Seawall, Blvd.
Galveston, TX.

The little child playing on the empty beach is my nephew!

The drive down to Galveston is a little shy of 5 hours from Dallas. I took this trip with my sister and nephews at the end of June. We stayed two nights. A great little getaway!

First, the road to the Houston area from Dallas is boring. Absolutely boring. Normally when driving down to Houston I stop in Huntsville, TX. I consider myself a Road Warrior so going without a stop for 3 hours is fine with me, but if you have kids in the car I suggest that you stop often! Because here is the deal…the exits are far apart. Once you get to Houston the trip down to Galveston is basically suburban sprawl all the way down to the Island. They have built up this nice bridge onto the Island which includes palm trees. It’s lovely, makes you feel like you are going to a really awesome place. Galveston is an awesome place, but not quite a “really awesome place”. It wasn’t there when I visited the Island a few years back (or I don’t remember it).

The reason why I put Seawall, Blvd. as the destination for this “go” is because that is where the beach and the hotels are located. There are many hotel options. I started my search at galveston.com but eventually made my way to hotels.com and found Baymont Inn & Suites. Affordable and decent. When looking for a hotel look for a Seawall, Blvd. address. Baymont Inn & Suites doesn’t have a Seawall, Blvd. address but it’s right off Seawall, Blvd. You can see the beach and it is totally within walking distance. Anyway, read reviews and choose what you think is best for you.

What do you do in Galveston, TX? You go to the beach! Go early if you want to experience a setting like the one in the picture. It’s worth waking up early, because during the day the beach is crawling with people. This trip was all about the beach since my nephews had never been. However, if you don’t want to be a beach bum there are lots of other ways to spend your time in Galveston.

The two most popular destinations in Galveston is Moody Gardens and Schlitterbahn Waterpark. Never been to Schlitterbahn Waterpark but I’ve been to Moody Gardens and it’s worth the coin. When driving into Galveston you can see Moody Gardens if you look to your right, the three colorful pyramids.

We had kids so we weren’t trying to dine at any fancy restaurant. We went to Golden Carrol, and did fast food otherwise. There is a Wal-Mart off Seawall, Blvd. and of course we visited it!

If you live in the Dallas area and haven’t been to Galveston start your engine and hit the road. I recommend to go during the week instead of weekend. After visiting the beach be prepared to dig sand out of things for a couple days!

NOTE: Hurricane Ike visited the Island Fall ’08 but everything for the most part is restored.

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