Join me as I take you on a journey through the captivating Gulf Coast of Texas. In this episode, explore the scenic beauty of the coastline, from the sandy beaches of Rockport and Port Aransas to the historical charm of Galveston Island. Discover the unique wildlife, including birdwatching opportunities and sea turtle hatchling releases.
I share my personal experiences and favorite spots along the coast, offering tips on where to relish the best seafood and enjoy breathtaking sunrises and sunsets. Whether you’re an avid traveler or a curious listener, this episode promises a delightful and insightful look into the wonders of the Lone Star State’s coastal treasures.
Here’s the link to my podcast.
To read the transcript and enjoy photos of the region, keep reading.
Summer has arrived in Texas, and the temperatures are starting to hit the low 90’s at the Official International World Headquarters of How Big Is Texas, located somewhere between Paris and Palestine. It’s the time of year across the state when you turn on the water faucet and it starts out warm on both the hot and the cold side until September.
While it’s not my favorite season, I don’t mind summer too much, since I’m not a fan of cold weather. Like bears hibernating in the winter, Texans take refuge in the air conditioning for a few months alongside a glass of sweet, iced tea, Big Red, or Dr Pepper. They might even take the time to run through every flavor of Blue Bell Ice Cream during the hot months. You can’t go wrong with their homemade vanilla, drizzled with hot fudge or accompanying peach or blackberry cobbler, since both fruits are in season right now in my neck of the woods.
A set of dominoes or deck of cards might come out during the hot months, though they’re played year-round in the Lone Star State. You’ll find a scorepad made from a leftover Big Chief tablet or notepad. Come December, while many are knee-deep in snow, we’ll likely still be wearing shorts or a light jacket outside. It’s a tradeoff I can get behind.
Before school was out at the end of May, my husband Dan and I decided to head down to the Gulf Coast for our anniversary and a weeklong stay to enjoy the beaches in Rockport, Corpus Christi, Mustang Island, and Port Aransas. With families waiting for the school year to end, we had the area mostly to ourselves, aside from some other folks who had the same idea as we did.
I’ll admit I don’t enjoy swimming that much, but as an amateur photographer, I do love a beautiful sunrise or sunset over the water, and the sound of the waves practically lulls me to sleep.
I’ve spent time at most of the cities and towns along the gulf coast from the Bolivar Peninsula on the east side to South Padre Island to the southwest and all sand in between. I’ve also visited every season so I’m familiar with the weather, too.
The only season I avoid is when a hurricane is on its way. While I’ve been known to step outside to see if I can spot a tornado, I don’t mess around with waves and water. I know what you’re thinking, “Bless her heart.”
All the gulf coast locations have a uniqueness to them, so I think it best I don’t play favorites and just share some of my experiences with you instead.
The eastern end of the Gulf is home to Crystal Beach and the Bolivar Peninsula. If you stay in a short-term rental on the beach, you can watch the cruise ships as they enter the Gulf waters once they’ve maneuvered through the Galveston Channel.
Also, along the peninsula is one of only a few lighthouses still standing in Texas. First constructed in 1872 but destroyed during the Civil War, Point Bolivar Lighthouse in its current form, is at least the second lighthouse built here. What I wouldn’t give for a view from the top.
One of my favorite things to do on the Gulf whenever I can is take a ferry ride. From the Bolivar Peninsula, you can drive your car onto the ferry and enjoy a scenic ride through the Texas City Channel on the Galveston-Port Bolivar Ferry. You might even glimpse the dolphins feasting on whatever the boats stir up as they pass.
I’ve probably spent more time on Galveston Island than any other coastal town, as my job is in tourism and the Texas travel industry tends to host several conferences there every few years.
One of the most fascinating things about Galveston to me is the number of pre-1900 homes still standing that were built during the Victorian-era. This is particularly interesting since the city experienced the Great Galveston Hurricane in 1900, killing between 8,000 and 10,000 people. The fact that many of those homes survived that horrible event is incredible.
You can tour a few of them including the 1892 Bishop’s Palace or Moody Mansion. While you’re in town, take the time to visit the Old City Cemetery, where many of those lost during the hurricane are interred.
