In The News

The Texas House of Representatives honored a shale drilling pioneer Monday, calling George Mitchell a man who has changed the world. Mitchell, who will turn 94 later this month, wasn't at the ceremony, although his daughter Sheridan Lorenz and representatives of Mitchell Energy and the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation were there on his behalf.

Galveston. Just the name is enough to stir memories from any Houstonian of summers playing in the waves or eating seafood by the seashore. It has been a full four years since Hurricane Ike’s path of destruction dragged across the Texas Gulf Coast and socked Galveston right in the mouth. The damage was severe, and it has taken a few years, but Galveston is back at full strength and ready to entertain you and your family again.

Just in time for Mother’s Day, OpenTable, the world’s leading provider of online restaurant reservations, has announced the 2013 Diners’ Choice Award winners for Top 100 Best Brunch Restaurants in the United States.

Located in the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles south of Houston, Galveston Island in Texas offers a balmy almost tropical climate where you can do one-of-a-kind things to create memories of a lifetime.

Once known as the “Playground of the South,” Galveston Island was renowned for its sophistication and splendor in the early 1800s as an active port town that was also the location of the state’s first post office, the first hospital and even the first opera house, but the area became ravaged in 1900 after when it was devastated by The Great Storm. Those who stayed after the storm built a Seawall, a wall that was built slanting the ground so that water was unable to run off the bay.

In 2008, Hurricane Ike wreaked havoc on the Texas island city of Galveston. Among the casualties were thousands of trees, including the majestic oaks that had formed leafy canopies along the streets of the city’s historic district, decimated by high winds and extensive flooding from a storm surge. But what has emerged from the stumps and broken trunks of those trees speaks to the sense of renewal in Galveston, about a 45 minute drive south of Houston, and the ability of its residents to regroup and rebuild after the periodic storms that dominate its history and infuse every part of its culture.

Many people in 1900 probably thought it was crazy to rebuild Galveston Island—32 miles long and two-and-a-half miles wide—and some no doubt thought the same thing in 2008, but the word that sprang to my mind as I explored this cozy coastal city a short hop from Houston? Resilient.

Galveston might have adopted the "Jazz, Jazz, Jazz" theme for its 2013 Mardi Gras celebrations, but George Mitchell, venerable king of the island's Mardi Gras, opted for a Western theme for his 29th annual Tremont House Ball.

Finding the perfect wedding venue is a bit like searching for a hidden treasure. Sometimes it is in plain view and closer than you might imagine. As Sonya and Desmond can attest, they wanted an elegant and romantic beach destination wedding. Much closer to home than they originally had in mind; they fell in love with The Veranda Ballroom at the Galveston’s Hotel Galvez.

Boy howdy, does Galveston know how to Mardi Gras. While throngs filled the streets even for daytime parades, the private party revelry reached fever pitch during the this year's second weekend of festivities. Tilman and Paige Fertitta's "Jazz! Jazz! Jazz" San Luis Salute mega-party Friday drew more than 1,400 - a record. And Saturday, George Mitchell and family's "Waltz Across Texas" filled the Tremont House's ballroom, lobby and other spaces with about 500, also giving them prime, private viewing outside the hotel for the big Momus Grand Night Parade.