Thinking about touring a mansion or two (Moody, Bishop’s Palace), walking along the beach, maybe Galveston Island State Park, maybe the Strand district?
This all comes from just poking around on the World Wide Web. I’d love to hear pesonal opinions and experiences. Open to most anything.
Thanks!
mmm
If you start singing that song, everyone within earshot will be joining in – like Pee Wee Herman at the Alamo.
If you’re interested in WWII-era ships, you can check out the submarine USS Cavalla and destroyer escort USS Stewart at Seawolf Park.
By the Time I Get To Phoenix?
mmm
When we lived near Houston, we visited Galveston a few times, mostly to get in beach time, once I think for “Dickens on the Strand”, a holiday event in the first week of December.
If you’re going this time of year, I suppose there are decent places to eat (I don’t recall much that was memorable) and shop. But Galveston in mid to late December can be dreary if the weather doesn’t cooperate - expect mid-60s at best with downright chilly nights, colder if you’re unlucky.
“It Must Have Been A Mighty Storm”, or “Blowin’ Like A Bandit”?
Yes, Galveston has fishing charters.
There’s an ill wind a blowin’
You better get back to your moorin’
If you dare take that boat out to sea
You better take a weather warnin’
Or you’ll be shark bait in the mornin’
If you dare take that boat out to sea
Seconding the recommendation for Seawolf Park.
Yeah, Galveston’s a Spring/Summer/Fall sort of city. The fishing isn’t terrific in the winter, and nor is the beach stuff either.
I’d check out Seawolf Park, Moody Gardens and at least see the beaches. The Bolivar Ferry is always a good and cheap thing to see, and if you’re at Seawolf Park, you can see the astounding amount of shipping going through from the Port of Houston.
Space Center Houston and Johnson Space Center is a half-hour away, so that’s always an option. You can get into the Rocket Park and see the Saturn V without paying anything- you just go in the main gate and tell the guard that you’re there to see the Rocket Park.
The Kemah Boardwalk is nearby as well- closer to the JSC/SCH, and is more of a year-round venue with restaurants, a ferris wheel, etc… There’s also some sort of Pleasure Pier in Galveston where the Flagship Hotel used to be (it was cool; a humongous hotel built several hundred yards out over the water). The Pleasure Pier seems to be similar to the Kemah Boardwalk, but I’ve never been.
I was going to recommend this, particularly if the weather isn’t good for the beach or parks. Just pay the money to get in, or if you’re a member of a museum at home, admission might be free. If you do go, Do all of the tours from the museum onto the actual JSC campus.
If the weather is poor, and you plan to do the tours, dress appropriately. The golf cart trains used for the tours are open air.
I was in Galveston and found myself in the mood for gefilte fish, and there was a place with a “Delicatessen” sign, so I went in and asked if they had any. They said they didn’t know what that was. So I said it was a kind of Kosher food, and then they said they didn’t know what that was, either.
So you might find restaurant choices are not broad.
But then this was 43 years ago.
Can be but the weather is pretty good right now. It was actually cold this morning (got just below freezing at the house due to a front) but other than Friday/Saturday (rain) it’ll be clear and upper 60s/low 70s during the days and 40s/50s over night for the next week or so. I guess that counts as chilly for around here but nothing a jacket or sweater can’t fix.
You can/should pay in advance. There’s still a ticket booth but they’re encouraging app usage now. For parking as well, which they do via some kind of license plate scanning, so all you have to do is drive in/out. For the Control Center tour, you still need to check in, but that’s inside the building itself.
The USS Texas is still in drydock at Gulf Copper. If there on a Sunday, you can get a drydock tour of the last dreadnought class battleship. You can also see her from the Pier 20/21 area which is home for the tall ship Elissa and right by the cruise terminal and some good restaurants.
Eat a meal at Gaido’s restaurant . You’ll know it by the VW bug-sized blue crab on the front of the building. My father was from Galveston and my grandparents would take us to Gaido’s whenever we would visit them.
If you like historic ships, the tall ship Elissa is docked at the port on the side of the island opposite the seawall. She’s right by a little restaurant that serves a great po’boy. I forget the name but it shouldn’t be hard to find.