We first read about MAGNOLIA BEACH, TEXAS on the blog of Rightlaners, our friends Joy and Tom. Then further explored the details on one of our favorite Apps CAMPENDIUM. So since we were all traveling in that direction it made sense to check it out. Is it solid enough for a big rig? Yes. The surface is mainly sand and crushed shells. We didn’t feel uneasy about parking here at all. Literally 30 feet or less from the shore. Open your windows and fall asleep listening to the gentle waves come in at night.
How Many Seashells do you want?? The beach was covered for almost a mile.
This is an unincorporated community located along the waterfront of Lavaca Bay Texas. This is a Boon-dockers Paradise. Free camping right on the beach. No doubt with a stay limit, but we did not see any signs addressing this subject.
The GPS coordinates are: 28.558502, 96.53347
There are covered picnic tables and camping spots on the North end of the beach. this was the more crowded area. Note that the flush toilets were also in this area. If you don’t need a table, bathroom and trashcan you can camp just a few feet from the beach further south. This is a hard packed shell and packed sand beach and your class A or smaller will be just fine here. We didn’t have neighbors very close to us and it was on a weekend.
As we rambled into this sleepy town we noticed there was going to be a fundraiser at the Volunteer Fire Dept on Saturday. It was a Chili cook-off and since our friends Yvonne, Jim , Sue and Bill were heading this way we thought that would be a great side trip for lunch.
We had about seven different recipes to choose from. $5.00 for a bowl which included, Chips, Water and a Cookie for dessert. We all had a great lunch for a good cause.
We were told by our RV friends Joy and Tom that there is a local Zoo that we should check out. They didn’t get a chance to visit here…So… off we went to our next “adventure” Actually Mark and I had noticed this different looking arrangement of crates and cages when we drove out to Indianola Marina the day before.
Through Google, we found the place rightly named The Kritter Korral.
Kritters INDEED! The list was unending.
The smiling dog who was perched on top a stack of crates said “I wouldn’t step there if I were you”
After stepping “There” we were all committed. It was muddy from the rain, the poop was deep, and those animals who could hop up to higher ground did so. Notice the goats on higher ground behind smiling dog.
Some of us arrived in flip flops and sandals. We soon realized that due to recent heavy rains that this “zoo” was a hands on experience and enter at your own risk. In fact it is not a Zoo per se . It is more a petting zoo or a rescue facility. All the animals have names and are privately taken care of. Most, have been born here and from the looks of the number of pregnant animals, there will soon be a larger population or various animals.
We were about finished with the tour when we were guided into an open air room. In there was the manager gal of this farm and she wanted us to see “The Monkey”. It was a very young monkey.. Great… until the thing jumped up onto the tent-like roof and yelled at us and just bounced all over the place. He landed on a coffee table and about then the gal said, when he sits like that , it means he is going to Pee real soon. Sure enough it did and almost hit a couple of us 8 feet away. OMG that was it. We were ready for the tour to end!! That monkey really wanted to have a conversation with Sue and Mark.
Don’t get me wrong, these folks genuinely love their jobs and take great care of all these animals. But the fact that this monkey could pee anywhere in this room aiming at anyone who didn’t duck, was a little much. Sue and Mark were First to Exit!
As if our day wasn’t already full enough, I heard from my girlfriend who lives in Marble Falls TX, that tonight there is a Mardi Gras Boat Parade at the Indianola Marina; not far from our beach camp. So It’s a given, we gotta go to that. Mark and I drove out there to see the Marina the day before and sure enough they confirmed the event was both Friday and Saturday night. They are serving up Shrimp Gumbo and a Live Zydeco Band for their guests. Indeed, we were all up for a little pre Mardi Gras action.
There were fishermen hanging over the rail trying to get lucky but we didn’t see any action on their rods. Infact when the parade began, they had to get all tackle out of the water before the Parade boats could approach the restaurant.
There were about 4 boats in the parade and all threw beads to the crowd on the porch of the restaurant. Honestly I think the fish were wearing more beads than any of us because the crew on the boats had a hard time throwing the beads far enough to reach us.
It was a fun evening, a little cool temperatures but we endured. Buckets of beer were iced down and cold. Gumbo was good but it too wasn’t hot. Somehow it didn’t matter. We all had fun.
Our last morning here at Magnolia Beach we watched a local sailing duo go out on their catamaran. (Man and his Dog) On this rather dreary morning, we said our goodbyes to Yvonne and Jim and the 4 of us, Sue, Bill, Judie and Mark headed toward Galveston Island State Park.
