I was born here and my family settled in Palacios and began the shrimping industry here. At the 33 second mark of the video, the rear cabin boat is my uncle’s. The Seagull. Its the oldest boat in Palacios. It was originally built as a sailboat and converted when engines became available.
We live near Houston and don't really feel like up rooting. How do you think it would be to buy a bay house to vacation at? I've seen some really reasonably priced ones for sale.
Port Arthur has suffered repeated direct hits from hurricanes - Ike, Laura, Rita etc. Clearly there came a point where all the businesses gave up trying to put things back together...
@@chadsimmons6347 And if those regulations hadn't been in place there would have been even more damage. Who is going shopping during a hurricane? Evacuations save lives. This was inevitable.
I was thinking about the hurricanes when this video started where it shows the water around the 3min point. I'm not familiar with this town but I'd imagine at one point, all that open space along the water probably had more development that got wiped out in a few storms over the years. This is one reason why I think most coastal areas should be designated as buffer zones/wildlife habitats and when homes and structures are abandoned or destroyed in storms, no rebuilding within 1/2mi-1mi of the shore should be allowed. Let it go back to nature.
Born and raised in Port Arthur, graduated from Thomas Jefferson Senior High, moved to Houston in 1985 and didn't go back as much as I could have. Port Arthur was awarded "An All American City" title during my high school years and it was a great place to live. Downtown started fading in the 70's and business moved out to better places. Glad to hear you found some great food while there! Thanks for going thru PA.
My wife and spent a lot of our leisure time in Palacios with our travel trailer and fishing boat over the years when I was working. Before I retired we bought some plots to build a bayhouse in a place called Cape Carancahua which is a gated community halfway between Palacios and Port Lavaca. We built our retirement home on those plots in 2010. It’s a really peaceful place for retirement right on the bay to spend our time fishing.
RE: Victoria. Just wanted to say nice job and thanks for posting. I was in the mood for some memory trips and this video hit the spot. I am the youngest of 4, and now 64. Born in Victoria, l still recall those Sat. morning pack a lunch bike trips journeying to the park to build a fire on the river, and then back to Milam Drive. My family migrated to WV where I started 6th grade. What a culture shock it was for us. All my family eventually moved back to Victoria, whereas I stayed. One of the things I've discovered is that The Appalachian Culture is as distinct as the Cowboy Culture. Family, Honor, Duty, Respect. I am so fortunate to have grown-up in both. I now live in a valley between the Allegheny Mountains and the Appalachian Mtns., with views from my home that never grow old (Black Bear, deer, fox, beaver and more), and finally, where I see weather changes rolling off the mountains and into the valley. May Peace be with you and yours. Have Faith. Do Right. TYL. :)
Funny. Back in 2003 I rented an apartment on Milam. I was raised in Yorktown, moved to Victoria, then CC where we raised our family and now back to the area ( Goliad) after all the kids left. Victoria is where we shop, etc….
Wow, I didn't know towns like this existed in Texas! When I see fishing boats like that I think Northeast coast. Palacios looks like a nice cozy retirement town.
Texas has over 3000 miles of coastline I believe, little fishing towns are all up and down the coast though the industry doesn't seem to be as strong any more as limits have become smaller for catches over the years. You can get some great fishing in on all the charted boats up and down the coast as well.
I've visited several of these places when still living in Texas. The reason nobody is outside in Port Arthur is because of the intense smell from the oil refinery. From Orange, Texas down to Corpus has that smell, but Port Arthur is the worst. There's a reason the Texas coast remains undeveloped.
Port Arthur was once a bustling city. It's my mom's hometown. Dad met her on Procter St. in 1941 while he was there on a weekend pass from Ft. Polk in Louisiana. I spent 2 weeks there for 8 summers when I was a kid visiting my grandparents.
I couldn't live right on the Gulf like that wondering when the next hurricane is going to dump 10 feet of water in my lap. Another great tour, thanks much!
Your hot take on hurricanes cracks me up. I lived on the the gulf coast for over 40 years and experienced multiple hurricanes and T/S during this time. Was in the dirty zone of Katrina and experienced its raft. All I can say is you need to be resilient and prepared. No matter where you live in the States you have to put up with something. Fires Earthquakes Tornados Cold weather rain storms hot weather snow you name it. Pick your poison and deal with it and chive on.