If you’re more of an adventuresome traveler, visit Historic Pleasure Pier and ride a roller coaster practically over the water. Previously an amusement park and then the location of a hotel, Hurricanes Carla and Ike destroyed both during the devastation they caused when they arrived in 1961 and 2008, respectively. Harkening back to the original amusement park, Historic Pleasure Pier is an adventure for the entire family.
You can enjoy a walk along The Historic Strand in Galveston’s downtown and see some of the Victorian-era buildings I referred to earlier. Shop, eat, or enjoy a cold one in one of their many stores, restaurants and bars in this five-block area.
If you love cruises, the ships are loaded near the Strand so come a day early or stay a day after to enjoy the shops, pre or post cruise.
The Playground of the South is full of wonderful cuisine, particularly seafood. One of my favorite restaurants is Gaido’s, located across the road from the beach. Since 1911, Gaido’s has offered up seafood from red snapper and crab to shrimp and oysters.
Though I’ve never pre-ordered it, they also have a dessert called the Pecan Crunch that’s basically a pecan pie, the official pie of the Lone Star State, but made with a pecan crust and baked in the shape of Texas. It’s thicker than a regular pie, and looks kind of like a deep-dish pizza, only in pie form.
You can drive from Galveston all the way to Surfside Beach, a 39-mile stretch made up almost entirely of Gulf coast views. When you get to Surfside Beach, go north 10 minutes and find one of the infamous Buc-ee’s convenience stores. You might be a little disappointed, since this is one of the small locations, so you won’t quite get the same experience. If you like to fish, you can grab a pole, lures, and even live bait at this location.
The drivable road stops at Surfside Beach. To meet back up with the Gulf, you need to head southwest to Palacios where you’ll find Matagorda Bay.
Thirty minutes west of Palacios is the town of Port Lavaca. According to the city’s website, the people of Port Lavaca have been welcoming visitors since 1519, when the first Europeans explored the area and established the first French fort, Fort St. Louis. Of course, this was a few centuries prior to Texas becoming a Republic.
You’ll find the Halfmoon Reef Lighthouse in this Paradise on the Bay. Located along the highway now, it once was in Matagorda Bay. It’s an interesting six-sided building, unlike others you might be more familiar with seeing, and it’s not nearly as tall as the rest, standing only 20 feet high.
Only a half hour from Port Lavaca is a must-see stop on your way to Aransas Pass. The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge recently opened a new welcome center with informational displays about the refuge. Walk out the glass back doors of the center and down a hill and, hopefully, get a glimpse of an alligator in its natural habitat.
We went a few years ago, and a large gator was resting on the side of the water, out of range from us. This time when we visited, we saw a baby gator, around 1 ½ feet long, but couldn’t find its mama. I didn’t have any interest in meeting her, though my husband would have loved it…from a distance, that is.
I’ve shared in past podcasts and on my blog that I’m a big fan of Texas State Parks. Goose Island State Park is among my top picks. While it’s smaller than most of the parks with only 321 acres, there’s nothing small about one of its residents.
The Big Tree, the largest tree in Texas, is located at the park. Measuring more than 35 feet in circumference and standing at a height of more than 40 feet, the tree is estimated to be between 1,000 and 2,000 years old. It’s considered one of the oldest live oaks in the world.
A short drive southeast of the state park is the town of Rockport. As I shared earlier, we were there in May and stayed at a short-term rental right across the street from Aransas Bay. Fishing apparently was good here, though we didn’t test it for ourselves.
We saw people casting lines from sunrise to sunset to dark on the 1,000-foot lighted shallow pier across from our rental. We found out redfish, trout, and drum are common catches in the bay area.
In my maturing age, I’ve become much more of a bird enthusiast than I ever thought I’d be. Birdwatching is significant in Rockport, with more than 250 species of birds that can be seen in a day during peak migration during the months of November through March. The area is home to more than 400 birds annually. One of the most popular to see is the Whooping Crane. Unfortunately, we were late by a couple of months and didn’t get to see them. This area is part of the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, so don’t forget your binoculars and your zoom lens when you visit.
