Jump to content

k5jri radio

Full Member
  • Posts

    104
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Status Updates posted by k5jri radio

  1. According to the Galveston Daily News (03/21/2024), Gordon Food Service will (within a few days) open a large Restaurant Supply store (Gordon's Restaurant Market) that will also be open to the public. It's located on 2402 45th Street, the site once occupied by the "long gone Gerland's Food Fair."

  2. The beach resort cities of Gulfport MS (population approx 72.000) and Biloxi MS (population approx 50,000), 13 miles apart along the Mississippi Gulf of Mexico coast, are the joint county seats of Harrison County MS. On 17 August 1969, Hurricane Camille, a category 5 storm, made landfall with 175 mph sustained winds, causing total destruction of 68 square miles of Harrison County. The total estimated total cost of damage was $1.42 billion in 1969 dollars (approximately $11.65 billion in 2023 dollars). As was the case with Galveston County, casino gambling and associated vice activities along the Gulf coast, although illegal, were common until stricter law enforcement ended them in the 1950s. Although casino gambling is currently illegal in Galveston County TX (and other counties in Texas with the exception of Native American property), Mississippi cities, including Biloxi and Gulfport are home to 26 gambling casinos not on Native American property, plus 3 more gambling casinos on Native American property.

  3. Many of the "beach resort" areas along I've visited over the years have been smaller cities or towns adjacent to or otherwise part of the metro area of a larger city. For example: [1] Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, and Atlantic Beach are part of the Jacksonville, FL (Duval County) metro area; [2] Panama City Beach is part of the Panama City, FL (Bay County) metro area; [3] Pensacola Beach is part of the Pensacola, FL (Escambia County) metro area; [4] St. Augustine Beach and Vilano Beach are part of the St. Augustine, FL (St. Johns County) metro area; [5] Wrightsville Beach is part of the Wilmington, NC (New Hanover County) metro area.

    These aforementioned "beach resort" areas developed over the years as a part of a larger city's metro area. Although Galveston now has some characteristics of being a part of the Houston TX (Harris County and portions of surrounding counties) metro area, Galveston has many characteristics of having once being a significant metro area in its own right. For example, it is the county seat (Galveston County), with the Galveston County courthouse, jail, and sheriff's office; as well as the Galveston Division, Southern District of Texas federal building located within its city limits.

       

  4. Dan Hixon's You-Tube video "Galveston in the 70s" offers an informative and entertaining presentation of what various places in Galveston looked like. For one thing, there's a picture of the Hudson Oil service station managed at the time by Dan's dad, Joe Hixon. This service station was literally the first place to buy gasoline upon entering Galveston (or the last place to buy gasoline when leaving Galveston). The Galvez Mall shopping center was easy walking distance from the service station. Dan's video shows pictures of the mall's interior that  were taken in the 1980s following the cosmetic remodeling & renovations made by the Rouse Corp. Dan has done an excellent job assembling the best available source material. 

    1. k5jri radio

      k5jri radio

      To clarify, the Hudson Oil service station was the first place to buy gasoline when and last place to buy gasoline for motorists entering or leaving Galveston Island via I-45. Don't recall the first/last service station counterparts for San Luis Pass bridge or the Galveston-Port Bolivar ferry terminal.

  5. Assuming a visitor to Galveston Island (business or vacation purposes) learns of an approaching tropical storm, but is unable to leave before heavy traffic makes it difficult to do so. Where ares the safest places) on Galveston Island to ride out the storm?

    This scenario presupposes that [1] electronic monetary transactions might become difficult or impossible, and [2] the visitor does not have personal friends or close business associates on Galveston Island to look to for assistance.

    Should this happen in the manner described, how much cash should be kept in reserve? Are there any organizations available to assist stranded visitors during times of natural disasters?

    1. k5jri radio

      k5jri radio

       

      If I learned of an impending tropical storm while visiting Galveston Island, but not in time to leave before the tropical storm makes landfall: Assuming I already had a hotel or motel room, I'd get enough food to last at least 2 days and stay in my room, keep the blinds or curtains closed, and unlock my door only for uniformed law enforcement personnel and leave the room only if they order me to do so.

      If I did not already have a hotel or motel room and was unable to find one, all bets are off. Churches or other large buildings willing to admit refugees might be an alternative option.

  6. If my recollection is correct, when traveling west on the Termini-San Luis Pass road, there is an interruption of the City of Galveston's  jurisdiction starting with the Galveston Island State Park (State of Texas jurisdiction) and followed by the adjacent city of Jamaica Beach (independent incorporated municipality). The City of Galveston's jurisdiction then resumes until the western end of the island at San Luis Pass. However what might seem logical to a tourist (regarding what area constitutes the West End) is not necessarily in accord with common understanding among Galveston's residents.