@@curtisphilumalee1447 Up here in northern Wi. we had a little F0 just miss the house back in 1990 but it did no damage plus I have a good stout basement for a storm shelter. We get lots of snow and I have a couple of snow blowers and a skid steer to deal with it so I'm prepared and used to it. Lets just say I'm NOT prepared to get used to hurricanes.
Yeah my wife was born and raised in the Red River valley of Minnesota. The cold weather and snow was ridiculous but it was the wind that would go right through you. I remember the first time I met them I flew into Fargo. Walking out of the airport I almost did an about face. Actually hurricanes are not that bad. TWC over sensationalism them. Ever since TWC started having commercials I gave up my viewership. We laugh at Jim Cantore commentary. Personally I’ve never experienced more than eight to twelve inches of rain from a T/S or Hurricane and anybody with half a brain won’t buy property in a low area. Again it is what it is. We haven’t had a storm since Zeta and that’s been probably three or four years and for the most part wind damage was real minimal in the area. All I had was some broken tree branches and leaves to pickup and I live exactly one mile in from the beach. There was no flooding and this was a late season storm. Thinking we had lost power for about three days but again I have a generator. The crazy thing here is we have had a huge influx of people move here from blue states in the last couple years and they’re the ones that panic cause they have no idea what to expect or how to prepare.
About lost count of the number of hurricanes that I have been through, including one offshore in the Gulf. Ample weather warnings and storm trackers are well ahead of the game. After a winter in Colorado, time in the mountains and deserts of west Texas, and inclement weather in other locations I stay with my native Gulf Coast. Riding out a hurricane is a very enlightened experience and part of being a coastal Texan. Besides, I would rather sweat than freeze my ass off.
I lived in Palacios as a child, it was a wonderful time and an amazing place for a child to grow up. There was boat racing some weekends, the pier was always busy with shark fishing and night fishing, someone was sitting on the pier with his feet in the water and got bitten by a shark...That's the way a 5 year old me remembers it, anyway.I always remember going fishing with papa dad's dad..He'd use chewing gum and catch crabs,and stuff. He always wore a fedora, even fishing.
@@theNfl_Esq Probably 1966 it was a very nice place,I remember removing treble hook from an old stray dog he was hurting and everyone said,Stay away from him ,he might bite.He didn't move as I removed the hook and blew EVERYONE'S minds..It was a good day.
Several comments here state that a town or city cannot exist on the coast. Well, look at Corpus Christi. It continues to grow and prosper. I expect that the folks living in Corpus would strongly disagree about hurricanes making coastal living impossible.
For the past three years we have abandoned wet Washington for the winter and traveled the gulf from Port Isabel TX to Gulfport MS. You guys nailed it with Palacious. Stayed two weeks last year. We had the same feelings about Port Aurther. So much potential. Keep up the good work!!
Beautiful coastal towns! I love the water. Bird watching is a plus! The Victoria County Court House is gorgeous ! The horse rings to secure the horses and the trenches are nice vintage touches. Nice museum. Love Janis Joplin. Thank you for a great video! Can’t wait for your next leg of the journey!
Wow! Another fascinating trip! I was surprised that you combined Port Arthur with the towns on the other side of Houston, but I get the port city theme. I might have combined PA with Orange no get and Beaumont. Matagorda or Rockport might have worked with Palacios and I ort Levaca (or Ingleside). If you wanted to live in Florida but the price is too high, Texas has you covered. The bar with the spittoon trench (spittrench?) was fun, as were the museum and Tia Juantia's. Mexicajun is a great concept. Both styles use much the same spices but in different ways. Thanks for another great episode.
@ 18:47 you drive by Drago Supply on the left. I worked there for a few yrs. It was the largest supplier of tools and items for refineries. The Drago family sold it to Motion Industries while i was there. Ive been thru 3 sells in my life and all 3 were purchased by competitors and closed down
Love Palacios, honestly I am quite content that is off the beaten path so to speak. No throngs of tourists, traffic and all the other annoyances that one experiences in C.C., Port Aransas (Port ‘A’), Galveston, SPI, etc...
I was born in Port Arthur. My older brother grew up there and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. Former TJ and Lincoln High Schools are well known for producing some of the greatest athletes. I have nothing but great childhood memories. Port Arthur will always be a special place for me. Looking forward to visiting soon.
