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The outlandish outline in the distance really piqued our interest. What building could possibly create that peculiar profile here on the Texas coast? It was quite clear from our South Padre Island viewpoint eight miles away. A drilling rig? An oil refinery? The hideout of a James Bond villain?
As it turned out, it was closer to the latter. Having driven over to investigate, the signage that greeted us was positively jaw-dropping. “Gateway to Mars” it proclaimed in 10ft-tall letters. We had discovered Elon Musk’s Starbase.
To our amazement, passers-by could walk right up to this much-heralded space programme funded by the richest man on earth. The 100-acre, $20bn complex, with its colossal Starship rocket system, is located inside Boca Chica State Park, and Boca Chica Boulevard runs right through it. From Boca Chica Beach, we stood on the dunes and marveled at the awe-inspiring development. Although off-limits during launch days, we arrived during a quiet week and were able to get a full close-up of this mind-boggling monument to private enterprise, headlined by Musk’s intention to take humanity to Mars.
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Our Boca Chica jaunt capped a week’s bliss on South Padre Island, where we had dropped anchor in month nine of our grand, year-on-the-road RV adventure. It provided a beatific bolthole to slow down on our hectic cross-country trail, thanks to fabulous fresh seafood, wide open beaches and spectacular nightly sunsets.
We relished the dockside delights of Mahi Nic, the tropical ambience of Viva SPI, with its mix of island flavours and Latin-inspired dishes, and the cosy Meatball Café, where the authentic Italian cuisine featured sensational sea scallops, while Josephine’s Kitchen served up fabulous breakfast fare.
But it was time to begin the three-month trundle back to Florida. At 28,000 miles – and counting – we had chalked up an epic trail across the not-so-wild West but there was still more to discover as we pointed our 36ft Winnebago eastwards. There was much more of Texas to see, plus Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama before we reached home again.
In truth, we hadn’t been as enthused about this leg of the journey after the epic scenery of Wyoming, Utah and Arizona, but we were immediately beguiled by Texas’ soothing coastline that included some 400 miles of charming towns, brilliant blue seas and pristine beaches, plus the constant sight of houses on stilts (for hurricane safety). The Gulf Coast offered an excess of seaside bliss writ large; we had reached RV-ing nirvana.
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We cruised the entire coast, through Riviera, Corpus Christi, Mustang Island, Port Aransas, Port Lavaca, Bay City and Galveston, before heading inland again to Beaumont (Texas) and then Broussard in Louisiana, where our cultural dial took another major turn, with a kaleidoscopic mix of French, Spanish, Caribbean and African influences.
Always, there was a welcoming RV park where we could pull in, plug in and enjoy the peripatetic vibe that is the essence of this free-wheeling lifestyle, where your neighbours became your newest friends amid shared stories of travelling the country and its by-roads.
In Riviera, we revelled in the rustic retreat of the Seawind RV Resort, where nilgai antelope roamed each morning (a surprising relic of the 1930s, when the Indian animal was imported for big-game hunters); in Corpus Christi, the Colonia del Ray RV Park put us equidistant from the bright, bustling city and the unspoiled beauty of the barrier island coast; and, in Port Aransas, Pioneer RV Park was another idyllic beachfront hangout packed with local and migratory birds, including endangered whooping cranes and roseate spoonbills.
Corpus Christi also produced some memorable meals, notably a sidewalk breakfast at Lucy’s, the fine seafood at Harrison’s Landing and delicious pork carnitas from Celsita’s. Nueces Brewing Co was another tasty treat for its barbecue as well as flagship lager, while the local sights included Texas State Aquarium, complete with wildlife rescue centre, and the massive bulk of the USS Lexington Museum, a World War II aircraft carrier packed with exhibits, including a 3-D cinema, flight simulator and even its own escape room.
As we continued our Gulf Coast navigation, we took the free Port Aransas Ferry across Redfish Bay and admired the ease with which we could drive our 11-ton vehicle onto the roll-on, roll-off ferry and continue on our way to Port Lavaca, with its cute 1920s downtown and blissful beachside RV location at Lighthouse Beach. This put us right on the sands of Lavaca Bay and able to enjoy the Formosa Wetlands Walkway, a boardwalk over the 53-acre marsh with a proliferation of birdlife (which wasn’t quite so cute with the 6am “alarm call” from the resident seagulls).
Galveston Island was the zenith of our coastal cruise, a booming area of upscale beach properties, beautiful beaches and dazzling blue-green waters. Crossing the San Luis Pass onto the island, the chic properties lining the gulf started at around $400,000 and topped out in the jaw-dropping multi-millions. Happily, the Dellanera RV Park was not in that stratospheric price range for a week’s stay, but it was right on the beach, and we felt totally at home. Taking our Labrador, Ruthie, for an early-morning ramble along the sands quickly became an absolute joy for the three of us, while it was the ideal launch point for exploring further by car.
There was much to admire about the island, from Fort San Jacinto Historic Point, a key location on the Great Texas Birding Trail (plus the ideal spot to watch gigantic cruise ships leaving Galveston’s port in the evening) to Pelican Island, home of the Naval Museum and two more classic WWII ships. Downtown Galveston was another treasure trove of the historic and eye-pleasing, including The Strand, dubbed “The Wall Street of the South” in the 1880s and now an enticing collection of boutiques and restaurants, and the museum district of Pier 21, home of the unique Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig.
For one of the few times on the trip, the weather dealt us a bad hand as we suffered through multiple days of heavy overcast, dropping temperatures and high winds, forcing us to pull in the RV’s main slideout to stop it acting like a sail. With the Gulf waters so close, we weren’t in a hurry to test our Winnebago’s seaworthiness.
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Beaumont was our final Texas port of call, another surprising city of arts and culture in a state where we expected cowboys and ranches. Here, we lucked into their annual Mural Festival, with a series of artists bringing new works to life around the city. One artist was creating a tennis-themed mural in honour of Billie-Jean King, and was quick to point out it highlighted the city’s LGBT+ diversity, another feature we didn’t expect to encounter here.
Our RV camp was also one of the best. It revelled in the name of Grand Pines of Texas and was, indeed, quite grand and surrounded by pine trees, with a small lake, brand new clubhouse, swimming pool and cleanest laundry facilities we’d seen. It was also convenient for the area’s main scenic claim to fame, Cattail Marsh Wetlands and Boardwalk, a 900-acre wildlife refuge where we were astonished to encounter alligators, not just in the ponds but sunning themselves on the banks of the levees barely 15ft from passers-by. Ruthie was not impressed and stayed firmly in her little wagon, which she now needed, as her 15-year-old legs were no longer up to extended hikes.
Heading due east from Beaumont, we hadn’t gone but a few miles before we were immersed in completely different territory. This was bayou country, the Cajun homeland of Acadiana, settled by Roman Catholic French-Canadian emigres evicted from Nova Scotia in the 1700s, and the beginning of an in-depth experience in Louisiana culture, not the least of which was the food. If we thought Texas was enriched by its Mexican flavours, then Lafayette, Baton Rouge and New Orleans featured a cornucopia of culinary delights, and we were about to be schooled in new tastes and spices.
The compact city of Broussard provided the gateway to Lafayette and our first exercise in Cajun cookin’, the kind which had been the staple of these bayou-dwelling folks for almost 300 years. As we pulled into the Parkside RV Camp, we noticed a billboard for the nearby Tabasco factory and museum, serving notice our tastebuds were in for a major test. Would they last the pace for a month?
How to do it
RV Factfile:
‘111 Places in Orlando That You Must Not Miss’ by Simon Veness and Susan Veness is out now for £13.99.
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