Creating Beauty from Devastation in Galveston, Texas

By Rosie Carbo
When I was a university student in Houston,  Galveston Island was a magnet during holidays and after finals. Like many tourists, I was drawn to its beaches, flip-flop-friendly venues and overall Margaritaville culture.
But this spring, I discovered that beneath Galveston’s fun-filled veneer, there’s a population of some 50,000 civic-minded residents.
On a more recent trip with a group of other travel writers, I realized that Galveston is not just Houston’s laid-back neighbor 50 miles south. The residents of this town are as resilient as the 100-year-old oak trees, some of which ...