TJ was also known for its girls drum and bugle corps, the Red Hussars. Its founder, Smitty Hustmyre, would be hired away by millionaire H.J. Lutcher Stark in nearby Orange to start a similar unit there, the Bengal Guards. The Guards, funded solely out of Stark's pocket, would perform at the Sugar Bowl and the Chicagoland Music Festival at Soldier Field. In the 1970s, the Stark Foundation demolished most of Orange's downtown to build an art museum and performing arts center, flanking a plaza with the family home and a church the family had built. The Lutcher Stark fortune came mainly from lumber.
Glad you came through Port Lavaca, I moved here 4 years ago and bought a place right on the bay. We love it! Large enough to have walmart and HEB, small enough to have no traffic or crime.
I visited Port Lavaca a couple months ago, I stayed a weekend in Hampton Inn next to Walmart. Such a nice little city, it is hard to believe Harvey had chosen to land there …
An awesome video, so interesting. Coastal towns have such a relaxed atmosphere. I'm always fascinated with beautiful big old hotels, and it's sad to see them sitting empty. Their history would be amazing ! The residential areas are lovely, I love the leafy tree-lined streets, so pretty ! Thank you, Joe and Nic, I really enjoyed exploring these towns.😊💚
There are several other TJ's in the area. One in Beaumont, one in Orange, one in Lumberton, and another in Lake Charles, LA. The food and atmosphere is pretty much identical in all of them, so just visit the location most convenient to you.
I live in Houston and have visited most of the places you show here as well as others further down the coast. Terrific fishing and bird watching up and down the coast as you note. Two seasons: hot/humid (May through September) and not hot (October through April). Coastal areas are typically 5 degrees cooler in summer than inland with some breeze. Very mild and pleasant during not hot season. Hurricanes are a real risk (mostly August and September) in all of these coastal communities as others have said. Further down the coast is Corpus Christi, Rockport, Port Aransas, further still (almost to Mexico) is Port Isabel and Brownsville. Generally speaking, the beach is better the further south down the coast you go. Slow pace, low cost of living and mild winters bring a lot of retirees (or seasonal “snowbirds”) as you say.
Thanks for sharing, Mom told me once ( Your going to wish you had some pinto beans to eat) will never forget. I understand what she was talking about. I was raised in Texas.
Before my principal in high school gave me a swat with his "discipline paddle," he told me, what do you want to eat in life steak or beans, steak or beans. He both physically, with the swats, and mentally, with his steak or beans speech, helped push me in the right direction.
Lived in North Dallas for 2 decades now and looking to retire in next few years. Thanks for showing me these beautiful little towns. We normally go to either Corpus Christi or South Padre/Port Isabel area. But those are always crowded which is what we are trying to get away from.
I just wanted to thank you for putting up these videos. You show the good, the bad, and the ugly. In other words, you show the truth. If I'm thinking of visiting a place or retiring in a place I want the truth, not a sugar-coated version put out by the local chamber of commerce. I want to know the crime rate, I want to know the poverty rate, I want to know these things that could effect my safety, security, and my life. Thanks for putting this information out there and showing us what places are really like, instead of a one-sided view.
I was born in Pt Arthur, lived there 22 years. That was decades ago. I used to walk downtown to buy kids' stuff at Woolworth's, McClellans, Kress "five & dimes." No empty stores downtown at that time. The Sabine Hotel was grand and there was another large hotel nearby; I can't recall its name. Gulf Oil and Texaco (then "The Texas Company") were two major oil refineries in the city. My father was employed at one and other male in-laws also worked at oil refineries. At that time there was a majority Cajun population in the city, having migrated from Louisiana. It was a nice town in those days; food was always good and not expensive, especially Tex-Mex. My mother's Cajun cooking was terrific, a full meal every day made from scratch. Hurricanes were mild in comparison to what was to come in the 21st Century. Much of the white population since moved into surrounding suburbs, into very nice affluent neighborhoods. I couldn't wait to get out of Pt Arthur; it wasn't my thing. Good thing I did. I've since expanded my horizons: in Houston, Dallas, St. Louis, New York and now California. I really enjoyed your tour and am hankering for some of Tia Juanita's Cajun-Mexican food.
