PADRE ISLAND to NEW ORLEANS 

PADRE ISLAND to NEW ORLEANS 

From the naturally preserved landscape of Padre Island National Seashore near Corpus Christi, and Rockport to Jamaica Beach in Galveston there are a lot of beaches and small villages to explore on our way to New Orleans.

Arriving late in Corpus Christi, unfortunately we were too late to visit the USS Lexington. The mighty USS Lexington is one of the largest surviving vessels to have served in WWII. This important aircraft carrier was launched in 1943 and now serves as a naval museum.

Padre Island consists of more than 130,000 acres of beach, dunes and grassland, and is home to rare sea turtles and many migratory birds.

The pristine landscape of the Padre Island National Seashore makes it one of the top beaches in the state because of its untouched beauty. It is the longest undeveloped barrier island in the world, and its 100 kilometres of beaches are surrounded by natural elements such as sand dunes and protected wildlife. The sand on the beach is clean, soft, and expansive, so there is plenty of room. This beach is a great place for bush camping and another place in the world were sea turtle hatchlings are released taking place from June through to August.

South Padre Island is known for its vibrant holiday atmosphere full of hotels and resorts.  The north end of Padre Island consists of a long beach where nature is preserved, and no development is allowed. One of the most popular activities to do when visiting the national seashore is to drive on the beach and travel down island. But be aware of the tides.

Padre Island is the second-largest island by area in the USA, after Long Island in New York on the Atlantic Coast.

Laguna Madre separates Padre Island from the Texas mainland; due to lack of circulation of seawater in and out of the lagoon and evaporation the lagoon is extremely salty.

While all the beaches along the coast have great opportunities for bush camping on the beach, we were a little disappointed with the murky water. Locals gave us mixed answers, some blaming hurricane Beryl which just passed, others told us this is an issue all around the coast till we go past New Orleans. Time will tell.

Next stop Port Aransas

The beach vibe in Port Aransas is a relaxed one, with 25 kilometres of shoreline with a community feel with a social element and lots of beach activities like volleyball, sandcastle-building competitions, and evening bonfires that are permitted on the beach. The beach is great for swimming in the gentle waves coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. BUT the second night things changed with storm force winds, high tide, and with thunder and lightning it felt like Hurricane Beryl had returned. In pouring rain, we left around midday the following day as the weather forecast for the next few days was the same, HUMID, RAIN, THUNDER and 32 degrees.

We continued beach hopping, next stop was Rockport Beach, just under 2 kilometres long but according to the locals the best beach in Texas. This beach is carefully maintained to meet environmental quality standards, which is what made it Texas’ first certified Blue Wave Beach. For those willing to pay you can also swim in the saltwater lagoon and have access to shaded pavilions, restrooms cabanas, and showers.

Enroute to Jamaica Beach we passed Houston but did not stop as in a few months we fly out of Houston on our way home and we plan to spend 2 days there before flying out. We will visit the Space Center Houston, Mission Control and Johnson Space Center.  Lots to see and learn about space exploration, upcoming missions, NASA’s latest projects, and possibly even meet an astronaut.

Overnight we stayed just before Galverston Island on the banks of the Colombia river, and we started to notice the tree damage done by Hurricane Beryl.

Our plan was to enter Galveston Island from the west, but just before the island at Freeport we were told the western part of the island was closed due the Hurricane and Tornado damage done 2 days ago. Hence this meant a 150-kilometre detour to Galveston before heading west again to Jamaica Beach, hoping it would be accessible.

It is amazing to see how fast emergency crews restore power (most power lines were down). Most damage was done by fallen trees and flying bits of roofs/windows etc. etc.

Builders are fined big time if they do not clean up before the hurricanes hit. And are made responsible for any damage done. Council is responsible for uprooted trees and house damage if this is caused by trees. Amazing that after the beach sweepers cleaned the beach and power poles were replaced and power restored, it was hard to see that the area was hit by a Hurricane and the following day a tornado, except for the destroyed houses, and flooding in low lying areas. Emergency service work 24/7 and water from the low-lying areas was being pumped out by hundreds of pumps.

Amazing that after 4 days all is back to normal.

Galveston is a coastal resort city and port in the Southeast of Texas on Galveston Island in the Gulf of Mexico with plenty to do here all year long. Unfortunately, the island is prone to many cyclones and tornadoes. Most deadly was the 1900 hurricane killing between 10 and 12000 people. In 2008 Hurricane Ike made landfall causing extensive damage to the seawall and most buildings in town with winds over 200km per hour.

Much of Galveston’s economy is centred in the tourism, cruise and shipping industries. Galveston is ranked the number one cruise port on the Gulf Coast and fourth in the United States. Galveston is also known as the “Playground of the South. Galveston is a popular tourist and cruise destination bringing over 950 million to the local economy and attracted over 6 million visitors in 2023.

The city’s tourist attractions include the Galveston Island historic pleasure pier, a downtown neighbourhood of historic buildings known as the strand, many historical museums and mansions, and miles of beach front. The city hosts many festivals such as yearly Mardi Gras Festival, Jazz & Blues Festival, Victorian-themed Christmas festival, Dickens on the strand (honouring the works of novelist Charles Dickens), Christmas Carols by candlelight, huge midnight fireworks on New Years Eve, and The Galveston Summer Musicals. The Galveston Summer Musicals is a professional summer stock theatre company performing at Galveston’s Moody Gardens. Prior to 2004, they performed at the Mary Moody Northen Amphitheatre in West Galveston Island

Galveston is home to several historic ships: the tall ship Elissa (the official Tall Ship of Texas) at the Texas Seaport Museum and Warships USS Cavalla & USS Stewart, both berthed on Pelican Island.