Texas Travel – Getting reacquainted with home Part 1

Over the past year and a half with international travel at a stand still as the terrible pandemic raged around the world Donna and I took a pause from international travel and instead became reacquainted with our home state. We have always traveled within Texas but never as extensively as we have done in the last year. We took a pause from travel but once we believed we could travel we started out much closer to home. Over the past year of travel within Texas we have learned more about the vast state we call home. From bustling cities to desolate desert landscapes our state is truly varied. We visited every region in the state during this last year and here are some of my recollections, things I have learned and the good and the bad of our state.

Travel Along the Upper Coast

Our first small trips were to places around the Upper and Middle Texas coast. We started out with just day trips and visited places like the Sabine Pass Battleground where we learned about the battles that largely kept major battles out of the State of Texas and we visited the small but nice Sea Rim park near the Louisiana border that had both a swamp walking trail with Alligators and many birds and a nice beach you could walk along. We spent a day and drove around Galveston (we drove the entire length from Brazoria County) and we visited some of the nice wildlife refuges on several occasions not far from the Houston area. As expected the majority of the Upper Texas coast like Louisiana is a mixture of swamp, bayous and the Gulf of Mexico. While the mosquitoes and never relenting humidity can be difficult to deal with we found there is a beauty and mystery seeing alligators, many species of birds and other animals. At one of the wildlife refuges we walked a rare forest in the swampland where bobcats live. Swamps and marshland while fairly inhospitable are important especially against storm surge and hurricanes and a great place to appreciate the area we live in. We saw birds pick fish up from the rivers, a alligator mother protecting her young and so much more during our more local trips from Houston. We of course also visited museums in Houston and Galveston such as the Space Center, San Jacinto Monument, The Bryan Museum, the Lone Star Flight Museum, the Brazoria County Museum, the Steven F. Austin Statue and San Felipe De Austin State Historic site. At all of the Houston area museums you could once again see from the first city and capital of Steve F. Austin’s colony in Texas to Texas controlling spacecraft that landed on the moon and continues to train and control our countries human spaceflight. You see the success that our area has and also tragedies with events such as the 1900 Galveston Storm. Houston is such a large and diverse city so you can spend a lot of time learning about the area and trying the different foods and cultures of different countries. One thing you cannot help noticing in Houston and many other Upper Texas coastal cities is that we have a lot of clean up to do from trash on our roads and many other areas. We also have a major homelessness issue in many of the cities that needs to be tackled.

Travel Along the Central Texas Coast

We finally branched out on our first hotel stay in Victoria where we spent some time learning about two different eras in Texas History. We spent some time learning about the ill-fated La Salle expedition where the French landed in Texas mistaking Matagorda bay for the Mississippi River. La Salle was killed by his own men as they desperately tried to find help. The small French colony eventually was killed by Native Americans. We also visited Goliad to see the Spanish mission that played a role in multiple wars and revolutions with Spain and Mexico. The most famous part for Texans is Fannin and his men who fought a small battle you can visit and were then killed by Mexican troops that partly caused the rallying cry at San Jacinto “Remember the Alamo, Remember Goliad”. Right next to the Presidio La Bahia where Fannin himself was killed stands the birthplace of General Ignacio Zaragoza who was the Mexican General that defeated the French at the Battle Pueblo that is celebrated on Cinco De Mayo.

We later took our first flight during the pandemic to Corpus Christi and there we once again dove into more of Texas history and culture while there. We visited the Corpus Christi Science and History museum where we learned about the Central Texas Coast and the Spanish influence and even ship wrecks that occurred in the area. We of course also visited the USS Lexington where we learned about the historic WWII ship and Texas’s involvement in Naval engagements throughout history. In Corpus Christi we learned about the Sea Life of the long Texas Coast and then visited the Texas State Museum of Asian Cultures. Just visiting the coastal cities in Texas you can already get a sense of how cultural diverse Texas is and how much history occurred in the state with so many nations having touched Texas. We finished our time in the Central Texas coast by visiting North Padre Island where we walked the desolate shoreline. At the time we visited a weak tropical storm was in the Gulf of Mexico near Louisiana but the storm surge was still very strong hundreds of miles away. As we walked the strong waves completely covered the beach and some of the dunes beyond. People were rushing to get their vehicles off the beach. It gave us an appreciation of tropical systems that might approach Texas and how strong the surge could be if you are directly in the path of a storm.

Travel Along the South Texas Coast

A few months later we finished traveling the entire length of the Texas Coast (from the Louisiana border to near the Mexican border) when we flew into Harlingen, Texas. While in the area called The Valley by most Texans due to the Rio Grande Valley being in the area we once again saw the rich sea and wildlife Texas has and the important historic events that have had world wide effects that have occurred in our state. We went over to South Padre Island to learn more about the area and not just to party as many people do when going to the area. We visited during the winter so swimming was not an option so we went to Sea Turtle Inc on the island that is an important medical center for the endangered Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle that lays its eggs on South Padre Island. They help raise the young turtles and then release them back into the Gulf. They also have tanks where they treat sea turtles for various ailments from disease to human made injuries to cold shock where the water gets too cold and puts the turtles into a form of shock/paralysis. They also for one turtle who lost three of her four fins gave her a prosthetic that allows her to swim well. This facility was over run with injured turtles a month after our visit during the historic Texas freeze. We visited a nature center and drove as far as the road would go on the island. The Texas coast is home to so many different animals and birds and its very diverse as you move a long the coast. We also spent some time at a nature preserve where we saw Texas Mangroves and many other types of animals. After we left South Padre Island we visited the Palo Alto National Battlefield and Resaca De La Palma Parks. These where the first two battles in the Mexican-American War that would ultimately bring much of the Western North America into the hands of the United States. We hiked through the unique landscape of semi tropical vegetation but also prairies.