@@89Questor WOW, Goodhue, that's it. For some reason I'd been wondering what that hotel's name was. Thank you, Glenn. Btw, I watched your drone shot of Woodrow Wilson and the library. Two places I was VERY familiar with back in the day.
I traveled the Texas coast before so found this video interesting. I never discovered Palacios it's definitely a secret gem many winter Texans would find intriguing, especially with exotic bird watching part
Thank you so much for your Wonderful videos, you really do great work on the historical part and I learn a lot from your Wonderful work that you do .many blessings to your family and please keep up the amazing work that you do . Take good care and I'll be looking forward to seeing your next video.👍💖😁🌞
I was there in 2009 not long after Ike. The downtown area was pretty bad. The beaches were still riddled with boats a ground. I worked on rehabbing the hospital. There was the abandoned part of the hospital that was the segregated portion. That part of the hospital was very unnerving. The elevator in that part of hospital was the old style with the man door & manually closing gate.
The Victoria County courthouse is absolutely gorgeous. I’ve never seen nothing that gorgeous in my life in any town. Thank you so much for this video.😊
That coastal strip of Texas is really nice, especially on a warm sunny day. Palacio is the "Shrimp Capital" of Texas, eh? Do the eateries there serve pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwiches? One of the reasons for great birding there is because it's one of the first points of land that migratory birds hit when they come up from Southern and Central America. The state of downtown Port Arthur is pretty shocking, but as mentioned the multiple hurricane hits have definitely taken their toil. The house at 20:34--wow, that has to be a contender for the biggest yard collection you've ever documented...and it doesn't look super junky either! See ya next time...happy trails!
I live in Palacios during the winter. Now I laugh at places that say they serve jumbo shrimp. Honey, you haven’t seen jumbo till you come to our neck of the woods 😂
There is ONE decent seafood place in Puhlashsus. Kinda pricey, not great, viet owned. Fried seafood is their thing. You'd think there'd be decent pho and great seafood, but there's not. There's no customers for either there.
I like your tour living financial stats, local historical facts, tours of the local residential hoods, you & your wife’s eateries & drinking fixes plus showing the bill.
Despite being born in Texas, when you do videos on Texas, I always see and learn things that I did not know. I no longer live there, but my family does, and I visit often. The first town looked great to retire in, but some of the homes in Victoria were awesome. I can only imagine what the inside of the house looked like with the overcrowded yard. I also wonder how many citations they received. LOL. Lastly, I loved Janis Joplin's hand-painted car!!! What a talented little town that was. Another great video as usual, Joe. Thank you. I even watched all the stupid commercials so you get paid and keep doing this. LOL Travel on, young man. 🧳🧳
When a house has stuff outside, it either IS, or USED TO BE, a flea market ( and home). There are a few around in places where people can still do what they want.
A few years back, my wife and I vacationed two different summers in Palacios, staying in the Luther Hotel. A lot of history in that place. There was a little Mexican(Tex-Mex) restaurant downtown, on Henderson, that had the best fajitas ever. We were actually fork fighting over the onions. I worked in downtown Port Arthur for several years in the early 70's. I found myself seeing the ghosts of bygone times in your video. So many missing buildings and history.
Grew up in San Antonio. Most vacations were on the Texas coastline, state parks, Lakes and Rivers. The water was BLUE, CLEAR and NOT SMELLY. My 32yr nephew has never seen it blue in his lifetime. How pollution has taken over our beautiful world. Indianola was where we fished on the coastline. We had a lot with an airstream within close walking g distance to boat ramp. Aaahhh the beautiful memories.
Yes I'm only 3 months away from my 35 year company retirement and I thought here in Myrtle Beach south Carolina was going to be great but the crime rate is outrageous! Gonna do some further research on that first Coastal area! Looks decent. Thanks for the advice!
Thanks for sharing Port Arthur and Victoria. Been a long time since we were there but we enjoyed the laid back, slow mo feel to the area. Glad Victoria still has her southern charm. What wasn't shown here (you might have another video on it) was Houston. I really didn't enjoy Houston's scent and was surprised by how industrial it is. Another story for another time. I can't wait to see your next trip through TN, WVA, VA and NC. Happy Trails to you!
