Galveston Staycation {Tips & Tricks}

A Family Summer Bucket List wouldn’t be complete without somehow incorporating a trip to the beach! We are so lucky living in Houston that we have our own little piece of the gulf coast just a mere hour-ish away! For us, the beach just has a way of capturing ever-lasting memories, re-grounding us to what is important, giving us the opportunity to let rules fly out the windows, and just slowing us down for a few days. Our family has a house on Galveston’s West End that makes our weekend trips just that much sweeter. So while Becky shared tips and tricks for a day trip to Galveston yesterday, we’re inviting you along with us for the whole weekend – find a rental, pack your bags, and come join the fun!

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We are in total salt life mode the second we pull out of our driveways! Sippy cups have juice {not water} in them, everyone is holding a snack, and Frozen is playing on all electronic devices. We’ve also already dressed ourselves in swim suits and applied the first layer of sunscreen. An hour {or so} on 45 South, and we are exiting 61st Street. {Both lanes turn right…don’t wait in that line people!}

Stop at Randall’s on 61st street before you hit the Seawall and pick up whatever you forgot! This Randall’s is a lot less crowded than the other grocery stores, and they have a great wine and beer selection. {wink.} Yes, there is a Spec’s on the way, but have you been in Spec’s with two children under two?

We are headed west, and there is a Sonic just after you turn right on Seawall! Hopefully, it’s happy hour – and if you are in our car, you are getting a diet cranberry limeade!

Don’t forget to slow down to 35 when you pass through Jamaica Beach – they are VERY SERIOUS about the speed limit  in their municipality! Also, keep your eyes peeled for our best friend while cruising by – she’s running a “sno-cone” stand in the gas station parking lot, and by “sno-cone” she means REAL NEW ORLEANS SnoBALLS. {We’ll come back to this.}

We pull in the driveway and the babes run straight to the beach walk-over. We used to worry about stickers in the grass, and telling them to slow down – but they know the drill now..stop at the top of the bridge and wait for the mommies. More sunscreen, the dads make four trips to get everything to us so we can set up shop, and we’re done. Living the salt life dream!

beach collage 1

We want you living the dream too!!  We vow to keep our Galveston trips easy.  Easy meals at home, the beach is our entertainment, and we pretty much only get in the car to get a mid day snoball.  However, if you need a little something more, here’s a list we’ve compiled of places to stay, fun things to do when you get there, and some suggestions for where to get your grub!

Galveston Staycation

Places to stay ::

Fun family outings ::

Restaurants ::

Y’all ready to plan your trip???  We hope so!  We really want you to know the feeling of 5 o’clock on the beach…the very best beach hour.  You’ve made it over the afternoon hump.  You’ve rallied everyone in the house to go down just one more time to soak up the last couple hours of sun.  You’ve put t-shirts on all of the babes to protect their sweet skin.  You’ve finished your last bottle of water and switched to a plastic glass of wine.  The tide is low, so you can put your beach chair at the water’s edge.  You look around at the kids in the waves, the babies digging in the sand, the husbands taking turns pulling the brave ones on boogie boards, and all you feel is bliss y’all.  Let us know when you book your trip…we’ll meet you there!

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3 COMMENTS

  1. Loved your list. My in laws have a little house a block off the sea wall, and we are down there frequently, so I wanted to add a couple of activities. At the east end of the island you can walk onto the Bolivar Ferry for free. Ferries leave every 20 minutes or so, and if you walk on rather than drive on, you don’t wait in a line. The round trip is about 40 minutes total. It’s the perfect after dinner sunset activity. . .dolphins, pelicans, and feeding seagulls off the back of the boat. There is also a great putt putt place on the SeaWall past 61st that is reasonably priced and really pretty. AND if you’ve not eaten at The Original Mexican Cafe, it’s a great TexMex spot.

  2. This is such a sweet article on things to do in Galveston. We recently had a “Staycation” and stayed in a gorgeous beach house with Sand `N Sea Properties (https://www.sandnsea.com/). It was a blast for the entire family and we can’t wait to go back! We will have to try some of these places next time. Thanks!

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