Galveston Get-Away

 Took a few days for a mini vacation trip to Galveston before Betty's surgery.  Just some laid back time with no real agenda.  Here is some images from the trip.

Views from the balcony of the condo we stayed in (lots of pelicans);

San Luis Resort Evening

A trip Down the Strand

AAPI Festival

Harris County Precinct 4 hosted its first annual AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) Festival to showcase the multi cultural life in this community.  There was a variety of events and food.  It was extremely hot and humid for me, thankfully there was golf carts to shuttle me from the parking area to the various events.  Here is a sample of some of the events I saw.

Kendo

Kendo is a Japanese martial art based on traditional swordsmanship.  Practitioners face each other using flexible bamboo swords while wearing protective gear and try to strike specific locations on their opponents bodies.

 

Cricket

I went hoping to see some Cricket, too.  But, only found the teens and younger playing., till got some images of the 8 - 10 year old's.  Before I go on, you might ask what is Cricket, here is a quick summation;

    Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field, at the centre of which is a 22-yard (20-metre; 66-foot) pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails (small sticks) balanced on three stumps. Two players from the batting team, the striker and nonstriker, stand in front of either wicket holding bats, while one player from the fielding team, the bowler, bowls the ball toward the striker's wicket from the opposite end of the pitch. The striker's goal is to hit the bowled ball with the bat and then switch places with the nonstriker, with the batting team scoring one run for each of these swaps. Runs are also scored when the ball reaches the boundary of the field or when the ball is bowled illegally. (Wikipedia reference)

Practice 

Bowler

Striker

The ball shown here is for the younger set, basically it is a taped tennis ball.  it is hard but not as hard as a ball for the older kids and adults,  The ball for adults is about the size of an American baseball but harder.

Foam Machine

There was a foam machine for the kids to play in, not specifically AAPI but a fun area for kids and amateur photographers.

Great Elephant Migration

 Elephants

The Great Elephant Migration visited Houston this month.  The purpose of the exhibit is draw attention to the diminishing elephants.  These elephants are made from Lantana.  A form of lantana that is invasive to India.  An interesting display of life size lantana elephants