Corpus Christi, the Sparkling City by the Sea, is 30 minutes south of Rockport and is also referred to as the Bird Capital of North America. Home to Texas State Aquarium, Corpus Christi is also known for its connections to a Texas favorite, Whataburger. The Real Windy City is home to the first beloved Texas burger joint that opened back in the 1950’s.
While we were visiting the area in May, we headed to Whataburger Field and took in a Double-A Texas League baseball game and watched the Corpus Christi Hooks take on the Amarillo Sod Poodles. One of my goals is to visit all the league baseball fields in Texas, so I was able to knock one off my list.
As they say, there’s nothing quite as American as baseball, hotdogs, and apple pie. While we didn’t have either hotdogs or apple pie, we did enjoy those baseball staples – peanuts and Cracker Jacks. And at the top of the seventh inning, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the crowd singing “Deep in the Heart of Texas.” I felt like I was home.
Another thing I like to do while in Corpus Christi is head to the bay and buy shrimp right off the boats, as the fisherman are coming into dock. If you’re driving, bring a cooler. If not, you can enjoy seafood at any number of restaurants along the gulf in Corpus.
Aransas Pass is a 10-minute drive from Rockport and you can get to Port Aransas by ferry by passing through Aransas Pass, a sleepy coastal community offering a much quicker commute. Otherwise, you can drive to Corpus Christi and take the long way around, about an hour longer. You can’t go wrong with either. In 2017, Port Aransas was hit hard by Hurricane Harvey. Catastrophic winds and flooding caused significant damage to homes across the region. We were happy to see the island has recovered from the devastation and is welcoming visitors to the Fishing Capital of Texas. With 18 miles of beaches, Port A, as most refer to the town, is a sunworshippers paradise.
The drive south from Port A to Mustang Island and Padre Island National Seashore is magnificent. You can drive your car along the beach in town for quite a while and then jump on the road and have the Gulf on one side and Corpus Christi Bay on the other. This area is the place to capture sunrises and sunsets, since you have water on either side of you.
Padre Island National Seashore is part of the National Park Service and, according to their website, protects some 66 miles of coastline. Home to sea turtle hatchling releases from mid-June to August, visitors line-up to watch as the tiny turtles make their way to the big waters of the gulf and later return to nest as adults. I’ve yet to experience this but it’s definitely on my bucket list in Texas.
The drivable roads along the Gulf Coast end at Padre Island National Seashore, so you’ll either need to fly into Harlingen or drive from Corpus Christi to South Padre Island, a three-hour commute.
Before you get to South Padre Island, you’ll pass through Port Isabel, home to yet another lighthouse, the Port Isabel Lighthouse. A state historic site, it’s been around since 1852 and offers tours where visitors can climb to the top of the tower. What a view!
The drive from Port Isabel to South Padre Island is a little over three miles on the Queen Isabella Causeway.
If you’re not a fan of bridges and roads over the water, have someone else drive and keep your eyes closed the whole time, as that’s the only road that connects the two.
Dolphin watching, fishing, and windsurfing are popular on the beaches of South Padre. You can also snorkel along the coast. Another popular location for bird watching, the coastal bend island is home to more than 380 species of birds throughout the year.
With only a couple thousand residents, it can be a place for quiet rest and relaxation, depending on when you visit. The island is hopping in the summer months, so if you don’t like crowds, hang with the locals in the early spring or fall. You can take a boat cruise and watch for dolphins as you wait for the sun to set over the water. You can even see SpaceX Starbase from the Island. It’s located at Brazos Santiago Pass in Boca Chica, Texas, just south of Brownsville.
No matter which community you visit along the Gulf, and no matter what name you call it, adventure awaits.
Since the summer has begun in Texas, I’ll hang out in my airconditioned headquarters near Tyler for now and wait until the kids are back in school. In the meantime, I’ll capture the magnificent sunrises and sunsets at Lake Palestine or Lake Tyler in the Piney Woods.
Then, after the crowds have dispersed, I can head south again and walk along the sandy beaches with my thoughts and a few of the locals, as they throw in a line and try to catch today’s dinner.
Until next time from Texas…safe travels.
