The final stop on our Gulf Coast Anniversary Adventure was Galveston, TX. We had heard great things about the beaches and all the things to do there. One last chance to get some white sand beach time and eat seafood. An added bonus is our nephew and his girlfriend live nearby in Houston so we could see them also. Well, the best laid plans….. We really did enjoy our time there. It was the off-season so there were no crowds anywhere and no cruise ships in port, which also kept crowds to a minimum. The weather, however, was not exactly what we had hoped for. Granted, it was not snowin’ and blowin; but it was not the warm, sunny gentle ocean breeze we had hoped for. One thing we have learned in all our travels is you cannot control the weather, just make the best of what you get and remember that’s just how it was when we were there.
We had heard some really good things about a state park on the island. Galveston Island State Park is located near Jamaica Beach about 15 miles west of Galveston. Our initial plan was to stay there, however we decided it was just too far away for what we were wanting to do. We decided on Stella Mare RV Resort much closer to town and across from some very nice beaches. It is a very nice RV Park and we were pleased with our choice. Stella Mare proved to be a very nice place with great facilities and wonderful staff. Given the windy and stormy weather we had, it proved to be the right choice. To top things off, we did drive down to the state park. The entire beach side, where we wanted to stay, was closed for major construction. Guess it was meant to be.
Our first day there turned out to be cooler, windier and overcast than what we had hoped for a beach day, so we spent the time exploring town. We started down in The Strand Historic District of downtown. The Strand district is a shopping and dining area with tons of quaint and trendy shops and some fun places to eat. It is very popular with the cruise ship crowds, fortunately for us, there were not any ships in port. We had lunch at the Shark Shack Beach Bar & Grill and spent a few hours walking around. Craig even found a confectionary shop, La King’s Confectionery and Ice Cream Parlour , with fresh made chocolates and salt water taffy. The district is full of well-preserved Victorian architecture shops and stores, as well as some magnificent large homes.
The weather was not all doom and gloom, though sometimes windy and brisk, there were some sunny days that let us get out and walk the beaches. The entire gulf side of Galveston is a seawall that separates the beach from the road and town. In fact, the street along the beach is called, Seawall Blvd. We found some nice places to walk in the morning after a great breakfast at the Sunflower Bakery & Café. Some our best beach time was actually further west along the island. We spent an afternoon near San Luis on miles of beach all to ourselves and we spent a wonderfully sunny afternoon on Bermuda Beach close to our RV Park. The beaches along Galveston were not the soft deep sand like the ones in Pensacola or Biloxi. The beaches were firmer with compacted sand, enough so you could probably drive on them. But there were a lot of beaches and they were wide. Many of them were lined with large quaint beach houses on stilts. Most were empty for the season. It was one last bit of beach time before we headed back to the desert.
As I mentioned our nephew and his girlfriend live in the Houston area and we were able to spend an evening eating fresh fish and catching up at Miller’s Seawall Grill. It was so much fun visiting with them and learning about their lives. Both are teachers and the stories really were amazing. We also got a bonus visit with one of Jennifer’s high school friends who lives in the area. It was fun to catch up over drinks and happy hour at The Spot.
Galveston really was a nice stay for us. Some beach time, one last chance for fresh gulf seafood, and some relaxing down time plus the added bonus of seeing family and friends. We left with some melancholy as we were putting the seaside behind, but also with a fullness of heart after a great Anniversary Adventure. We set out on our Anniversary Adventure to spend the holidays with family, to get some beach time and seafood, and basically get out on the road again. We had a great time doing all of it. Can’t wait until our next traveling adventure.
TravelmanNH
Ah the weather can make or brake an adventure! Even here in Key West like today the temperature is 75 degrees but with the wind it feels like 55 degrees! Great reading your blog!