Texas Beaches

Texas beaches aren’t really famous. They don’t have the nice vistas of  the upper Pacific coast, the Hollywood appeal of the lower California coast or the allure of Florida beaches.  But there are over 367 miles of Texas gulf shoreline  and over 3,300 miles of bay shorelone from Louisiana to Mexico and though the gulf water is not crystal, the sand not quite white and powdery, and scenery not as world-renowned, they are varied enough to appeal to a lot of people.

There are undeveloped beaches here that are perfect for people who are soul-searching or just fascinated with the vast emptiness on the left, on the right and beyond. There are areas for wildlife and bird watching. There are beaches for partying and for crowd-watching. There are beaches that allow you to park right on the sand while some beaches have shower and changing rooms.

We have not explored much of the coast yet but here are some we’ve been to since we’ve moved to Texas.

1. Rockport - I got interested in Rockport beach when I read that they have the Blue Wave certification. The certification means that the direct stakeholders pretty much take care of the beach and the surrounding areas.   The beach is clean, has restroom and changing facilities, has playground and picnic areas and bird nesting areas.

Rockport

2. Surfside - This is the beach we go to most often when we need our sand and salt fix. The kids love the non-stop wave action here and love the fact that this is a drive-on beach and that we can park right at the edge of the water.  We’ve been here early in the morning, later in the afternoon, during peak and off-peak seasons and we haven’t had a bad experience yet.  My wish-list includes renting one of the beach-front houses for the weekend.

Surfside

Surfside

3. Corpus Christi / Port Aransas – I think that the further you head into the Mexican side, the better the beaches get. The Mustang Island beach, either on the Corpus side or the PA side is very nice. Port Aransas looked more like the beach town with all the tourist trappings. This place must get very active during summer and spring break time. We visited and stayed with friends from the Philippines during this trip and although it was a quick overnight trip, we loved the area and we’ll definitely come back.

Mustang Island

4. Galveston’s Stewart Beach – This is a very accessible beach and was our first foray into Texas beaches. The park features umbrella and chair rentals, volleyball courts, an outdoor pavilion, snack bar, souvenir shop, restrooms and showers.

5. Galveston Sea Wall – Went here early one morning to fish.

6. Moody Gardens Palm Beach – If you want to go to Galveston and get feel of the beach without dipping your feet into gulf waters, the Moody Garden’s Palm Beach is perfect for especially if you have younger kids. There’s white sand, beach umbrellas and chairs but it also has a lazy river, a wave pool and a splash pad.

Palm Beach

Eating in Texas 2

Here’s another list of restaurants we’ve been to in the past year. The list is easier to remember now that I’ve been using FourSquare.com. I simply looked at my check in history and here they are.

1. Tan Tan (8066 Westheimer Rd Houston, Texas 77063) – One of our favorite Chinese/Vietnamese restaurants. This is their second location and it looks modern. The first one is iconic here in Houston. We love the Salt Toasted Squid, Shrimp, Scallops and Tofu.  The Walnut Shrimp, House Special Rice Cake, Diced Beef and Stir Fried Flat Noodles are very good as well. The menu is thick and there are lots of options.

2.  Cafe Singapore (12345 bellair blvd #b2 Harris, TX 77072) – I don’t think there are a lot of Singaporean and Malaysian cuisine restaurants in Houston but this tiny, nondescript cafe is well worth the drive to Alief.  We ordered the recommended Beef Rendang and it was delicious.

3.  Tradicao Brazilian Steakhouse (6800 SW Fwy Houston, TX 77074) – We love steaks and one of the best ways to enjoy it is in a Churascaria . There are a number of these restaurants now in Houston all vying to the Texas-sized appetite but Tradicao is still has one of the best value for the money. 14 or so cuts of beef, pork, chicken and shrimps make it a delightful experience. They also have a salad bar but we didn’t have any of that. We were there for the meat and we left the place very satisfied.

4. Yori-Yori (1302 Blalock Rd Houston, TX 77055) – We’ve been to the one inside Super H Mart and Ranch 99 and both have been consistent with their dishes. It’s basically a Korean fast-food restaurant so it’s fast (obviously) and affordable (also obvious). We go for the seafood dishes and not the more common bulgogi and kalbi since those you can buy in the supermarket and then cook at home. Definitely worth a try before you do your grocery shopping. Super H Mart has several other establishments that we’ll try for sure.

5.  Gigi’s Asian Bistro – (5085 Westheimer Ste B2515 Houston, TX 77056) – This one is located inside the Galleria so expect that it’s pricier than going to the typical dimsum and dumpling place. The restaurant looks excellent especially the semi-private booths at the back. What lured us in is the all-you-can-eat dimsum that they have on weekends. The quality and the flavor were good and they were served with more style.

6. Shawarma King (3121 Hillcroft St Houston, TX 77057) – We went back to the Philippines this year and forgot to eat Shawarma, darn it. So we went back to Shawarma King. The place serves other dishes of course but nothing beats the price of the shawarma. It’s still not the Shawarma we love from home but it will do for now.

7. Sushi Choo Choo (12149 fm 1960 w. Houston, TX 77065) – I was looking for a fun place to eat with the family and saw this recently opened sushi place in FM 1960. We went there and we’ve been back several times already. We liked the concept (similar to the sushi boat we’ve had in California) of using conveyor belt to parade the sushi. The plates range from $1.00 to $4.00 and we all have our favorites. We also like the Japanese fried rice that they have on the menu. Sushi purists might shun a place like this but nothing beats the variety, the fun and the value of a place like this (especially during their happy hour).

8. Maggiano’s Little Italy (2019 Post Oak Blvd Houston, TX 77056 ) – Faye’s aunt Melissa got her PhD. and had her celebration here. I loved the food so much that I think I gained several pounds that night. Most memorable were the stuffed mushrooms, the fettuccine alfredo, the salmon and the tiramisu.

9. Makati Asian Cuisine (16427 West Little York Houston, TX 77084) – There’s not a lot of Filipino restaurants in Houston (yet) so it’s always good to see one close by. Makati is a buffet restaurant that serves Lechon during weekends (extra). The food is good and Bernard, the owner is very nice.  They have the usual fare including a very good Nilagang Baka. They also have good desserts including halo-halo.

Ike is almost here

Hurricane-force winds will be felt in Houston in an hour or so. We are watching waves pound Galveston. It’s not raining yet but the sky is thick with clouds. The hope is that it weakens at landfall. One of the main problem is that it hits land at night and will move up Texas starting at 1AM CST. It is going to be a very long night for sure. Stay up to date at http://www.khou.com

Bracing for Ike – Hunkering Down

We’ve been watching the news non-stop. Ike is starting to hammer into Galveston Island. We don’t really know what to expect. We are on the northwest side of Houston but even now the wind is starting to pick-up. We have provisions ready but the biggest concern is power outage. We have one neighbor that left yesterday for Dallas and we have a couple of neighbors covering their windows with plywood.

We’ll see how it goes.