The famed Galveston Seawall was built after the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900 which claimed between 6,000 and 8,000 lives. It has been extended many times and is presently 10 miles long. Prior to 1900 Galveston had only sand dunes to protect it from the sea and the highest point on the island was only 8 feet above sea level. After the hurricane the seawall was built and the land behind it was raised to 20 feet. The Galveston Seawall is considered an astonishing fete for that era, not to mention for a city that was all but destroyed by a hurricane. The seawall is presently 17 feet tall and 10 miles long and is topped by Seawall Boulevard. It is considered by many to be the longest continuous sidewalk in the world and in the summer of 1996 a mural was painted on the seawall, which is also considered to be the longest in the world.

For this YRE you can actually walk on the seawall or on the beach. We chose to walk on the beach. There are stairs fairly frequently to get from the seawall to the beach. There are murials painted on the seawall.

There are hotels and shops built out over the water. You can walk under the structures which are mostly on cement pilings.

Every so often there are rock jetties. These can be walked on and you will sometimes see dolphins if you walk to the end. However, they are not part of the walk route.

The tide had gone out and the walking area was nice and smooth. Ed didn't wait for me when I stopped to take pictures.

It was a nice day. About 65 degrees. There were people barefoot and playing in the surf.

This is the only jelly fish we saw the whole walk. In June-July the beach is usually covered with them. They sting, so don't touch.

I thought I saw dolphins in the water.

It turned out to be three guys surfing. After several attempts I managed to catch one upright on his board.

There appears to be soap suds floating in, but its not. These suds are natural.

When the beach ends, and these rocks appear you need to go topside to the boardwalk. You will be at the park with the checkpoint.

This dolphin statue is the first checkpoint. You have to know who the sculptor was. Instead of asking the kids to get off so I could take I picture, I just had them pose with the dolphins.

I didn't remember this from previous visits. Maybe I just never noticed before. It turned out to be a memorial.

Sculpture honoring those who died in the 1900 hurricane.

This artificial mountain across from the seawall is new. Built since our last trip to Galveston.

Another shot of the new Raintree Cafe complete with Christmas tree out front.

View looking down at the beach from the seawall above.

This is the checkpoint and turn around point for the walk.

Searchers looking for seashell souvenors.

During the time it took us to walk to the end and come back, someone (no longer anywhere around) had build a nice sand castle.

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