I lived in Corpus for a very very short minute so watching this video brings back a flood of memories, those coastal towns all look the same in a lot of areas. Although I'm thinking how nice it would be to just leave Michigan and go buy a home in this sort of area...I then think of the cons such as hurricanes and well, yeah...I'd rather not play with that kinda fire. I'd rather deal with tornadoes, droughts and snow storms here in Michigan.
We lived there for 30 years and got tired of getting ready for hurricanes that didn't come. They haven't had one since we left. I still have a love of the folks in that area.... Fun people
I'm in the RGV about 100 miles inland so by the time a hurricane hits here it's calmed down some. The summers as you know can be brutal but our cost of living is low and it doesn't get that cold which makes here and decent place to retire. Side note, Houston sucks! lol! It floods when they get any drizzle. It took as long as it took me to get my order at Jack in the box for it to flood window high to a sports car. Firetrucks and buses running through it making some impressive waves for a city street.
Really enjoy your videos. You are one of my favorites on RUclips. Give great insight about the places you visit. You make an awesome couple. Happy journeys. Thanks.
Yet another great video, glad that Victoria is still vibrant and not run down sadly like many small southern towns, had a great time there back in the day, once again the food looked super
Another really lovely and nicely presented Vlog Joey, I have to admit I would never know the taste of gator meat as we don’t have that here in the U.K. But, seeing you have a traditional British dessert of bread pudding made me smile, if you didn’t already know it was invented by monks in the 11th century.. I was really interested to see all the beautiful houses too and right next to the coast it was certainly a change. Love it when Nicole makes an appearance (Happy Birthday) to her daughter. Thank you so much again for sharing your travels, I for one really appreciate it. Stay safe, virtual hug from across the old pond guys 😊❤
Hello guys greetings from England 🇬🇧 Simon and Beth watching ❤. Thanks for showing us around 😀,sure loved the beautiful building 🏰,and that sure was a cool 😎 car ❤. We both hope you enjoyed your meal ,sorry to hear about the heat on the potato chips. Your tacos 🌮 sure looked delicious ❤ Take care and safe travels Simon and Beth 💚 🙋
I could consider retiring here, but for two things.....too close to family issues AND...the weather may be lovely in November, but just think of the long HOT and humid summers. Don't think I could return to that now. All that said, thank you for showing these beautiful small towns in Texas. I've never been to Palacios, but it sounds like a good place to visit.
The Vietnamese temple makes sense, seeing how when they first came to Texas in the 70s, that would have been their first stops. As a lot of them we're fleeing when Saigon fell.
Yes, many also came to California...even then the boat people were being picked on because they were the "new" immigrant. A few years later the Hmong people arrived and Fresno has a very large population now.
@@williebrown5329 yeah we had some as neighbors. They would let us try what they cooked. All I can is, "different".🤣 Good tho... Had a few I befriended in middle school, Tuan Lam we traded comic books. That was my friend. 🤛✊
Wow 783 thousand views in 13 days!!! Looks like these coastal towns ain't gonna be empty for long! Must be one of your most popular videos to date! Congratulations!
Great video: wife and I met one of our daughters there at the Museum of the Gulf Coast a few months ago. Nice little treasure there in downtown Port Arthur. After leaving there we went down to Sabine Pass to the battlefield and then drove into Louisiana. Next time we're in the area we'll go see some of the other little towns.
I Love Your content! The city you were in that had the beautiful tree lined streets was awesome nice town. It’s good to see you and your lovely wife on camera and not just your voice. Keep up the good work and I will keep on watching.
The bay there is only about 4 or 5 feet deap ,the land is only a few feet above the sealeval for many miles inland and there is tremendous polution from the chemical plants near ( allowed by the state of texas ).
