Hispanic Heritage Month: Texas road trip vacation

Lucy is a professional lifestyle blogger, photographer, content creator and small business owner. She is the founder and editor of Lucy Lou & Co. where she keeps her community up to date on all things Motherhood, Travel, Healthy Living and Everyday Style. In 2019 she launched Luna + June, a small shop where she hand makes one-of-a-kind pieces.

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with a Texas Beach Road Trip

September 15th marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the history, culture and accomplishments of Hispanic and Latinx communities.

Sharing my culture with my children keeps it alive and what better way to learn than by evoking all their senses. Sounds great but just how does one accomplish this? For us, it’s by packing our bags and hitting the road. Yet another advantage and benefit to traveling with kids.

Lucy and family in their element, traveling and on a beach.

Traveling allows us to immerse ourselves and embrace the local culture. You know, the whole eat, drink and live like a local vibe. What’s more, food and music are a universal language, the perfect vehicle for children to learn. Ok, so to really immerse ourselves and “live like a local”, vacation rentals are the way to go and honestly so much easier with kids. Sharing a hotel room with young kids is hard, you pretty much have to go to bed when they do. There’s no time to unwind and chat after they go to bed. Sometimes that means lights out at 6:30 pm. No gracias! With a vacation rental, we can have separate bedrooms, living quarters, a kitchen and a lot of flexibility on location. Highly recommended! Especially helpful and practical when traveling with extended family.

Lucy and Co. enjoying their private pool in their vacation rental

We love road trips, they are one of our favorite ways to travel with kids and today, I will share our Texas Beach Road trip travel destinations. This trip would combine our love for travel, the beach and cultura. Besides as a huge fan of Selena, a trip to her hometown, Corpus Christi, may have slightly influenced this trip.

Selena was a Mexican-American singer to many considered one of the most influential Hispanic artists of all time. As a young girl it was hard to find role models that I could relate to or that looked similar to me, until Selena. She was Mexican-American like me. She also spoke both English and Spanish and sometimes both at once, aka Spanglish. Selena became a trailblazer and someone I could relate to and look up to. Hudson and Weston are still a little too young to grasp the impact that Selena has had on their mama and millions of other Latinx girls growing up in the 90’s (and now) but they are much more likely to feel and assimilate that impact by being in her hometown.

The boys are very excited about the idea of dipping their toes in the Gulf of Mexico. Did you know the Texas coastline stretches over 367 miles? What?! Ok, so below are the beach towns on our itinerary.

We’d fly into Houston and make our way to Corpus Christi; the entire driving time is only about 3 hours but each seaside stop is unique and worth taking our time exploring and really savoring everything they have to offer. The nice part about each stop being so close, is that we can really have fun with our vacation rental options.

“Traveling—it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” -Ibn Battuta

Ok, here are the details!

Galveston

Galveston Island features over 30 miles of beautiful beaches. Starting with East Beach and running all the way down to Galveston Island State Park, there are seven beach areas! The main beach features a long stretch of sandy shoreline and a promenade. It’s filled with shops, restaurants, and entertainment. It only takes an hour from Houston by car to reach this island paradise of endless entertainment. Plus, you’re within walking distance of a beach for every type of sun-seeker.

Fun Fact: Galveston has the world’s longest continuous sidewalk, at more than 10 miles long.

From my research, Stewart Beach seems to be the most family friendly beach on the island.

Surfside

Surfside Beach is just an hour’s drive from Galveston. Here you will find a small, quiet and laid-back town, where you can drive your car right up to the waters. The boys will flip! I still remember my first time driving on a beach in Florida. As a California native, it was such a rare experience and sight. Surfside sounds like the perfect stop to unwind and relax.

Mustang Island

Mustang Island is a semi tropical barrier island located 29 miles east of Corpus Christi. Mustang Island sprawls over 18 miles of uninterrupted shoreline with wide sandy beaches, just waiting to be explored. Port A, as the locals call it, is situated on the northern tip of Mustang Island and is best known for its laid-back style, restaurants and white sandy beaches.

Padre Island

Padre Island National Seashore is the longest stretch of uninhabited barrier island in the world, stretching some 70 miles to the south. If you are searching for a tranquil and relaxing place to unwind without the shopping and resort crowds, this is the beach for you. I was quite surprised to learn this as I always considered Padre Island synonymous with spring break but apparently that’s South Padre Island, a completely separate region, 100 miles away. The Seashore is, instead, a protected National Park and a haven for all sorts of family friendly activities.

North Padre is a quick 30-minute drive from Corpus Christi.

Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi is the largest seaside city in Texas and is rich in Hispanic culture, food, music and home to Selena. Not only is it full of history and culture with a buzzing and trendy downtown, it is also where you will find the Selena museum and the Mirador de la Flor, the life-size bronze statue of Selena. It’s located on the Corpus Christi Bayfront Seawall, just a few miles north of Selena’s burial site.

Additional stops would include the Texas State Aquarium, USS Lexington Museum on the Bay and coffee!

There is lots to do, see and eat in Corpus Christi. It’s really the perfect way to end this road trip. As usual we love a mix of sightseeing and exploring in bigger cities with some laid back days, preferably on a beach, with no agenda.

Happy traveling!

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