Galveston, TX

When planning our route, we picked Galveston because we've never been to Texas and wanted to see it, because it's a coastal location and we 💞 beaches and because our friend Luanne lives here and we've always wanted to visit her.  As it turned out Luanne was in NY while we were in TX and she didn't get to show us around in person.  But her hand was on many aspects of our trip, beginning with our RV park.  When I told her we were coming to Galveston and had made reservations at the state park, she vetoed that plan and told us we needed to stay at Jamaica Beach RV Resort.  So we did.  Luanne was right, this was an awesome place to stay.  We had a great pull through site (because every site is a pull through site).  In addition to the standard amenities, JBRV had a mini-golf course in the RV park that we played and thoroughly enjoyed.  There was a hot tub the size of a small pool, which I enjoyed on several occasions.  We did not use the pools or lazy river as it was too cool to pool during our visit, but the place was loaded with fun spots for all ages.  Additionally, the beach was just a walk across the street.  We did take a walk over and walk the beach one day.  We had some unseasonably cold weather during this visit, including freeze warnings, so we didn't get the full benefit of many aspects of the great RV park and location.  However, we highly recommend this RV park and hope to return someday.

Pirate's Treasure Adventure Golf at Jamaica Beach RV Resort

Indoor Infinity Hot Tub

Looking across the road from the beach to Jamaica Beach RV Resort

We visited a couple of wonderful nature preserves during our visit.  One was just down the road from the RV park.  Lafitte's Cove Nature Preserve is located within a neighborhood.  There is a small parking area and a boardwalk into the wooded area with wooded walking paths.  

Boardwalk into Lafitte's Cove Nature Preserve

Galveston is a birding mecca and we found this map very helpful for finding places to visit to look for birds and enjoy a great nature walk.  Upper Texas Coast - Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail
In addition to the cardinal seen in the next photo, we also saw an otter and many other birds.

Cardinal at Lafitte's Cove Nature Preserve

Another stellar birding location was on the Bolivar Peninsula.  From the East End of Galveston there is a free ferry to the Bolivar Peninsula.  This was another one of Luanne's suggestions, and we are so grateful to have had the benefit of her inside knowledge of all the best places to go.

On the FREE ferry from Galveston to Bolivar Peninsula

Looking back at Galveston from the ferry

We enjoyed the ferry ride, lunch at a bayside restaurant, shopping at the Gulf Coast Market (which was a great general store with an entire ACE Hardware, grocery story, touristy gift store all in one) and driving on the beach.  But the best part of our trip to Bolivar was Houston Audubon Society's Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary.  There is an $8/person admission fee.  This location features a Rookery where thousands of shore birds nest.  The picture can not do justice to the multitudes of birds we saw at this spot.

Herons, egrets and others at the Smith Oaks Rookery

There was a wonderful nature trailed that looped around the bird sanctuary.  We enjoyed the walk as much as seeing the plethora of birds at the Rookery.

Kelly and Carol walking the nature trail at Smith Oaks Sanctuary

Amazing ancient tree at Smith Oaks Sanctuary

In addition to enjoying the natural world in Galveston (and surrounding areas), we found some of the man made additions to be quite spectacular as well.  There are architectural masterpieces in Galveston which are truly magnificent to behold.  These iconic landmarks include The Bishop's Palace, the Sacred Heart Church (just across the street) and Moody Mansion (just down the road).

The Bishop's Palace

Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Moody Mansion

There are many beautiful homes, both in town as well as along the beach.  There is no shortage of real estate to ogle!

One of many Galveston homes decked out for Mardi Gras

Beachside Village, Galveston Island Beach

In 2008, as a result of Hurricane Ike, many large trees were destroyed, leaving large stumps in the yards of many lovely homes.  Many of those trunks have since been turned into beautiful sculptures.  This link includes a map of the area where 20 different tree sculptures can be found.  Tree Sculpture Map

The Geisha

Two Crested Herons

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

Tin Man and Toto

We were in Galveston for the first week of March.  There were a couple days that were socked in with fog, we had 25 mile an hour winds for a period of time and woke up to 31 degrees one morning.  It was a wild weather ride while we were here.  Due to the weather, we didn't get to the beach.  But it's worth mentioning that Galveston sits on a beach.  On one side of the seawall is the beach and on the other side are restaurants, hotels, bars, shops, etc.  It's a great beach town location.  We feel like we only scratched the surface of what Galveston holds, so "we'll be back"! 

Photo Credit to Carol Baker:  I'd like to say thank you to my wife for taking great photos.  Many of the pictures posted were actually taken by her.  We make a good team.