Galveston, New Home at Harborwalk Marina

We are finally at our new home at Harborwalk Marina. I failed to get any more pictures crossing Galveston Bay and the remaining miles here. So, the best I can do is a quick tour of the marina. It is actually located on the north side of the bay, about 1/10 of a mile off of the intracoastal waterway at GIWW mile marker 362 WHL (which stands for west of Harvey Lock in New Orleans), and about 12 miles from the beach by car.

We chose this marina for 2 primary reasons - it is very nice and very secure. It is literally in the middle of nowhere, one way in and one way out, through 24-hour gated security. Since we planned to be gone a good bit for Christmas and the first weeks of January, the security was a major factor. It has proven to be a good choice for many reasons. It is very private, very upscale, very quiet, nice for bike rides and walks, close to shopping and restaurants, and the people here are very nice. The entire Harborwalk development is real estate plus the marina. The housing bust and Hurricane Ike has plunged the development as a whole into bankruptcy but the marina portion is very successful and they seem to be working their way through the bankruptcy issues quite well.

When I say "in the middle of nowhere" I mean it. Here's a view from the aft deck of "Help Me Rhonda" looking west, swamp and a few palm trees as far as you can see.

Looking east from "HMR" across the bay toward Galveston.

A view north toward the Yacht Club Restaurant and Clubhouse. Note lots of sailboats here.
The view south toward the real estate section.
As already noted, the facilities are very upscale. Here's a view of the Ship Store and fuel docks.
The pool and playground facilities are in this area with all the palm trees.
Now, I'm really going to rub it in a bit. With the much warmer temps, roses and other flowers are still in bloom here and probably will be throughout the winter since it's much warmer here. Did I say that twice? I'm sorry, that was not very polite was it? Oh well, the much warmer weather here will help me get over it!

For every 2 sets of docks, there is a floating restroom building with restroom and shower facilities for men and women separately, plus a laundry between them. Also a pavilion area for trash, parking bicycles, picnic tables, storing carts, etc.

This picture from the side may help you visualize how all that comes together. Note pavilion on right, restroom/laundry center-right, and "HMR" center-left.
I call this "marina row" which is parking for access to all the docks to the right. Some of the large homes are straight ahead in the distance, all of which are waterfront lots with access to the gulf and marina.
If you are interested in more details of the marina and much more professional pictures, check out www.harborwalk.com

And I'll close with three more reasons for our move here.

We spent Christmas with Adam, Jennifer, and our grandkids in Austin - Connor, Bryce, and "Sweet Thang" Alexis. Is she precious or what? The trip was a convenient 3+ hours. We are heading out soon for a 2-week trip to FL, SC, and AL to get some quality time with our family and friends there. Hope to be back in Muskogee ASAP also - I am really missing winning at dominoes all of the time! Well, most of the time. Thankfully, the much warmer weather here eases that pain also. Just kidding!

Seriously, we are so blessed to have so many dear friends and family spread all over this country, the greatness of which you get a different perspective of when you travel by boat. We hope you have gotten a hint of that and the adventure also as you read the blog. We appreciate your prayers and wish God's blessings upon you as the New Year approaches. We would love to hear from you. Our email is wrmcmanus@gmail.com and our address here is c/o Harborwalk Marina, 1445 Harborwalk Blvd, Hitchcock, TX 77563.

Wayne and Rhonda McManus
"Help Me Rhonda"
1985 41' Roughwater Trawler