Galveston Island State Park

Galveston Island State Park suffered a lot of damage when hurricane Ike hit in 2008.  They lost their headquarters and other structures on the beach.  Due to budget cuts, this park still has limited facilities and camping spots.  There are 2 RV or water/electric loops on the bay side of the park and some beach side spots in a parking lot type area.  There is 1 water only loop on the bay side and that is where we pitched out tent in campsite #46.  They are building bathrooms in the center of the circular loop and have a trailer with temporary bathrooms that are actually air conditioned.  This made them our favorite camping bathrooms of the trip!  The sites were not very exciting, but were spaced fairly well and had a nice shade structure, fire ring and picnic table.  The sites were grassy and there was a light breeze that blew making the temperature fairly comfortable.  The beaches were across the highway and shared space with the day use visitors.  Galveston reminds me of Daytona Beach.  Lots of hotels and condos, restaurants, souvenir shops, rental companies, and people.   But the beach area in the park was fairly calm and clean.  Most Texas beaches do not remove the seaweed that washes up.  The seaweed is a food source for animals and helps dune accumulation.  That said, I admit I am a beach snob.  We decided that the beaches at Port Aransas and North Padre are much prettier.  However, the kids still had a great time playing in the waves and building (grey) sandcastles.  Natalie and I took a walk to hunt for shells.  What we found was a lot of occupied shells.  This beach was full of sea snails and hermit crabs.  We also saw a few jellyfish.  That night after showers we watched as a few coastal storms came through the area.  Luckily they missed us, but it still drip dropped just enough to keep the rain fly on.  The mosquitoes once again were brutal.  We woke up in the night to Natalie and I being eaten by a few that were trapped in the tent.  We left the next morning with rain showers rolling in and lots of bites.  We went into the downtown area to see the historic homes before leaving the island to go north toward La Porte and the San Jacinto Monument.