By Christine Wenk-Harrison
I headed to Galveston, Texas, to meet my sister and two friends for one of our “sisters’ trips” in early December 2018. We had selected Galveston twice before but never in the winter. Although I wasn’t sure what to expect from a beach resort in the off-season, I ended up being pleasantly surprised.
On the island, we enjoyed mild, pleasant, mostly sunny days. Although we drove over, that didn’t stop us from enjoying a surprising number of water-related activities.
On Monday, we took the ferry to the Bolivar Peninsula. We enjoyed the crossing, especially since we saw dolphins. We ate lunch at a good Cajun restaurant, and afterward, we walked on Crystal Beach and didn’t see a soul.
We also walked on the beach near our condo, where we saw some colorful sunsets. We encountered almost no one on the beach.
Another water activity took place at the Galveston Island State Park. Our friends fished but didn’t catch anything. My sister and I explored some wetland trails. Again, we saw only a few people.
With so much to see at Moody Gardens, we purchased a day ticket. The gardens had a large holiday light display and special ice sculpture exhibit, which we enjoyed.
Moody Gardens has signature glass pyramids. We thoroughly enjoyed the Aquarium Pyramid and the Rain Forest Pyramid and saw two movies—a 4D one about sharks and a 3D one about Antarctica and climate change. To top it off, our day ticket included a cruise on the Colonel Paddlewheel Boat.
During our stay on Galveston, we ate some delicious seafood and visited many of the regular tourist spots as well as several new attractions. We signed up for a ghost tour, a surprisingly informative guided night walk. Our guide told us about the Rosenberg Library, which we later visited to see the historical exhibits covering Galveston’s history as a port and site of major storms.
We visited another relatively new attraction, which opened in 2015. The Bryan Museum, located in a former orphanage, features an incredible collection of art and artifacts related to the American West. A weekly farmers market is held on the attractive grounds.
With so many fun things to do on both land and water, we agreed that we could easily choose Galveston again, especially in the off-season.
Christine Wenk-Harrison, a retired counselor, lives near Lake Travis in the Texas Hill Country with her husband. As members of Austin Power Squadron/21, they have enjoyed their small sailboat, but in recent years, road trips and a few cruises have taken them to new destinations. This article first appeared in the squadron newsletter, The Plotter.
