In the past twenty years Galveston has made a remarkable comeback and has managed to do so while preserving her rich heritage. Close to Houston, yet light-years away from its hustle and bustle, Galveston Island is again a popular destination for visitors.<\/p>\n
Victorian architecture is everywhere, not just in the homes, but also in the buildings in the old downtown area known as the Strand Historical District. The Strand is home to more than 50 amazingly preserved examples of the Victorian period architecture. Museums honor the memories of Trains, Planes, Offshore Platforms, Sailing ships, Mardi Gras, The Texas Seaport and the Storm of 1900. Whether your thing is gulf or golf, shopping or shrimping, wading or walking, Galveston is a place that restores your spirit and renews your soul.<\/p>\n
The motorcycle tours in this issue provide a range of experiences to enhance your enjoyment of the Galveston area and, hopefully, to give you a deeper appreciation of its history.<\/p>\n
For convenience, and because it is a personal favorite of ours, the Galveston Rides use Boudreaux's-On-The-Bayou as the starting point. They are located on the bay with camping areas, RV spots and a huge deck \u2014 a portion of which is covered. There are few places more relaxing than an evening on their deck. The view over the calm waters will make you want to return again and again.<\/p>\n
The hospitality is superb, the food wonderful and the wait staff efficient without being intrusive; an ideal place to relax and decide which ride you will take or which of the many Island attractions you will visit.<\/p>\n
The Blue Water Highway Ride Distance: 80-100 miles Highlights: Parasailers, Outstanding Food, Ocean views, Colorful Sunsets<\/p>\n
From Boudreaux's go right on 61st street to Seawall Blvd. (San Luis Pass Road) and head west.<\/p>\n
The best part of this ride is along the Blue Water Hwy from Galveston to Surfside. This leg of the run is 40 miles and, for the most part, runs alongside the ocean. Actually the ocean is just beyond the sand dunes that block the view for some of the trip. Often the sand is packed so hard that riding on the beach can be a very enjoyable experience \u2014 just be aware that salt spray is not a friend of chrome. If you do ride on the beach you will want to stop at the closest car wash and give your bike a thorough cleaning.<\/p>\n
Beach houses line the road for the first 18 or 20 miles. In the past few years many new ones have been built and they seem to get more and more elaborate. If you would like to spend some time on the beach there are many beach houses on the West End that are for rent, just call one of the property management companies.<\/p>\n
Info on beach houses, hotels, dining and more is available at www.galveston.com.<\/p>\n
Don't over eat before you start the Blue Water Hwy ride or you will miss several opportunities for some very memorable dining.<\/p>\n
If you are hungry or thirsty this can be a delectable run as there are several good restaurants along the West Beach. Two with the best locations are Richards On The Bay 409-737-5151 located on Burnet Road at the Sea Isle Marina and The Waterman 409-632-0203 located at 14302 Stewart Road in Pirate's Cove. In addition to outstanding food (seafood is particularly outstanding at both) the views overlooking the bay are peacefully serene and the sunsets are the stuff of which postcards are made.<\/p>\n
Nate's Westside Restaurant, 17515 San Luis Pass Road is a favorite with the locals. The chicken-fried steak is a house specialty and is worth the trip in itself.<\/p>\n
Eleven miles out you will see Galveston Island State Park. The beaches here are some of the best on the Island and the park offers hundreds of covered picnic tables, showers, tent camping and RV spots. Reservations for camping and RV parking may be needed – call ahead. 409-737-1222.<\/p>\n
When you ride about 22 miles you might very well see thrill seekers flying on motorized parachutes over the ocean. In this area the beaches are wide, the wind is constant and there isn't much development so it has become a popular spot for this sport.<\/p>\n
About 25 miles out you will be at the San Luis Pass Bridge. This is a toll bridge and will cost you $2 to cross.<\/p>\n
At Surfside you can enjoy Kitty's Purple Cow for burgers & seafood or the selections offered at the Red Snapper Seafood Restaurant. These places are side-by-side on your left just as you get into Surfside \u2014 can't miss them. At Surfside make a right on hwy 332 and cross the Intra Coastal Waterway, follow the road around to Oyster Creek.<\/p>\n
If you have never experienced a real Texas Ice House this is a good opportunity. The Oyster Creek Ice House is as authentic as they come. Here you have a choice of returning the same route you just came or continuing to Galveston by way of Hitchcock. The distance is about the same either way. The road to Hitchcock isn't exciting but it does provide a pleasant ride on good roads with relatively little traffic and will give you a chance to visit another Texas Ice House and popular spot for area bikers \u2014 Cruisers Ice House at 9002 FM 2004 in Santa Fe. Stop in, hangout; Sabrina and Mark will make you feel welcome.<\/p>\n
At Hitchcock connect with hwy 6 south and follow it to I-45 South. From there it is a short jaunt across the causeway. When you enter the Island take the 61st street exit and turn right on 61st. The next light will be Heards Lane. A right turn there and, voila! you are back at Boudreaux's-On-The-Bayou.<\/p>\n\n\n In the past twenty years Galveston has made a remarkable comeback and has managed to do so while preserving her rich heritage. Close to Houston, yet light-years away from its hustle and bustle, Galveston Island is again a popular destination for visitors. Victorian architecture is everywhere, not just in the homes, but also in the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":900705,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[149],"tags":[306,145],"class_list":["post-62025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-backroads","tag-b019","tag-lone-star-biker-galveston"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=62025"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":900451,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62025\/revisions\/900451"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/900705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=62025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=62025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motorcyclesontheroadagain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=62025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}