Galveston, Texas, even in the summer heat, has its charms

Houston and San Diego are the last two major cities in the U.S. that I have yet to visit. And despite flying into Houston last weekend, I still need to leave it on the list because the family hightailed it straight to a wedding we attended in Galveston, Texas.

I had always been intrigued by this city on the coast because "Galveston" is one of Glen Campbell's most excellent country cowboy pop tunes. There is admittedly not a lot to do in the somewhat depressed beach town with oil rigs parked offshore, but it oddly has some beauty to it nevertheless.

From a city-planning perspective, one major design that could make the place much much better is to remove the multi-lane thoroughfare from right alongside what should be prime beachfront property. Even though the sidewalks are plenty wide enough to bike or stroll down, it's unpleasant to walk alongside traffic congestion in what should be a much more attractive view.

However, when you have a fancy swimming pool at the haunted Gálvez resort next to our AirBnB, a boardwalk amusement park (somehow I'm much more nauseated by the small rides these days than the big ones), and lots of extended fun family members, Galveston is not a bad place to spend a 100-degree early-summer weekend. And in that kind of heat, walking between the road and the water isn't necessarily something worth doing for too long anyway.