Galveston

The island and surrounding area was a madhouse when Hurricane Rita threatened just a month or so after the Katrina tragedy. People were lined up for days to evacuate and literally moving just a few miles. The heat was miserable and many cars and people were overheating. Rita turned a bit to the north and made landfall right at the Texas-Louisiana border and Galveston was spared the wrath of the Cat. 3.

I visited Galveston last year just before Independence Day and I enjoyed the city/island. Lots of old houses and buildings. The beach was freakin' packed for obvious reasons. It has all the sun and palm trees one could ask for. I actually went there to have lunch with a friend who was leaving the port on a cruise ship. From what I saw, it's a neat little place. But remember...hurricanes. I believe the storm of 1900 was one of the worst in history and tore Galveston up.

http://www.1900storm.com/

 

It wasn't just Galveston, my family lives in Conroe maybe 30 minutes north and they said the traffic was at a stand-still there and it had been that way for days, what a nightmare.

 

Conroe's an hour and a half north of Galveston, with no traffic.

 

That's right, I was thinking of Spring, which is on the norhternmost side of Houston... :-[ VERY differnet places.
Very embarassed, I just remember as a kid sitting on the drive across Houston heading to the beach and time seemed to fly by until you hit traffic.