2023 Texas Adventure – Galveston

To continue on with part two of my first major adventure of 2023 — Texas! I woke up in Conroe, Texas on Day Three and had a leisurely breakfast before heading out to the next stop on my Texas Adventure – Galveston. Galveston is about 90 miles or 1.5 hours from Conroe. So, I didn’t need to get too early of a start, but I also didn’t want to be on all the interstates right at morning rush hour, either. So, I took my time getting on the road and left about 9:00 am. It was an easy drive to Galveston. I wish it had been more of a scenic drive, but I made good time and got to Galveston before lunch.

I had booked a Dolphin Cruise on Galveston Bay. I love water tours and tend to look for them whenever I’m in an area with an interesting shore, river, or whatever to see. Always great to see it from the water! The tour was booked for 2:00 and I drove to the pier first when I got to Galveston to find it and get a place to park. Just about all parking on the island is paid parking, so I used the paid lot that was closest to Pier 21 and parked. I went to the tour stand and checked in – I was way early, so I had plenty of time to do a little exploring. I wandered the pier for a little bit and then popped in at Willie G’s Steaks and Seafood – I had an outside table overlooking the pier and enjoyed an amazing lunch!

Pier 21 – Galveston Bay, Galveston, TX

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Lunch consisted of a shrimp cocktail and lobster bites – tempura battered chunks of lobster and a glass of sweet tea! OMG – it was delicious – I was in heaven!!!

I sat there enjoying the gorgeous weather, scenery and entertainment! The seagulls provided quite a show! There was a sign that said “Please Do Not Feed the Seagulls! They are on very strict diets!” But, someone must have forgot to tell the seagulls about their diet! hahaha The table near me finished and left and before the waiters could clear the plates and leftovers, the seagulls swooped in and had themselves a feast! Most took small bites and flew off to enjoy their bounty, but one took off with a HUGE portion of garlic toasted baguette. Others flew after him in an attempt to take their share, but he was fast….until he dropped it and a swarm of gulls attacked it get whatever they could before he fought them off and took it back. It was quite entertaining! hahaha

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After lunch, I got on the Dolphin Cruise. It was the perfect day for a water tour – warm and sunny! We cruised all along Galveston Bay. We saw several dolphins (didn’t get any really decent pics, but got two so-so ones), pelicans, and other water birds. One cool thing we saw was the SS Selma – a WWI concrete tanker ship that was scuttled in shallow waters in Galveston Bay in 1920!!! They attempted to pull it to shore, but there was too much damage to it, so they decided to just leave it there as a warning to other ships of the shallow waters in the bay. We also got a glimpse of the USS Texas battleship that is dry docked in Galveston Bay undergoing repairs to the floating museum. The USS Texas is the only battleship that survived both WWI and WWII and is one of the oldest surviving Naval ships having turned 100 in 2014.

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Our captain and guide

We saw several dolphins playing around the bay, but I had a difficult time capturing more than these two on camera!

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This and the next few photos are of the SS Selma – the concrete ship I mentioned at the beginning of the boat tour part of this post. It was way cool…..what a treat! It is totally made of CONCRETE!!! While a good portion of it is above water, there is a large section that is actually under water! If you have your own boat, you are permitted to anchor beside it and board it to take a look around!

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USS Texas in dry dock undergoing repairs – WWI and WWII Battleship is now a floating museum

After the cruise, I went to check in at my hotel. I stayed at the LaQuinta Galveston West Seawall hotel. It was an awesome choice — it wasn’t waterfront, so the price was a tad less expensive than the waterfront hotels, but it was right behind a row of waterfront ones, so it was just a short walk to the beaches across Seawall Blvd – GREAT location! And, the hotel was clean and comfortable, had a very good free breakfast, and an amazing shower – a great choice!

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Then, the rest of the day, I just drove all over the island – mostly along the Seawall Blvd. I checked out the beaches and saw as much of the island as I could. It was a stunning day to be near the water! The city of Galveston is situated on Galveston Island a barrier island off the Texas Gulf coast near the mainland coast. The island is oriented generally northeast-southwest, with the Gulf of Mexico on the east and south, West Bay on the west, and Galveston Bay on the north side. The island’s main access point from the mainland is the Interstate Highway 45 causeway that crosses West Bay on the island’s northeast side.

Unfortunately, given the traffic and parking situation, there weren’t a lot of safe places to pull over to get many good photos. But, I have my memories — it really is a beautiful island and I’m sorry I only planned to spend the one day there!

The Gulf of Mexico

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Late afternoon, I stopped in at the Gumbo Diner on the Seawall for some steaming hot, pillow soft, fluffy, incredibly delicious Beignets covered in powdered sugar…..heavenly!!!

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Then, at the end of the day, I popped in at a Ben & Jerry’s shop on the Seawall just a couple blocks down from my hotel and capped off the day with a cup of Cherry Garcia!!! Yeah….I was a bad girl….but it was so good!!!

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So, that was Galveston……sorry there weren’t more photos of the island, but like I said, traffic and parking kept me from just pulling over for quick photos. Trust me, though – it is an amazing island with lots to do! I considered going to a place called Moody Gardens with an aquarium, a rainforest pyramid, a shark tunnel where you walk through a tunnel with sharks swimming all around you, monkeys wandering free, rides, and so much more…..but, I didn’t discover it until mid-afternoon and a day pass was $60.00 (senior price), so I decided to pass on it and hope that someday I get back there and will include it then.

At the end of the day, I settled in at the hotel for a good night’s sleep. Then, after breakfast in the morning, I headed out towards San Antonio…..more on that in my next post! 🙂