Where:  The Bend RV Park (Site #32)
Cost:  $425/month plus electric for full hook-ups
Biking:  Buffalo Bayou trail system
Bucket List:  Houston Art Cars
Beer:  St. Arnold’s Brewery

“Houston for Christmas?” my mother asked me. Then, channeling her best Tom Hanks in Apollo 13 impression, she added, “Houston, we have a problem.”

Much to my mother’s dismay, we decided to spend the Christmas holidays away from my immediate family in Kansas this year.  Instead, we planned to stay at an RV park in a Houston suburb for the entire month of December.  Why, you ask?  My Aunt Sue lives in the area, and we wanted to spend the holidays with her.  About 30 years ago, I lived with her and my Uncle Wayne for a summer when I was working as a chemical engineering intern in Freeport, Texas.   Uncle Wayne away passed a few years ago, and I thought a trip to sunny and warm Texas in December would be a great opportunity to really get to know my Aunt Sue in person again and also escape the Midwest cold. Once I explained all of that, my mother was actually quite happy for our Houston holiday adventure.

Here’s what some of what we learned during our month-long stay in the Houston area:

• Where to Stay: The Bend RV Park

• How to Explore Buffalo Bayou Park – Hiking, Biking, and the Underground Cistern!

• Art Car Museum? What's an "Art Car"?

• Houston or "Brewston": The Best of Houston's Breweries

• Free Outdoor Art: Check Out Smither Park

• Day Trip to Galveston Island: What We Learned

• Day Trip To Brazos Bend State Park: Gator Hunting!

The Bend RV Park is located in Rosharon, Texas — close to Highway 288 and Highway 6 and about 30-60 minutes from downtown Houston, depending on traffic.  All of the sites are paved and level, but they are on the small side with little green space.  There are train tracks across the access road just north of the RV park, and the trains run about every hour or so and can be heard throughout the park.  (That bothered me a little; Kasie didn’t mind it). The north side of the park contains a small shed with a couple of washers and dryers ($2.00/load), another small shower-house building, and the management office building.   Robert and Latasha live in the management building and manage the place (they also have a camper on site as well).   The website for The Bend RV Park mentions free wi-fi, but the tower signal was pretty weak or non-existent.  

About half of the RV sites back up to a wooden fence, and the other half back up to a small pond with two fountains and a handful of resident ducks and turtles.  The slope to the fishing pond was pretty steep at our site. With our truck and dog fencing, that didn’t leave much room for camp chairs so we didn’t spend much time outside.  The weather gods also gave us rain and below-freezing temperatures for much of our stay.

The Bend RV Park grew on me during our stay, primarily because of residents.  My best guess is that about 90% of the people staying at the RV park are full-time residents. When the weather forecast indicated that the temperatures would be in the low 20s for several days, park managers Robert and Latasha gave everyone plenty of notice that the water would be turned off and encouraged folks to fill up their fresh water tanks.  Another resident offered his extra space heaters for folks who might need one.  We teased our next-door neighbor about wearing shorts during the freeze.  It felt like a true community.

The Bend RV Park won’t win any awards in terms of luxurious amenities or location.   However, it served our basic needs – functional utilities, a level site, and a place to receive mail.  The next time we visit my Aunt Sue, I would not hesitate to stay there again.

The Buffalo Bayou River runs through the heart of Houston, and has caused significant flooding of the area over the years.   As such, in recent years, a non-profit called the Buffalo Bayou Partnership has spent over $200M developing the waterfront with flood control, hiking and biking trails, gardens, dog-parks, play areas, visitor centers, skate park, and amphitheater.  One attraction is the throngs of Mexican free-tailed bats near the Waugh St. Bridge. 

 Our first trek into the big city was to the Buffalo Bayou Park, where we explored the hiking trails adjacent the Buffalo Bayou Rvier.   We liked the area enough that we went back to ride our bikes along the Buffalo Bayou River and catch the White Oak Bayou Greenway to explore some of the areas northwest of downtown.   Our route was a mix of urban concrete underpasses, pylons, bridges, and other structures that are a civil engineer’s dream. 

One of our FAVORITE THINGS we discovered in downtown Houston was an old underground cistern than has now been repurposed as a tourist attraction right by the Buffalo Bayou River.   When the cistern was operational, the cistern held around fifteen million gallons of water.  Today, about 10 inches of water rest at the bottom of the cistern, and the reflection makes the space seem seem double in size.   As we walked around the cistern, a marvelous display of alternating light patterns adorned the space in an art installation called “Cistern Illuminated.”   The visual experience was one-of-a-kind, and the audio experience was just as good with a 17-second echo in the cistern chamber.   The cost to visit the Buffalo Bayou Cistern is just $10/person and the tour takes only 30 minutes. The Houston cistern is certainly worth the money and time.    

