Beach II

 This house has always fascinated me. Well, most old houses fascinate me, but this one is definitely a favorite.  This is Oakhurst, now known as Fulton Mansion located in Rockport/Fulton.

 It was built in 1877 to withstand hurricanes with 8"  thick wood (constructed by stacking and spiking pine planks) and shellcrete walls. The kitchen was in the basement. It was the only house in the area to have gas lighting, central heating and running water. The water was stored in cisterns in the basement. The water was hand-pumped into a cistern above the tower room. Gravity took it to the bathroom that included a flush toilet.

 I highly recommend stopping by for the one hour tour when in the area. My family, however, is not as enthusiastic as I am. They took their time walking to the entrance!

 They sat on the porch and waited for the tour to begin. I wandered around looking into the basement windows!

 THEY were anxious to get to the water. Floating was their goal! I floated, but discovered that I feel the effects of the motion negatively! I did OK as long as I floated on the boogie board on my tummy facing the waves. Pretty pathetic!

Of course, the laughing gulls had to be fed. Brian had to demonstrate for his Dad how the gulls would take the bread from his hand or the top of his head. The beach wasn't as pretty this trip. There was lots of seaweed washing ashore. Of course, that is preferable to tarballs or jellyfish!
Y'all come back,
Lorilee