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TX Gulf residents - opinions/ knowledge on Port Lavaca


richieb

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Thinking of spending a few days on the TX Gulf coast but wanting to avoid the obvious stops like S Padre, Corpus, etc. Only 13 hours from KC Port Lavaca looks appealing. Any local knowledge of the the PL area, other suggestions, hidden treasures off the normal grid?

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I love Port Lavaca.  Nice, quiet little Texas gulf town.  Seadrift just across the peninsula on San Antonio bay is a great little town gone artist when I was there last.  Rockport is another artsy town with some great food. 

 

Must, however, is Fossati's in Victoria.  Some of the best food in Texas by many opinions and in continuous operation since 1882.  Here is Texas Country Reporter on it.  If you aren't hungry after looking at this just stay home and pop a frozen pizza in the oven.

 

BTW, the guy doing that report has been doing it for around 40 years.  Started in his early 20s. 

 

Dave

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If you really want to get away... The Padre Island National Seashore (http://www.nps.gov/pais/index.html) and points south, is a National Park and protected wilderness area... and less than an hour from Corpus Christi.

Actually about 30 minutes. When you come bring your truck to drive on beach and then haul this back with you

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I love Texas and all its people and everything it stands for.  I am a native and darn proud to be.

 

But I ain't all hat and no cattle when it comes to being honest and forthright.  Texas beaches are fairly lackluster in terms of how nice the water is.  About the best you will find is as far south as you can get, which for us is S. Padre Island.  I haven't been to the beach that far south, but I am told if you had goggles and opened your eyes, you could sort of see a muddled, distorted object about 5 feet away from you in cloudy water.  I have been to Corpus, and it is nowhere near as clear as that.  The Texas coast is on the bad side of the Mississippi River, and we get all her mud in our water.  For a superior beach retreat, you would have to go to Florida's Gulf Coast, starting around Pensacola.  Destin is not far south of there, and is even better, they say.  

 

If a "myeh - well, at least there's beer" beach experience is all you're expecting, Texas will be mighty fine for that.  Y'all come on down, now.  Ya hear?

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Not sure you've been far enough down Padre.  The dunes are totally spectacular and comparable to or even larger than Florida's Atlantic side dunes.  Love it down there.  Not so particular about the water color.  If I was, I'd head back to southeast Asia off the cost of Hainan where I could see the structure of the drilling platform well over a hundred feet down.  Watching the wildlife down there was truly spectacular.   

 

Food's better in Texas too...my wife is from Tampa and the inlaws are still there so we've spent a lot of time down there.  Beautiful beaches, indeed...but getting away from hoards of tourists sucks.   In that regard as well as the food and people I'll settle for Galveston any day.

 

Dave

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I love Texas and all its people and everything it stands for. I am a native and darn proud to be.

But I ain't all hat and no cattle when it comes to being honest and forthright. Texas beaches are fairly lackluster in terms of how nice the water is. About the best you will find is as far south as you can get, which for us is S. Padre Island. I haven't been to the beach that far south, but I am told if you had goggles and opened your eyes, you could sort of see a muddled, distorted object about 5 feet away from you in cloudy water. I have been to Corpus, and it is nowhere near as clear as that. The Texas coast is on the bad side of the Mississippi River, and we get all her mud in our water. For a superior beach retreat, you would have to go to Florida's Gulf Coast, starting around Pensacola. Destin is not far south of there, and is even better, they say.

If a "myeh - well, at least there's beer" beach experience is all you're expecting, Texas will be mighty fine for that. Y'all come on down, now. Ya hear?

Since I have family just east of Panama City, FL (Mexico Beach, just east of Tyndall AFB) and have driven through that area... I agree that the white sandy beaches and clear water are nice. BUT, you can't go anywhere from Pensacola to east of Panama City (most of the year), without running into a ton of tourists. Unless you travel there during the winter months, and enjoy sitting on a cool/cold, windy beach.

Yes, the beaches in that part of Texas do have some brown sand and cloudy waters. But the Padre Island National Seashore is an amazing place (wilderness), with lots of wildlife and great views... and with much less people on the beach itself.

And unless I misunderstood the OP, he appeared to be looking for a place to get away with a little solitude... Which Padre Island National Seashore easily provides.

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I enjoyed Port Aransas for fishing, Corpus Christi Beach & that north Padre Island Nat'l Seashore when I visited Texas. Water was pretty clear.

This time of year is not very crowded between Pensacola Beach & Panama City Beach. Between P'cola Beach & Navarre is a large section of the Gulf Islands Nat'l Seashore, where there is clear water & seclusion.

Texas looks like a much shorter drive, for the OP, though.

Edited by Sancho Panza
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Drive down tonight and you can stay a couple of nights with me. The weather is mid 80's and low humidity. You can drive for 5 miles down Front Beach Road (PCB) without stopping. Everybody went back to school it seems. I'll walk out on the beach and take a few pictures for you here in a minute. The water is beautiful and the beer is cold and dem shrimps is tasty. Oh yeah, there's a guy from texas staying next door.

Keith

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Yeah, don't know why the iPhone sometimes posts pics sideways...but, the beach in that area generally faces South, whereas the north Padre Island Beach generally faces East, which cuts down on visibility in the water.

Edited by Sancho Panza
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