  7. In an earlier message, I mentioned what I believed to be the advantages of taking the Bolivar Ferry to and from Galveston TX. These were: [1] avoiding the heavy traffic of Houston and its surrounding suburbs, and [2] fewer total road miles to travel. However, I did not consider the average wait time for the ferry (currently stated online as 45 minutes either way) even when traffic is moderate. During tourist season, there are likely to be be more cars and trucks in the queue than one ferry can handle, requiring additional wait time for the next ferry. Due to the hot and humid weather during tourist season, many people will opt to keep their vehicle's engine running to power the air conditioning system.

    As stated previously, people on foot or with a bicycle are the first to get on and off the ferry. 

       

  8. In an earlier posting pertaining to my August 1976 day trip (Shreveport LA to Galveston TX and return to Shreveport, approximately 285 miles each way) I mentioned buying a Sherlock Holmes book at B. Dalton Book Store at the Galvez Mall. The following bibliographic information describes this book: THE COMPLETE ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATED SHERLOCK HOLMES; 37 short stories plus a complete novel comprising THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES and THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES; by Arthur Conan Doyle; reproduced from the original publication in The Strand Magazine with the classic illustrations by Sidney Paget. Castle Books 1976, Distributed by Book Sales, Inc, 110 Enterprise Avenue, Secaucus, New Jersey 07094, Manufactured in the United States of America

    1. k5jri radio

      k5jri radio

      Correction: The correct name for the St. Augustine park discussed in my earlier HAIF posting is MARINELAND Sea World (aka MARINELAND Dolphin Adventure). This park is located in southern St. Johns County FL, approximately 18 miles south of downtown St. Augustine FL.

  9. During my visits to B. Dalton Bookstore during the late summer/early fall of 1976, then presidential candidate Jimmy Carter's book, Why Not the Best?, was prominently displayed near the check out counter where customers paid for their purchases. According to most reviewers, the success of this book contributed to Carter's election victory in 1976 over the incumbent president, Gerald R. Ford. As a counterpoint, former president Ford attributed his 1976 election loss to his pardon of former president Richard M. Nixon (for any crimes Nixon may have committed while in office as President of the United States).

    1. k5jri radio

      k5jri radio

      Persistent, high economic inflation during the latter part of President Ford's administration was a significant problem that likely contributed to his election loss. President Ford and his advisors developed a slogan: WIN (Whip Inflation Now) in an attempt to show his administration was hard at work trying to reduce inflation while maintaining high economic activity. His opponent, Jimmy Carter, touted the success of the "zero-based budgeting" strategy he implemented as Governor of Georgia and argued that if enacted on a nationwide scale, it would be an effective strategy to control nationwide inflation that he would use if elected President. Unfortunately for President Carter, his administration had the unenviable task of dealing with simultaneous inflation and economic recession (low economic activity).   

  10. "Bi-Sun-Tennial" Advertising. During my trips from Shreveport LA to Galveston TX during the bicentennial year of 1976, there were numerous billboard advertisements themed with a play on words combining the bicentennial year theme with the abundant sunshine of a vacation to Galveston. Typical of places located at or near the Gulf (of Mexico) coast, short rains were common during the summer, but usually cleared up and transitioned back to sunshine. Stated another way, there was a low risk of getting rained out during a day trip to Galveston. The weather was very similar to what I experienced while living (or visiting friends and relatives) in cities near the Louisiana Gulf (of Mexico) coast (Lafayette, Lake Charles, New Iberia, New Orleans, Thibodaux, etc.). To clarify,

    The weather in Shreveport LA, however, was similar to that of northeast Texas cities (Dallas, Fort Worth, Longview, etc.) located near the southern extent of the interior plains. Due in part to the lower specific heat of the dry air, summer temperatures at or above 100 degrees were fairly common.         

  11. Looked online and learned that Circle K started out in El Paso TX circa 1951; its current headquarters are in Tempe AZ.

    Of possible interest to those who travel to Florida and other southeastern states for business or recreation purposes:

    There are lots of Circle K convenience store/gas stations located in Nassau, Duval, and St. Johns counties (FL). Some of them sell Exxon/Mobil fuel brands, the others sell Circle K fuel brand. Presumably, there are more Circle K stations located in other Florida counties.

    WaWa is a Pennsylvania-based company that has opened a bunch of convenience store/gas station locations in Florida, many of them along Interstate 95 from Nassau County FL to Miami-Dade County FL.

    Gate is a Jacksonville FL-based company with convenience store/gas station locations in Duval County FL and a few other locations in St. Johns county FL.

    RaceTrac is an Atlanta GA-based company that operates many convenience store/gas stations mostly in the southeastern states, but also has locations in the Dallas/Ft. Worth TX area. Company owned stores are branded RaceTrac and franchise stores are branded RaceWay. 

        

×
×
  • Create New...