Really appreciate you guys taking us along on these trips including the musea and food. Also appreciate the verbal conversion to Celsius as the F-scale makes no daily sense here in The Old World. Thx and Cheers, Jan
I graduated from Palacios High School in 1976. I lived there a total of 46 years over 20 years a shrimper. My dad and I owned two boats and also had a retail bait business but it was located at Schicke Point just west of Palacios on Carancahua Bay. From 1974 to 2007 I lived out at Schicke Point but moved closer to Palacios around 2007 just a few hundred yards out of the city limits on twelfth street just north of the 7-11 or Speedy Stop. My wife taught high school at Palacios High and retired from there after 20 plus years my son also graduated from PHS. The town at one time had two car dealerships, four grocery stores, two lumber yards and two or three hardware stores. When the nuclear power plant was being built there was hundreds of renters in the area and also in the early eighties Palacios Vietnamese refugees started coming to Palacios. Father Joe was the priest and a thriving Vietnamese community evolved. You left that out of your tour and also most of the seafood industry. I moved from Palacios about four years ago I have heard it has gone through some changes but not drastically. A few more eating places and a neighborhood development has been built and Beachside development is progressing on the old Camp Hulen property. A new high school is being built and the old Alco is now a TSC. Still only one grocery store, a Lowes Market and the Ace is still there in its new location. I worked for the owner several years in both of his stores one in Palacios and one he had in Port Lavaca. Palacios has a cotton gin and is home of Bowers Shrimp they have a large processing plant just north of town on 35. There used to be three shipyards there now there is two and there was a barge building facility at one time but it shut down a few years ago. They hired a fair amount of people mostly welders. There is also a Baptist Encampment there that has summer camps it is a large draw to the community that was left out unfortunately. The park on south bay is very popular adjacent to the Luther it has a concrete walk that is usually busy with walkers every day. When you were in Victoria you almost made it by my sisters old house on Convent Street, it is one of the beautiful historic homes there that was moved from Indianola to Victoria and rebuilt in the early 1900's. The original owner had the lumber company in Indianola and built it with the finest materials for the time. It has long leaf pine floors in some of the rooms and beautiful oak throughout lots of history and has a historical marker. I compare that area of Victoria to the King Williams district in San Antonio.
I love gator meat, FLA taught me to appreciate gator tail steaks. Good stuff there for sure. I might have to go to this restaurant looks interesting. Interesting stories behind each city you did this time. I still want to know where all the people were in the last town?? Great video have a great day and safe travels
Wow that first town really looks awesome. We'd move there in a minute if i found a cheap property to park our travel trailer on! Find someone needing help on a shrimp boat....heaven!! Man i wish i had some contacts there. How awesome.
Gulf coast is basically in a permanent recession because of hurricanes. Used to be thriving, but then you had Galveston and Indianola hurricanes. History mostly gave up on the Texas coast. Makes it a nice quiet retreat for fishing though. Been through a lot of these parts personally, eerie ghost towns for the most part. People are there, but they're all at home. Gulf Coast for the most part feels like the end of the earth.
Right on. I don't miss following tropical storm developments from MAY to NOV every year... Harvey in 2017 was the last drop in the glass. I live in a desert now and I only go back for a couple of weeks, just before the start of the season🙂
Apart from the Tourist Traps, Galveston even feels post apocalyptic to me with all the industry and weird colored dystopian homes. I love fishing out in that area though in my Mad Max outfit.
My favorite town on the Texas Gulf Coast is Rockport, but it looks like you managed to avoid it. It is very popular with birdwatchers in the winter, as it is close to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, where whooping cranes go.
I've been to Victoria a few times. They have historical home tours, some antiques & collectible stores. There are some chickens that wander around the town square. I thought that was funny. A few good restaurants too. Pretty town.
On the north end of the city is where the population lives, and all the businesses are located; mall, eating establishments, hospital, etc. All these places are off Hwy. 69/Memorial Blvd.
You did a great job introducing us to these small towns; super interesting stats! I really would have liked to see where people are getting their groceries from since you didn't show many eateries or markets. Super curious about this ('cause everyone has to eat!) ;)
Port Arthur reminds of Detroit! Those gator tacos look so good! I had gator once as a kid back in the '90s in Florida. Don't know what compelled me to try it but I did. Chicken flavored.
I'm from Port Arthur. I left for college 40 years ago, and never moved back. I believe the population was about 70,000 when I left. Almost all the white people moved to the nearby towns of Nederland and Port Neches. Motive is owned by Aramco, the Saudi national oil company. That should tell you where the money from that refinery goes.
Motiva (not Motive) is the former Texaco refinery. It was originally a joint venture of Aramco, Texaco and Shell. When Texaco merged with Chevron, Texaco's share was bought out and hundreds of Texaco stations converted to Shell. The other big refinery, Gulf, was sold when Gulf merged with Chevron and is now owned by Valero.
