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

For the Love of Historical Architecture!

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I'm still busy and behind! The V.P.I Historical Home tour was April 10 and 11. My sweety and I went on Sunday. I helped as a docent on Saturday morning. Our first visit was this charming Victorian Cottage.

The detail is amazing!

Next we visited this Craftsman Bungalow. I really like the colors on the exterior.

Old windows have so much character!

The screened porch is new, but fits beautifully with the style of the home! I want this screened porch!

I don't think there were more than 2 windows of the same size or pane pattern in this house!

Beautiful to look at, but probably not fun to clean or paint! You can see the waviness of the old glass!

Our fourth home to visit was this Federal Style beauty.

Oops! The tree was hiding the front entryway which is the most beautiful part of the exterior of the house.

The free use of color attracted my attention. This home was not on the tour, but it was worth a photo.

I neglected to take photos of the last home on the tour. We had toured it previously (in July of 2008) as members of V.P.I.. The last on the tour was a building. I just plain forgot to take a photo. I think I was too busy finishing my Butterfinger Blizzard from Dairy Queen.

Y'all Come Back,

Lorilee

Beautiful houses in Gonzales!

Besides shopping, and jail touring, we drove around the downtown area to look at some of the beautiful old homes. I thought I'd share a few photos with you.

Gorgeous! I wish I could see the inside!

Beautiful, but I wouldn't want to paint it! I guess if I could afford the house, I could afford to pay a painter!

I adore this window.

A beautiful stone house! Not so much painting!

A pretty brick home!

I couldn't pick a favorite!

I can't believe the detail!

Oh my, I love it! I was told there is a historical home tour in December! I wonder if these are on the tour. I may have to go back!

In the meantime, I have finally begun my new curtains. I hope to finish and share them soon. However, I haven't done any sewing today. I went to my brother and sister-in-laws home to visit. I had promised to paint my niece's toenails and put flowers on like mine!

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee