This Galveston Arrow is hosted as part of VASTHEAD.COM.
How The Galveston Arrow evolved
We use some other domain names, but all the pages on this site are
part of VASTHEAD.COM. The Galveston Arrow came together as various news and weather pages developed. They eventually combined until they were a complete web site within The Vasthead web site.
It began in 1999 with The Vasthead Weather Balloon. It was just a quickly created early effort at a weather web page.
In 2OO1, that page became Space
City Weather. Its purpose was to pull together all of the current
weather conditions over,near, and surrounding Houston.
We weren't interested in dubious 15-day forecasts, discussions of "feels
like" temperatures, or insight into what weather creates "bad
hair days."
We just presented the current conditions in a lot of
different places. Current conditions remain the main focus of all our weather
pages.
In 2004, Space City Weather changed into Arrow Weather.
In the meantime, The Galveston Light launched in 2002. It began as a single page to monitor weather on all the coasts of North America. Gradually, we added pages for Galveston tourism, Galveston area news, and Galveston scheduled events.
In 2009, Arrow Weather merged with The Galveston
Light. Suddenly, The Galveston Light included weather pages for all of
the Houston area, the entire state of Texas,
and the entire United States.
In 2010, we added separate
pages for the Gulf, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts. The original Coasts of North America page continues as a sampling
of all coastal weather, including the Great Lakes.
In 2011, News Fronts, our national headlines
page, went under The Galveston Light masthead.
In 2012, I restored the name Space City Weather as part of the Galveston Arrow. That's the page that brings together all the weather over, near, and surrounding Houston.
Why this site is now
The Galveston Arrow
I chose the name Galveston Light in 2002 with a mythical lighthouse
in mind. With no real Galveston Island lighthouse in sight, we briefly
used a generic lighthouse from a clip art service. Eventually, we settled
on one of our own photos: an area light at East Beach (Appfel Park).
I took the picture after a brief rain shower in
1985. It wasn't a lighthouse, but it was a light. I added the blue color and cloudy glow in Photoshop. Somehow a beach area light never had the romance a real
lighthouse might have had.
Recently, our arrow over water image replaced the light tower as the emblem for all the Galveston pages. The arrow image is no radical change. I took the picture on the Galveston
seawall in 1980, and it has long appeared on most other Vasthead pages.
The Galveston Arrow name ties in directly with that image. With all the revelation of hindsight, it is obvious that the name should have become The Galveston Arrow when The Galveston Light merged with Arrow Weather.
As for the light tower image, it is not about to go away. One of my earliest photo scans (made in 1999 from a 1986 print), I plan to re-scan it from the original slide.
Maybe I can make it the most well known mild rain shower to ever strike Galveston. Not all Galveston weather is a hurricane. Sometimes we go for decades without a serious hit.
I conclude with an excellent suggestion: As you take in the sights on my web site, don't you forget about me. Find an ad, click on it, and buy something delightful.
—Grady McAllister
Above: McAlister's Deli in Galveston, as viewed on a foggy evening during Mardi Gras, February 18, 2011. Click images for a larger view.
Below: McAlister's Deli in Galveston as viewed from across Seawall Boulevard on October 24, 2010.
Below: December, 1980. The Buccaneer Hotel, one of the historic
landmarks in Galveston. It was demolished on New Years Day, 1999.
This Galveston Arrow is hosted as part of VASTHEAD.COM. The page you are on now is the main Galveston page, and you can reach it by typing http://galvestonarrrow.com.
The above link is part of a link exchange
program. The Vasthead web pages (on line since 1997) are accepting
link exchanges for the first time. If you would like a link to your site
from The Galveston Arrow or Houston Retro Radio, you can contact us at
the email link below.
The Galveston Arrow presents the news of Galveston
County and nearby areas of metropolitan Houston.
The Galveston Arrow also features weather over,
near, and surrounding Galveston and includes pages for Houston-Galveston,
Dallas-Fort Worth, and the
entire state of Texas. Each page provides a big picture look
at current weather conditions and shows numerous locations at a
glance.
In addition, The Galveston Arrow presents weather
on all the coasts. Virtually every coastal area of North America
is represented, and it's the place to be whenever you're curious
about the coast. Now, there are separate Galveston Arrow pages for
the Pacific, Atlantic,
and Gulf coasts.
The Galveston Arrow is a weather display site,
not a weather forecast service.
Weather, news, and other content are provided
by organizations which neither endorse nor sponsor The Galveston
Arrow. Likewise, this web site assumes no responsibility for the
content provided.
All material on The Galveston Arrow is presented
on an "as is" basis. It does not include any warranty
as to its accuracy or availability or its suitability for any given
purpose. Do not use this web site in making any decision for which
incorrect data might lead to loss of life, personal injury, loss
of property, financial loss, inconvenience, or emotional unpleasantness.
The Galveston Arrow is hosted as part of VASTHEAD.COM,
a web site on line since 1997. The Galveston Arrow is also a registered
domain in its own right.
You can find this page again by recalling the
phrase "Galveston Arrow." To access this page directly
type:
Above:"A Light Streaks on a Beach."Appfel
Park on Galveston's East Beach after a brief summer shower in 1985. The
rainfall had driven off most of the remaining beach people when a lone
vehicle appeared, leaving its tail light streak just under the horizon.
Time exposure (about 30 seconds) taken with an Olympus pocket 35mm camera
set on a tripod. Click photo for a higher quality image.
Unless otherwise stated, all web page design, text,
and photography are by Grady McAllister. Contact The Galveston Arrow.
These pages are edited using Adobe Dreamweaver
and Adobe Photoshop. The design last changed:
Above: Moonrise at Galveston, April 9, 2009. The
statue commemorates the Galveston 1900 Storm, the worst natural disaster
to ever strike the United States. In 2008, Hurricane Ike knocked it off
its pedestal, but it was soon restored to its position as a Galveston
Landmark.
The statue sits on the Galveston Seawall, a massive barrier against future
storms. The Seawall contains the world's longest continuous sidewalk.
Using much of the wreckage from the 1900 storm, Galveston was rebuilt
to a higher elevation. Today, the island city rises from the very ruins
of its greatest catastrophe.
The arrow picture below is one of many "Arrow at 61st
Street Pier" images. Other variations appear throughout the Vasthead
web sites, and they are all
based on one slide. The photo was taken in Galveston in 1980. Unlike
the moonlit statue, the "moonlit" arrow picture was actually
shot in broad daylight.
Their historic photo of The Hut Club was provided by The
Galveston Arrow . Below: The Hut Club on Stewart Beach in 1982. Click
for a larger image.
Photo by Grady McAllister. This photo has been bringing back memories
for a few hundred of our Particular Friends in Galveston. We have been
sharing access to our Facebook page, and many have been leaving
comments.
Experience the rich history and timeless beauty of this Texan
coastal city through timeshare
rentals and resales. As this is an inexpensive lodging option,
timeshares are an ideal way to experience this beautiful and historic
Gulf Coast island town, whether you just want to visit once or return
year after year!
The Galveston Arrow serves Galveston Island, Galveston County and nearby
areas of adjacent counties.
Above: The closest
full moon in recent years shines through a light fog in the Galveston
Strand District, March 19, 2011.
Above: The north shore of Galveston Island as viewed from 61st Street,
February 13, 2011. Below: A light fog over Galveston's East Beach, December 16, 2010.
Above: The ruins of The Flagship, the only Texas hotel on a pier. Damaged
by Hurricane Ike, the building has since been leveled and only the pier
remains. The pier will once again be a "pleasure pier," the
status it had in the 40's and 50's. Oddly enough, during its long history
as a hotel, the National Weather Service continued to refer to the location
as "Pleasure Pier" when giving tidal information.
All images originating on The Galveston Arrow, The Vasthead, and Houston
Retro Radio are by Grady McAllister.
Above: The Galveston Strand Historical District, March 13, 2010.
Pointing toward Galveston Harbor: Located in the middle of Broadway at
25th Street, the statue stands atop a tall memorial to the Battle of San
Jacinto in 1836.
The photos below were shot at the Galveston Strand Historical
District on March 13, 2010, using Kodachrome 64 film.
Below: The American National Insurance Company Building, the tallest
in Galveston, March 13, 2010. Most photos on this site can be clicked
for a larger, higher quality image. Photo by Grady McAllister.
Below: Girls on Spring Break in the Galveston Strand District, March
19, 2011.
Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises,
Sounds, and sweet airs,
that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand
twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears,
and sometimes voices
That, if I then had waked
after long sleep
Will make me sleep again;
and then in dreaming
The clouds methought would
open and show riches
Ready to drop upon me,
that when I waked
I cried to dream again.