@@gregsells8549 Motive was a auto-correct thing. LOL. My dad was refinery manager at the Gulf refinery. When Chevron bought Gulf, he was hired away to help Valero start their Refining and Marketing company, which later bought the Gulf Port Arthur refinery.
I live in Orange 30 minutes from Port Arthur Ive been watching you for over a year its so crazy to see you visit areas that I pass by sometimes, Fun fact Port Arthur is where the hip hop duo UGK was formed
I don't know what's more odd, the fact that I was recommended this video or that I saw you as I was leaving the post office... 🤯 I've lived in PA my whole life & got to hear the stories from my parents & grandparents. Hurricanes wreaked havoc back to back to back(and then some) and it FEELS like people have mostly given up here.
Grew up in Lake Jackson in between there. It's slowly grown over the years and has some good restaurants and bars that opened downtown after being dry most of the time when I was growing up and Sea Center Texas and the redfish hatchery are fun to visit.
I grew up in Bay City, and when they built the mall in LJ in the 70s, we thought it was SO cool to go there. I still like LJ and if I were to move back to the TX coast I would seriously consider moving there.
I've lived in 2 of the towns you've mentioned (Port Lavaca and Victoria) in this video and have visited all the towns in the video. From Palacios to Corpus are a bunch of small fishing towns rich in Texas history! Glad to see you giving them some love.
Awesome viewing of those areas and hearing the stats. Another excellent and informative video you two. Thanks always for sharing your travels. Interesting to read comments about the pollution, oil refinery and chemical plant along the coast. Sad EPA isn't the high note for these places. I appreciate your videos and bringing light to these abandoned towns that once upon a time boomed.
I love your documentation of the cities in Texas. However I'm surprised that nobody told you that the downtown area of Port Arthur has been transitioning from the area where you visited since the 70's. The area around Tia Juanitas. is actually most of the downtown area of the city now, with some of the offices in the area you first visited. So as for your question of where all the people in the downtown area were, I think it's safe to say you found most of them in the north area of the city. Proctor Street where the Museum of the Gulf Coast used to be the main street back in the day. However there are not many businesses still in that area. Most of them have transitioned North of Hwy 73 which divides the city into a north and south half. Thanks for your very detailed documentation.
I'm from Copus Christi,and yes is a very great town to live,rents and housing are cheap a. 4 bedroom 2 bath will cost you $650 a month...or buy a 4 bedroom 2 bath only $76k....not bad....
It’s a shame you didn’t drive on the to Rockport when you were in Port Lavaca, and Victoria. Rockport has one of the best beaches on the Gulf Coast. And we have some excellent restaurants.
I was born here and my family settled in Palacios and began the shrimping industry here. At the 33 second mark of the video, the rear cabin boat is my uncle’s. The Seagull. Its the oldest boat in Palacios. It was originally built as a sailboat and converted when engines became available.
Very cool!
Would it be possible to squat in and take possession of a property there?
I lived there for years.
lol good luck with that@@MuzzaHukka
So awesome! Love Palacios.
We retired to Palacios and love it! We were drawn by the shrimp boats. It’s a great little town. Very friendly.
Did pipeline work in 1986 in Blessing,camped in Palacios great place back then, 1930's military town
We live near Houston and don't really feel like up rooting. How do you think it would be to buy a bay house to vacation at? I've seen some really reasonably priced ones for sale.
@@Threedog1963 gentrification
@@Threedog1963 gentrificater
@@Threedog1963 go to port lavaca. it's nicer there
Port Arthur has suffered repeated direct hits from hurricanes - Ike, Laura, Rita etc. Clearly there came a point where all the businesses gave up trying to put things back together...
Your right! You can clearly see Hurricane damage...
I suspected that hurricanes had a lot to do with it. It's an eerie place downtown.
@@chadsimmons6347 And if those regulations hadn't been in place there would have been even more damage. Who is going shopping during a hurricane? Evacuations save lives. This was inevitable.
Or you get cancer from the petro plants.
I was thinking about the hurricanes when this video started where it shows the water around the 3min point. I'm not familiar with this town but I'd imagine at one point, all that open space along the water probably had more development that got wiped out in a few storms over the years. This is one reason why I think most coastal areas should be designated as buffer zones/wildlife habitats and when homes and structures are abandoned or destroyed in storms, no rebuilding within 1/2mi-1mi of the shore should be allowed. Let it go back to nature.
