Texas Gulf Coast + San Antonio + Palo Duro suggestions?

[Sunny]

Impromptu trip again. This time to the Texas Gulf coast region and then some. We've never been further south than Galveston, but we plan on doing that this time. Leaving this weekend, staying for a few weeks.

Any must do's along the gulf? Can you see alligators this time of year? Not much for museums, but is the Lexington worth it? Space Museum in Houston? Brownsville have anything? Doubt we will head over to Mexico..just doesn't seem worth it crossing the border.

For reference, we like wildlife, scenery, scenic drives, small hikes, good food, cool rocks, and we never seem to have good luck stargazing. We have been in the middle of the badlands 3 times in two years...each time it rained or was overcast.

Any thoughts? Especially on guacamole or tex mex? My wife doesn't eat meat except for chicken, doesn't like spice, and doesn't do refined sugar (honey and maple syrup are good to go though).

We will probably head into San Antonio for a few days as even though we do not generally like big cities we enjoyed a few days on the river walk a couple years back. I am avoiding Austin like the plague, THAT TRAFFIC!!! Wonder if we will swing up to the Salt Lick BBQ though. Hmmmm. Probably running up to the Palo Duro Canyon towards the end because, well, we like scenery and I hear it is great.

Our route so far is Iowa, down through Missouri, into Arkansas-ish, into Port Arthur so we can drive the Bolivar Peninsula and take the ferry over to Galveston, but open to suggestions.

After that I am hoping there are some nice drives along the gulf, and we are willing to go down to Brownsville before heading back up to San Antonio. I found a site that listed some scenic drives in hill country N and NW of San Antonio, but nothing along the gulf coast.

BTW, driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee on South Padre Island doable without any special knowledge? Or should we perhaps skip this or rent a different vehicle if we are so inclined? Not into racing in the sand, it just sounds like a fun thing to do. Not much sand in Iowa.

I'd love to go camping in Big Bend, but this is likely too early in the season for the fair-weather gal my wife is.

 

[audreyh1]

Brazos Bend State Park is great for alligator viewing. Not too far from Galveston - it's on the southwest side of Houston outskirts and reachable by highways well south of Houston. Worth a few hours. Then onto San Antonio.

Are you sure you want to go all the way to South Padre/Brownsville? That's an awfully long stretch of the TX coast. South Padre Island is very nice, but the rest of the TX coast - not much different from near Galveston. Maybe a few more oaks in the Rockport area.

 

[Sunny]

Are you sure you want to go all the way to South Padre/Brownsville? That's an awfully long stretch of the TX coast. South Padre Island is very nice, but the rest of the TX coast - not much different from near Galveston. Maybe a few more oaks in the Rockport area.

Thanks for the park suggestion. No, I am not sure on how far south we should go...I was hoping it would offer some scenic drives, be warmer than Iowa, and maybe have some things to see and do and eat.

 

[audreyh1]

Tanks for the park suggestion. No, I am not sure on how far south we should go...I was hoping it would offer some scenic drives, be warmer than Iowa, and maybe have some things to see and do and eat.

There's probably a reason why you don't find a bunch of TX coast scenic drives recommended, but the Rockport area my be worth visiting. And then you are not that far from San Antonio and then the rest of the TX hill country. Probably the best eats there.

Most of the area south of I10 will be plenty warm.

We've been hitting the low to mid 90s several times down here recently. Maybe that's warmer then you want? I'm 70 miles west of Brownsville.

 

[brucethebroker]

We took a last minute driving trip (from the Midwest) with the idea of following the Texas coast line all the way to South Padre Island (10 years ago). Best part of the trip was Galveston and Mustang Island. (Get on Mustang island at Port Aransas, drive to North Padre Island then cross to Corpus Christi). If I went back again, I would skip the area south of Corpus Christi-nice, South Padre is nice, but not worth the long drive, IMHO.

Of course, we stayed on the coast and did not really wander inland much.

 

[Sunny]

...Best part of the trip was Galveston and Mustang Island. (Get on Mustang island at Port Aransas, drive to North Padre Island then cross to Corpus Christi).

I'll check that route out!

 

[haloFIRE]

Beach driving

BTW, driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee on South Padre Island doable without any special knowledge? Or should we perhaps skip this or rent a different vehicle if we are so inclined?

No problems at all driving on the beach. DW and i do it in a front wheel drive SUV