Like many of you, I have been trying to find ways to scratch the traveling itch while COVID-19 continues to batter the travel industry. I have scaled back nearly all of my non-rev traveling in favor of summer road trips. This past weekend, this meant packing up the car and making the drive to the beaches of Galveston with social-distancing on my mind..
An Ode to Buc-ee’s
No road trip through Texas is complete without a stop at Buc-ee’s. For native Texans, Buc-ee’s represents a near-religious experience on any long car ride. For transplants & tourists though, the state’s infatuation with a gas station chain can be confusing.
I was pleasantly surprised to see signage requiring masks for all employees & customers in addition to plastic shields for the cashiers and social-distancing placards around the store. Though the store was busy (there is no such thing as an empty Buc-ee’s), I felt safe while shopping inside.
For the uninitiated, Buc-ee’s is admittedly the nicest gas station you will ever step foot in. Famed for having the cleanest gas station bathrooms in the country (trust me, this is a selling point on Texas road trips), Buc-ee’s locations can have over 100 gas pumps.
The convenience store itself is the size of a grocery store. These stores are packed with everything from road trip snacks to fishing gear.
Need to pick up wedding shower gifts? No problem.
Fancy buying a new cast-iron skillet while on your road trip? You obviously aren’t the only one.
Need to buy a new wardrobe because your suitcase flew out of your car? Of course you do.
What to get at Buc-ee’s
While most travelers won’t be stopping at Buc-ee’s to pick up candles, the point that I am trying to illustrate is that you definitely can. Here is a list of road trip-worthy snacks that I look for every time I swing by:
- Candied pecans: these nuts are a Texas staple, so opt for the warm bags of roasted bags for maximum flavor
- Beef jerky: I find a new favorite flavor every time I stop in, but I always opt for something with “spicy” in the name
- Gummy candy: There are entire wall displays & multiple aisles full of every candy imaginable. I rarely indulge in sugary confections, but I will always make an exception for peach rings or saltwater taffy.
- Breakfast tacos: there is an unwritten rule in Texas that the best tacos come from gas stations. I won’t sit here and pretend that Buc-ee’s tacos are the greatest of them all, but you could do a lot worse.
- Cold drinks: where else can you get a large Icee for buck?
After grabbing some snacks and drinks, we sanitized one last time before hitting the road.
What to do in Galveston
Anyone who is going to Galveston is planning on ending up at the water. Fishing charters out in the Gulf of Mexico are popular, but they were prohibited in the springtime as part of Galveston’s COVID-19 response.
With fishing ruled out, our choice was simple: hit the beach.
Galveston offers a plethora of beaches up and down the shoreline, but I want to focus on two of the most popular. In between beach-hopping, keep an eye out for some of Galveston’s great seafood restaurants.
Stewart Beach
Commonly recommended as a top family beach destination, Stewart Beach is more than just a strip of sand. With an event pavilion featuring restrooms & showers, this beach offers features that make a beach day in the Texas sun easy.
Concession stands, umbrella rentals, beach volleyball courts, and staffed lifeguard towers are all amenities you will find at Stewart Beach. All of this does come at a price though. Admission to the main Stewart Beach area will cost you $12 on weekdays and $15 on weekends. If you are looking for a family-friendly beach, Stewart Beach has everything you need as well as ample room to space yourself out from other beachgoers.
I spent a little bit of time here until finding out that alcohol consumption wasn’t allowed on the beach (silly me). A quick chat with others who were told to pack up their libations and move along led us to the only beach in Galveston that does allow drinking: East Beach.
East Beach
You will find East Beach just a couple miles down the road on the furthest tip of Galveston Island. Known as the beach of choice for partygoers, COVID-19 has canceled most events at this venue and thinned the crowds quite a bit.
The same $12/$15 entrance fee is listed on Galveston’s official website, but we passed multiple beachside parking lots that had free public beach access. Apparently I didn’t make it all the way to the official East Beach Park entrance, but that did not matter to us; we found our slice of the beach and cracked open our cooler of beer & snacks. I normally try to be courteous by not turning up our waterproof bluetooth speaker (one of our summer carry-on essentials) too loud. However, we were at least 100 feet away from the next closest group so we got to enjoy our beach playlist on max volume.
