"Galveston - the laid back resort" a Galveston Travel Page by mccalpin

Galveston is situated on a long island that runs along the upper Texas coast south of Houston. The east end of the island borders the entrance to Galveston Bay, which extends up to Houston.

In the 19th Century, Galveston was the major city in Texas. It was quite rich because it was one of the best ports for hundreds of miles in each direction - the back side of Galveston island provided for very safe anchorage.

In September of 1900, a huge hurricane struck Galveston. In those days, of course, weather forecasting was not as precise a science as it is today - and they didn't have weather satellites in space! Although the storm struck Cuba, US meteorologists allegedly discounted the reports; thus, the storm struck Galveston by surprise.

Read "Isaac's Storm" for a fascinating take on the hurricane and the people.

In any case, the entire town was flooded, many structures were destroyed in the tidal surge, and some 6,000 people died.

Although the city leaders made herculean efforts to rebuild the city, it was inescapable that other cities would take up the slack in port facilities - this is what enabled Houston to become the major city that it is today (that, and all the oil discovered in Texas).

Galveston was never able to recover its former importance. However, the city was rebuilt, and because of its beaches and mild temperatures, Galveston is still today a local destination as a beach resort.

No, the beaches are not white sand (more like brown) and the waters are not crystal clear blue (more like silty brown from all the rivers); however, for most Texans, Galveston is an easy drive down I-45 down from Houston or even Hobby Airport (which is on the south side of Houston on I-45).

Fitting with its second class resort status, there are plenty of hotels (good and bad) and restaurants (ditto), but the prices are much more reasonable than in first class resorts. In addition, there are a number of things to see and do, which makes it a better family vacation than the typical resort. Also, beaches in Texas tend to be public property - and there are MANY miles of beaches in Texas. You can take the free ferry from the east end of the island to the Bolivar peninsula, and drive for dozens and dozens of miles along empty beaches with the occasional group of beach houses - it is easy to "get away".