Visiting Texas Gulf Coast Soon Would like Input
My husband's parents are paying airfare and hotel for the two of us to meet them in Texas during my Spring break from school (and work) in mid March. Texas isn't my first choice of vacation spots, but since it is free, warm there, and I will be seeing the ocean for the first time in my entire 40 years of living, I am not complaining. :)
At any rate we will be staying in Palacios with a trip to Houston for a day or two and will be doing a lot of bird watching and hiking. I already have a grocery list and foods planned out to get me through (I will be traveling through THREE airports...Chicago, Houston, and Corpus Christi too eeks :rollseyes_ani:), but I am curious about Palacios and how easy it will be to find staples there. Also, what the restaurants are like in Palacios and any vegan hotspots in Houston. I plan to research some more, and have so far found a vegetarian friendly restaurant in Palacios called Turtle Creek Cafe, but I would like to hear personally from vegans here who have been to either place. Thanks so much!
Re: Visiting Texas Gulf Coast Soon Would like Input
Quote:
Blueberries
Hi Robinwomb, I have never been to Texas so I can't offer any advice but I think it's wonderful that you'll be seeing the ocean for the first time! I hope you enjoy it :)
Thanks Blueberries! It has been a dream of mine for a long time. Lets hope there are no more oil spills down there.
Re: Visiting Texas Gulf Coast Soon Would like Input
I have been so busy with school and work I haven't had time to update about my trip (as it is I am blowing off an assignment this morning lol). The day before I was to fly I became sick with the flu, complete with chills, fever, deep chest pain etc. I have not had a cold in a very long time but of course it had to happen just before my Spring break. :( Nevertheless I went anyway because the plane tickets were nonrefundable and I would not have a chance to go for a very long time again. Despite being sick I still had a great time. The adreneline of seeing the ocean for the first time and traveling to a new place kept me going for three days but my body finally crashed and I had to spend two days in bed at the hotel, only getting up to go to the bathroom and eat. My husband and I spent quality time together and we visited his parents and I saw some awesome wildlife (countless species of shorebirds, alligators, dolphines, lizards all in their natural habitats) and enjoyed strolling by the ocean (even if I had to wear layers of sweaters and jackets because I was freezing with chills while it was warm and nice and everyone else had t shirts on).
What opened my eyes was the lack of food options down there. Where I stayed was a very poor area, much different than the "poor" I am familiar with up here. The first two grocery stores I stopped in to find food to keep me for the week were appalling. I could not even find plain oats or nuts/seeds or soy or almond milk or even canned beans. I kid you not. the produce section was a five by five foot square area, while there were aisles and aisles of junk food and processed cereal and hydrogenated peanut butter etc. After several stores I found one that had a decent selection and found my almond milk (we had to travel to a different town) and other staple items. I had to share a tiny kitchen space in a small travel camper with three other people for meals so it was a challenge and I mostly ate salads, quick cooking rice, plain oats with dried fruit, and canned beans etc along with fresh produce to minimize on fuel and given my limited choices but I made it work. We did not eat at any restaurants at all. I am not big on eating out and my husband's family isn't either so that was never an issue. When I stayed in the hotel all day there was only a microwave and sink in the public cafeteria so I had things like oats, fresh fruit, and a few cliff bars to keep up my energy while fighting the flu.
I didn't eat much at the airports despite spending all day both Saturdays in them but did find a few things like fresh bananas and apples. Even the garden salads at those airport food places had eggs and/or meat stuffed in them and there wasn't much else. I didn't have time to go searching the huge Houston or Chicago airports for the places that had vegan fare but I know there are some vegan foods in them from what I have read. I kept a few cliff bars on hand (not crazy about eating those but given the situation and twelve hours of travel and delays I needed something) as well as packaged pumpkin seeds and bought fresh fruit so it all worked out.
I still had a good time and enjoyed the time away from everyday life. The experience opened my eyes to the fact that a lot of people do not have the options I have here where I live for plant based foods and other products right at my fingertips. It seemed like everything down there was loaded with dairy and meat and egg and simple staples were sometimes hard to come by. Up here even at gas stations I can find things like raw sunflower seeds or fresh fruit or vegan friendly granola bars. I had no such luck there. I probably would have had much better luck traveling the 110 miles to the nearest big city of Houston from where we stayed but if I didn't have the transportation living down there then what? I try to picture how I would live vegan down there. I would have to make my own plant milks, breads, and do without other things unless I ordered some of it online periodically or traveled to larger cities. One of the nice things I should give credit for there though is the wonderful quality of the fruits and vegetables in the places that did supply them and at food stands outdoors. The produce down there is much riper and fresher than what I can find way up here in the dead of winter. I had a mango that was the best I have ever had in my life! I am certainly not going to take it for granted that it CAN be a challenge to find suitable food when traveling, especially to more remote areas, but it can still be done (at least short term).
BTW, the ocean is so awesome! I have fulfilled my dream in that regard. :)