My Take on the Texas Gulf Coast

The Good

After traveling the entire Texas Gulf Coast and re-visiting many museums, parks and cultural places, I once again discovered how many things there are to do along our Gulf Coast and the diversity we have here. The Texas Gulf Coast has so much history and many very important events have taken place along this region. From many explorers from countries like France and Spain landing on our shores to Steven F. Austin’s Colony in Texas, Battles that determined Texas’s and the United States future to people landing on the moon the Gulf coast of Texas has that history. If you took a driving trip and started in far East Texas and drove to Brownsville you could find plenty of things to do and see that would keep you learning and entertained for a long while. If you love sea life and the ocean going to places like the desolate North Padre Island National Seashore and the Turtle Center on South Padre Island are a must. There are other parks where you can mix being out in the outdoors and learning about Texas’s History such as the Palo Alto Battlefield, Goliad Battlefield (Coleto Creek) and the Sabine Pass Battleground. At the Sabine Pass Battleground for example we watched porpoises swimming just off shore as we learned about that important battle for Texas in the Civil War.

Texas has a great wealth in wild life and land a long the coast. There are many great parks such as the wild life refuges in Brazoria County, North Padre Island National Seashore and state parks like on Mustang and Galveston Island that preserve the varied landscapes Texas has. In the wildlife refuges especially we were able to get out in nature away from the crowded city and see a lot of Texas wildlife. We watched a mother Alligator protecting her young, a bird snatch a fish from the water, watched a myriad of bird species from pink spoonbills to hawks, and saw small wildlife like rabbits running in the woods. Each time we visited we were able to see something completely different. Down at North Padre Island we were able to walk the beach without anyone else in sight. It was interesting to see the power of the ocean from a weak tropical storm many miles away.

In cities like Houston there is such a diversity of cultures that you can learn about a variety of countries and cultures through the dinning scene in the city. In Katy for Example there is an entire shopping center that only has Asian establishments. They also have a large Asian grocery store there. You will find places like that throughout the city. We visited before the pandemic a great Spanish food restaurant in downtown that had Spanish Flamenco dancing. There are great opportunities in Houston to get out of your comfort zone of solely eating American food and trying out and learning about other cultures.

There are many great museums on every topic you can imagine a long the Gulf Coast. If you like art you can find any kind of art you would like to see in Houston, Corpus Christi , Orange and so many other places. There are great history and science museums all a long the coast in many cities where you have great opportunities to spark your interests in science.

Texas is sport central (no comment in regards to how the Houston Texans and Rockets are doing lol) so you can go to any kind of sport imaginable a long the Gulf Coast. We have Major League, minor league and college teams you can go to and you can find affordable sports to go watch like University of Houston sports that are just as fun as professional sports.

The Texas Gulf Coast has a lot of great things and is worth traveling through it to see all it has to offer.

The Bad

As I have found in many areas of Texas the Gulf Coast has a litter and trash problem. This is especially evident in the Houston area. I have said to family you could furnish your entire home with furniture and items laying on the freeways. You will find a number of trash items laying in fields and ditches as your drive trough the area. Even in areas like downtown you will find areas filled with trash on the ground. In some of the parks we visited we saw a Texas favorite Whataburger cups floating along with the fish. On North Padre Island we could see plastic and debris all over the shoreline. While some of that debris undoubtedly came in with the tide and might not be from Texas, its still a sad sight. Many of the beaches water becomes polluted and causes outbreaks of flesh eating bacteria. We can do so much better if we would all dispose of our garbage properly, tie down loads you are transporting right, and in general take pride in the wonderful resources and land we have a long the Texas Gulf Coast.

In the major cities there is a massive homelessness problem. While the Gulf coast and Texas cities are not the only ones with this issue, its a major issue nonetheless. In downtown Houston and even in the tourist areas you have a good chance of being aggressively grifted by people. Before the pandemic this happened to me nearly every day. The problem has gotten worse since the pandemic. Its something if we pull together we could work to solve in the future.

The driving in Texas is extremely aggressive and Houston and the East Texas area towards Beaumont is especially bad. I have drive all over the country and while other areas have bad and aggressive drivers, the Upper Gulf Coast has some of the worst driving I have seen. I’ve had someone in the past try to ram me off the road in a fit a road rage and a report recently listed Houston as one of the worst places for road rage. We have got to calm the driving down in Texas and especially in this area as its not overly safe.

Due to being on the Gulf of Mexico and being a semi tropical climate the weather is extremely volatile in the area. There can be days where its sunny and pleasant but in the summer be prepared for extremely hot and humid weather with an abundance of mosquitoes. Severe storms and flooding is a major issue in the area and cities like Houston have not yet done the massive flood control projects needed to control the frequent flooding that occurs during the torrential rain that the Gulf Coast often has. Hurricanes are also a threat from May to October along the coast. If you are traveling anywhere on the Texas coast you will want to pay attention closely to the weather so you are not caught in a dangerous situation.

In Conclusion

The Texas Gulf Coast is a great place to explore. We have traveled it many times but slowing down our international travel gave us the chance to visit some of the off the beaten path places, enjoy the nature, visit great museums and learn more about the great history that occurred in this Texas Region. The cultural diversity is amazing so we enjoyed taking some time to soak that in. Some areas that the coast really needs to work on is cleaning up an area that can be very dirty at times, work on homelessness in the major cities and the driving really needs to be calmed down. Be prepared for wild weather when traveling around. We enjoyed our time rediscovering the Texas Gulf Coast!