Since 1988, Houston has been home to an annual Art Car Parade, which is now set for April each year.  The four-day event features over 250 uniquely vehicles known as “art cars.”   According to the website:

Art cars or art mobiles usually begin their lives as an older or used vehicle (car, truck, van, bus, jeep, golf cart, etc.). The owner of the car decided they want to alter their automobile, not necessarily converting what’s under the hood, but instead transforming the exterior/interior of the car. Some artists approach the alteration of their cars cautiously and tentatively, opting to use materials of a temporary nature such as paper or tape, while others decide to radically change the original structure of the vehicle so that it in effect becomes a moving sculpture.

We wanted to see some art cars so we went to the Art Car Museum a/k/a the “Garage Mahal” — aptly named because the domed building looks like it is built out of scrap metal.   This non-profit museum has been dedicated to the art car movement since 1998. 

During our visit, there were four old cars on display, including a Model T and a 1915 Buick Model C24, as well as a remarkable "Glimpses of the Past" photography exhibit created by Bessie Dean Parr, who operated a photo studio in Collierville, Tennessee in the early 1900s.  The pseudo-eroded glass plate negatives add an extra layer of intrigue to the portraits of both white and black families shown.  All of that amazing photography was great, but much to our surprise, there were NO ART CARS ON DISPLAY AT THE ART CAR MUSEUM at the time of our visit.

Luckily, the docent at the Art Car Museum told us that one of the local breweries had some art cars on display.   Therefore, we just “had” to go to that brewery.

St. Arnold Brewery

Several art cars have been commissioned by Saint Arnold Brewery, and were located just outside the taproom entrance.  The intricately tiled space themed one was my favorite since invoked memories of my delight with our visit to Space Center Houston. 

One of Saint Arnold’s flagship beers is the “Art Car” IPA, and was good enough that I drank a couple of six-packs at home during our stay in the area.   The brewery is named for the patron saint of breweries, and the beer gods have been watching over this place since 1994.  Tours of the brewery are given four times each day.  The taproom next door features a full-service restaurant, taproom, and outdoor area with a large RV.   There’s overflow parking in several mural-lined lots next to the brewery with numerous signs reminding visitors not to leave valuables in their cars. 

Buffalo Bayou Brewing

Like Saint Arnold Brewery, most of the breweries in the Houston metropolitan area are located within a few minutes of downtown.  After our first trip to the Buffalo Bayou Park, we decided to check out the nearby Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company.   The upper floors provide some nice views of the downtown Houston skyline, and there’s a full-service restaurant located on the second floor.   I enjoyed the “Wake ‘n Bake” coffee and vanilla blonde during our visit. 

Several signs in the Buffalo Bayou Brewing parking lot told us to lock our cars and not to leave valuables. I felt quite safe in the area, but might not feel the same if we would have visited after dusk.

Holler Brewing Company

On the same day we went to the Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company, we also stopped at the nearby Holler Brewing Company. The brewery is located in an upscale strip mall of sorts next to the “Love Dance HTX” wedding dance lesson business, and the background music kept my toes tapping during our visit. As for the brewery, I liked the small intimate venue, and the local vibe. A small TV showed a football game (the American kind, not soccer). While enjoying the good weather on the front patio, I tried the Ghost Stores smore stout, and Kasie sampled the Ember Fire Strawberry Golden Ale.   Holler for beer! 

Platypus Brewing

Platypus Brewing is also located close to downtown Houston, but a couple of the owners hale from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. With beers like “Freckled Dingo” and “Ranga,” the brewery pays homage to Australia with its beer names.  What’s a Ranga, you say?  It’s Aussie slang for a red-haired person.  An AC/DC pinball machine and a few Australian flag-themed decorations in the brewery.   

The food menu includes an “Aussie burger” complete with fried egg, bacon, and beet root! How do you say delicious in Australian?

8th Wonder Brewery

8th Wonder Brewery is located close to the PNC soccer stadium near downtown Houston, but the place is named after the Houston Astrodome, which was nicknamed the "8th Wonder of the World" when it opened in 1965.   I don’t really remember much about the beer at this brewery – probably because we were too busy exploring the awesome outdoor space.  There, we found four towering sculptures of the Beatles, an “I love Houston” sign, and “Greetings from Brewston” sign.  If you like selfies, this is the place to go.

Smither Park is a hidden gem located in the East End neighborhood of Houston, Texas. With its vibrant mosaics and murals, the park is a true testament to the creativity and community spirit of the city. 

The park was created as part of the East End Street Art Festival, which was first held in 2013. Local artists were invited to create colorful mosaics and murals that would be displayed in the park.  Today, on most Saturdays, artists gather to work on the mosaic art creations using recycled and found materials.   The resulting artwork is truly breathtaking, with each piece telling a unique story and reflecting the diverse culture of Houston.  Over 300 individuals have contributed to the colorful works at Smither Park. 

In addition to its art, Smither Park is also home to a playground and a community garden. The playground is a great place for kids to run and play, while the community garden provides a space for local residents to grow their own vegetables and flowers.

The best part:  admission is always free!  For folks wanting to spend some money, the neighboring Orange Show ($5/person) is a good buy, but the place was only open on the weekends during our Houston stay and we didn’t have time to visit it.

The beach.  Young love.  Milestone birthday.   The same summer that I stayed with Aunt Sue and Uncle Wayne, I was turning 21.  My then-boyfriend (yes, a boy!) took me to Galveston Island for this momentous occasion. Galveston has thus always held a special place in my memory.   I wanted to reminisce and relive some of Galveston…this time with Kasie. 

Although parts of Galveston seemed familiar, it didn’t live up to my self-made hype.  First, Galveston is really a pretty touristy beach town, and neither Kasie nor I are really “beach people.”  We don’t do well just lying in the sun and reading a book.  We’d rather be out exploring or getting some exercise.  For naps our lounging, we tend to prefer the nice air conditioning of the RV.   Sure, the views of the ocean waters can be fabulous, but on this particular morning, it was foggy and cloud-covered.

Galveston Island State Park

Our main destination was Galveston Island State Park for a little hiking.  We paid the $5/vehicle fee at the self-serve station.  Our main objective that morning was to see some alligators, and we were quite disappointed to see that access to the Alligator Loop trail was closed because of park construction.  

We drove to the railhead for the 0.5-mile Eskimo Curlew Trail to see if we could spot some birds instead.   The trail derives its name from the Eskimo Curlew, which was last seen in Galveston in 1962.   There’s a large bird statue in the park that was installed as part of the Lost Bird Project.  From a distance, I mistook it for an actual bird, and have lots of grainy footage of it 😊.    Although mosquitos the size of birds (they were Texas-BIG) had brunch on us, we really didn’t see that many birds.  Overall, Galveston Island State Park was disappointing.

Galveston-Port Bolivar Ferry

After grabbing a quick bite of non-authentic over-priced Mexican food in The Strand, we walked around the downtown shopping and entertainment district.  Then, in the afternoon, we acted like the ultimate tourists and we did the #1 Thing To Do in Galveston on Trip Advisor:  go on the free Galveston-Port Bolivar Ferry. 

The ferry has been operating since 1934 in some capacity. There were two ferries operating that day, and the ferries are the only way that motorists can cross the waterway between Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island. We decided to skip the vehicle line, leave the truck in the parking lot, and just ride back-and-forth without a vehicle.  The ferry boats can carry approximately 70 vehicles on the 2.7-mile journey.   The load time is around 10 minutes, and trip itself takes about 20 minutes.  The ferry sounds like a lame cheesy thing to do, but it a very entertaining way to spend an hour.  We climbed to an observation deck level and marveled at mechanics of the loading/unloading of the various vehicles (including a few RVs).   Several pelicans called the pier home, and few pods of dolphins said hello on the trip.   Best of all, the entire thing is FREE!

Our advice: Skip the State Park. Take The Ferry.

Brazos Bend State Park is a 4,897-acre state park in Texas, located near Needville in Fort Bend County. The park is located about 45 miles southwest of downtown Houston and was just about 30 minutes from our campground.  A $7/person entrance fee seems a little pricey, but it is totally worth it. Why?

The park known for its diverse array of plants and animals, including a wide variety of birds and alligators.  YES, ‘GATERS!  We were finally saw alligators!  We saw about a dozen of them – either sunning themselves along the banks of the park's lakes and streams or swimming in the water.  Our route included the 1.2-mile 40 Acre Lake Trail to the 0.6-mile Spillway Trail, where we took part of the Elm Lake Trail to the 1.3-mile Horseshoe Loop.  My favorite alligator sighting was the South Side of Elm Lake, where we spotted several algae-covered alligators and turtles.  Along our hike, we spotted herons, egrets, woodpeckers, warblers, and even a few roseate spoonbill birds among the gorgeous Spanish Moss covered trees. We’ve been to several state parks in the United States, and Brazos Bend ranks in the Top 10 for me because of the wildlife.

In addition to its rich array of flora and fauna, Brazos Bend State Park also features a nature center, visitors center, and camping areas.  The Burr Oak camping area even contains 50-amp electrical hookups.  The price is $25/night plus the daily entrance fee so depending on the number of people at the campsite, the price will vary.   I think it is a bargain for because of so much to see and do at the park. 

If you are looking for a state park in the Houston area, check at Brazos Bend State Park.