Galveston beaches aren’t particularly pretty, but they are wide open. Every group on the beach was able to establish their own area away from everyone else. The shallow water extends out hundreds of feet from the beach, so wading out into the rather murky-looking waters of the Gulf provided more opportunities to put distance between yourself and other groups.
Pre-COVID, East Beach would have been a full on party area as Texans flock to the water for relief from the summer heat. Visiting in July 2020 was a unique experience that afforded us the opportunity to spread out and relax in our world.
Where To Stay in Galveston
I was on a mission to find lodging within walking distance of the beach. That meant staying near the Galveston Seawall was a no-brainer. We situated ourselves right in-between Stewart Beach & East Beach to keep us close to the water and far away from the crowds at the Pleasure Pier.
After poring over recent Tripadvisor reviews, I booked a room at the Best Western Plus Seawall Inn & Suites by the Beach. Having stayed in a couple hotels since COVID-19 became a serious threat, I was relieved to find the entire staff wearing masks and constant cleaning of the rooms. The property is well-kept and the rooms are modern & spacious. When it comes to budget beach stays, this is a great option.
I booked the room through ID90 Travel, one of my recommended travel apps, to take advantage of the industry rates. If you are not an airline employee, you can still get access to the Friends & Family discounts. If you sign up using StandbyWithMe’s referral link, you can get $10 off your first booking.
Where To Eat
If you are like me, you are always on the hunt for tasty & wallet-friendly seafood during beach trips. Galveston has a variety of restaurants to choose from that are open for both dine-in (masks required) and takeout.
Unfortunately, we only got to sample one of the local spots due to some restaurants having reduced hours due to COVID-19 so make sure you double-check the posted hours of operation.
Shrimp N Stuff
My favorite food stop in Galveston was at Shrimp N Stuff. I will admit that the kitschy name was initially off-putting, but I am glad we chose not to skip this shack. This Galveston establishment has become a local staple during its 40+ years of service.
Everything that I tried on the menu was tasty, but the monster po-boys are the real standouts here. This is a counter-serve restaurant and the staff was fully masked during our visit. We dined at their original location where we were able to order inside and claim a table on the outdoor patio to maintain social distancing.
Sam’s Boat
Most visitors to Galveston end up passing through Houston on their way in & out. If you plan your trip around crawfish season (February-July, but the biggest crawfish will be served in March & April), you absolutely need to make a stop at some of Houston’s famed crawfish places.
The crawfish war rages on around the Houston area, it is hard to beat a classic like Sam’s Boat. When we visited in early July, they had just stopped serving their famous crawfish by the pound. Thankfully, their menu is full of other seafood plates & pub fare to keep everyone’s taste buds happy.
The original location near the Galleria has a massive outdoor patio that makes social distancing a piece of cake. What better way to enjoy a Texas day than outside on the deck with a bucket of seafood and pitchers of cold Ziegenbock?
Conclusion
Many would-be passengers are opting for road trips instead of boarding passes. Traveling anywhere right now, whether by plane or car, comes with a slew of unfamiliar changes & policies. You must educate yourself on the local business policies and practice proper hygiene (hopefully you were already doing that last part).
There are ways to be a safe & responsible traveler. Do your research before you leave, plan trips that limit your contact with crowds, and travel with a mask.
I wish we could have explored more of the area, but we made the conscious decision to limit the number of stops we made and chose to only stay one night. Galveston Island and the surrounding area have a lot to offer, and it makes for an easy day trip from IAH or HOU. If you have any recommendations for the next time I spend a layover or weekend in the area, please let me know in the comments or on Twitter at @StandbyWithMe.
Travel safe, y’all!
Great post and recommendations! Texas is on our bucket list – we will have to make sure we try breakfast tacos from a gas station. Hoping to travel again sometime soon too 😀
Thanks! Texas has something for everyone. You can literally plan a whole trip around tacos 🙂