Galveston has come a long way since the blows of Hurricane Ike. Some of the scars will never heal, but many have been erased. As a family, enjoy the sea wall. There are plenty of beaches, some free (along the seawall and Jamaica Beach) and some not (Stewart Beach). There are plenty of restaurants along the sea wall; some family friendly (McDonald's, Chili's, and Gaido's) and some not. There are hotels and other conveniences (grocery store, souvenir shops, etc.). We just parked along the seawall (free) and walked down some stairs to the beach (free). We had a great time. The only bummer was no bathrooms or places to change clothes.
As a family, strolling the Strand is a gamble. Before Hurricane Ike there were family friendly stores and restaurants. After Hurricane Ike there are many bars and t-shirt shops displaying things I don't want my kids to see or read. On the family friendly side, the Army Surplus shop and the Old Strand Emporium are still there, but both were closed at the time we were there. They used to be fun to browse with lots of conversation starters about history and progress. We didn't find a restaurant that appeared kid friendly, but if you go one street over to the wharf, you will find some pricey restaurants that look family friendly. We skipped pricey.
Another side note, buyer beware when renting a beach house! We had wanted to help Galveston's recovery by renting a beach house, but found it to be too expensive and too much of a gamble to take our kids. During summer season, it is extremely hard to find a house willing to rent for the weekend. Almost all reservations are for a week. We found some of interest and decided to do our due diligence and do an on-site review of the homes. Apparently, all the photos on-line were before Hurricane Ike. We were applaud and sadden by what we found. Houses within a normal, working family's budget were questionable at best. One house that was promoted as "newly renovated" (by the way, since Hurricane Ike, all the houses promote "Newly renovated") had insulation falling down from under the house. I don't know why there is insulation there, but that seemed a bad sign to me. Another house we looked at that was "newly located to beach front" meant that the house in front of it had been washed away. The washed away house had not removed the slab or the pylons from the beach. We found in a number of locations broken pylons still in the ground with splinters of wood jetting up, creating a hazard for running children. We did find a number of gorgeous homes, but the prices were outrageous. For families it is far more cost effective to go to a hotel or rent a condominium.
We still love Galveston and are holding our breath as they go through their necessary changes. We have families and would prefer they hold onto family values. Unfortunately, we see the signs of Sin City creeping in. If the adult entertainment sites and sounds continue to grow, we may have to write Galveston off our list. But for now, there are still fun things for families to do for a day or for a weekend.
Trip Stats:
- Who: 2 Moms, two 10 year old boys, two 5 year old boy and one 7 year old girl
- What:
- Galveston Island, http://www.galveston.com/default.asp
- Galveston County Parks, http://www.galvestonparks-seniors.org/default.asp
- When: Friday (arrived at noon and left at 5:00pm, traffic down was none, but traffic back was awful)
- Where: Beach
- Why: Outdoor Play
- Cost: FREE, we parked on the seawall and walked to the beach. We took a picnic and plenty of drinks and snacks. PETTY CASH, we did go to McDonald's for ice cream and shakes and bathroom breaks.
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