Happy 2022! My first trip of the year was to Galveston, Texas for Kaveri and Stefano’s bachelor(ette) party and to celebrate their upcoming marriage. Ivory, Karen, and I helped plan the festivities that took place during Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. It was also a pleasant respite from the bitter Chicago winter.
Galveston is a beach town and its own barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico right off the Texas coast. It’s about an hour away from the Houston Hobby airport. There are many beaches in Galveston, and they are not very clean due to the silt washing up the shoreline and the waters are polluted. But there are plenty of fun attractions to check out, and I share some of them below.
Kaveri asked all of the guests to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test before traveling. She also gave us each an at-home test for after we get back home. There were ten of us that came down for the long weekend, and we all stayed in a beach house together. So it was important to take all the precautions while still having a great time. The state of Texas does not require a mask in any indoor/outdoor setting, but our group wore masks whenever we were not in the beach house. I strongly recommend that anyone who travels be fully vaccinated and boosted.
The house we stayed in overlooked Sunny Beach. Galveston Island gets a lot of flooding, so most of the beach houses are built on stilts to be high up from the water. On one of the days, there were very high winds, and you could feel the house moving back and forth from inside. A few beach houses are wheelchair accessible and have elevators, but they are a lot more expensive to stay in. The main streets have curb cuts, but the sidewalks are a several inches off the road to protect from flooding and they are inlaid with brick. Some corners had curb cuts missing as well.
Bachelor(ette) Event Highlights
Food: Brunch at Yaga’s Cafe, Ice Cream and Chocolate at La King’s Confectionary, Smoked Chicken Tacos at The Pit Room (BBQ), Drinks at The Rum Shack, and Pupusas (a thick griddled flatbread from Central America) at a food truck in Houston
Yaga’s and La King’s are one of many eateries located on The Strand, which is the historic district of Galveston. I want to also point out that though the food at the Rum Shack was good, the restaurant manager was ignorant. He brought over a child’s booster seat when Kaveri asked for a stool so I can get onto the high top chair, and he made racially profiling comments to our group.
Manicures and Pedicures at Joy Nails – Stefano and his friend joined us as well!
Murder Mystery Party: Kaveri and Stephano booked through Murder Mystery Co. I got an award for the best costume (I dressed up as Maleficent!) and Ivory’s character was the murderer in the end.
Ghost Tour – On the last evening of the trip, our group went on a haunted tour of Galveston. Be prepared to do a lot of walking as there are multiple stops along the tour. We learned a lot about the island’s history and even though I don’t believe in ghosts, I couldn’t help but feel a little creeped out when looking at some of the old buildings.
It was a successful bachelor(ette) weekend, and both Kaveri and Stefano were very happy with how everything turned out. Congratulations and lots of love to the wonderful couple!
Just a Little Traveling... 