharks, monkeys and other animals. Amusement rides and restaurants line Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier on the south shore. West is bird-rich Galveston Island State Park, with its trails, kayak launches and fishing spots. Stewart Beach and East Beach are on the island’s eastern end.”
As we toured Galveston, we found a lot of history we were not aware of. The first thing was about Juneteenth. “Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond.” We had no idea it started in Galveston and this beautiful mural celebrated the event. You can see General Granger in the middle signing General Order Number 3.
“One of General Granger’s first orders of business was to read to the people of Texas, General Order Number 3 which began most significantly with:
“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.”The next thing was the Texas Heroes Monument which stands 74 feet tall and was unveiled on April 22, 1900. It is located at the intersection of Broadway and Rosenberg Avenue. “The Texas Heroes Monument was commissioned by Henry Rosenberg to commemorate the brave people who fought during the Texas Revolution. “The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) in putting up armed resistance to the centralist government of Mexico. While the uprising was part of a larger one, the Mexican Federalist War…”
From there of course, we travelled to the beach. The area was empty for being April.
And then saw some beautiful turtles that are all through Galveston but we only picked two.
From there was a hunt and seek the Kettle Home, a remodeled house from the Restoring Galveston series with Michael and Ashley Cordray.
From there was the hunt for some good murals. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of information about them like their names, etc.