Born and raised in Port Arthur, graduated from Thomas Jefferson Senior High, moved to Houston in 1985 and didn't go back as much as I could have. Port Arthur was awarded "An All American City" title during my high school years and it was a great place to live. Downtown started fading in the 70's and business moved out to better places. Glad to hear you found some great food while there! Thanks for going thru PA.
I probably went to school with you kinfolk. I remember the last name from Woodrow Wilson middle school
Thank you for doing this. I'm basically home bound and watching your trips is enjoying.
I also.
My wife and spent a lot of our leisure time in Palacios with our travel trailer and fishing boat over the years when I was working. Before I retired we bought some plots to build a bayhouse in a place called Cape Carancahua which is a gated community halfway between Palacios and Port Lavaca. We built our retirement home on those plots in 2010. It’s a really peaceful place for retirement right on the bay to spend our time fishing.
I bet it’s really nice.
Is it possible to live on the water, renting a slip???
How are the mosquitoes there?
What do you fish for?
@@Po1itica11yNcorrect Bad. I've never even been there, and I can tell you. LOL.
RE: Victoria. Just wanted to say nice job and thanks for posting. I was in the mood for some memory trips and this video hit the spot. I am the youngest of 4, and now 64. Born in Victoria, l still recall those Sat. morning pack a lunch bike trips journeying to the park to build a fire on the river, and then back to Milam Drive. My family migrated to WV where I started 6th grade. What a culture shock it was for us. All my family eventually moved back to Victoria, whereas I stayed. One of the things I've discovered is that The Appalachian Culture is as distinct as the Cowboy Culture. Family, Honor, Duty, Respect. I am so fortunate to have grown-up in both. I now live in a valley between the Allegheny Mountains and the Appalachian Mtns., with views from my home that never grow old (Black Bear, deer, fox, beaver and more), and finally, where I see weather changes rolling off the mountains and into the valley. May Peace be with you and yours. Have Faith. Do Right. TYL. :)
You lived on Milam? So did I! My mom still lives in my old home at 1702
Your not the boss of me.
Funny. Back in 2003 I rented an apartment on Milam. I was raised in Yorktown, moved to Victoria, then CC where we raised our family and now back to the area ( Goliad) after all the kids left. Victoria is where we shop, etc….
Joe and Nic really lovely couple thanks for taking the trips for us and showing as well as telling the story.
Wow, I didn't know towns like this existed in Texas! When I see fishing boats like that I think Northeast coast. Palacios looks like a nice cozy retirement town.
Texas has over 3000 miles of coastline I believe, little fishing towns are all up and down the coast though the industry doesn't seem to be as strong any more as limits have become smaller for catches over the years. You can get some great fishing in on all the charted boats up and down the coast as well.
The Victoria Court house in Victoria,Texas stunningly beautiful. 1892 that is impressive.
Wharton county restored their courthouse to what looks like original condition.
Beware.
We watching hurricane Berly as I'm typing this.
I've visited several of these places when still living in Texas. The reason nobody is outside in Port Arthur is because of the intense smell from the oil refinery. From Orange, Texas down to Corpus has that smell, but Port Arthur is the worst. There's a reason the Texas coast remains undeveloped.
"The oil refinery"? What a joke. There's dozens and that smell is MONEY.
We lived in Rockport for 15 years and I never smelled refinery smells. 😊
It smells like money and a paycheck for a few thousand workers.
Rockport doesn't have that smell.
Only place I could smell that is Luling Tx.
Port Arthur was once a bustling city. It's my mom's hometown. Dad met her on Procter St. in 1941 while he was there on a weekend pass from Ft. Polk in Louisiana. I spent 2 weeks there for 8 summers when I was a kid visiting my grandparents.
I couldn't live right on the Gulf like that wondering when the next hurricane is going to dump 10 feet of water in my lap. Another great tour, thanks much!
Your hot take on hurricanes cracks me up. I lived on the the gulf coast for over 40 years and experienced multiple hurricanes and T/S during this time. Was in the dirty zone of Katrina and experienced its raft. All I can say is you need to be resilient and prepared. No matter where you live in the States you have to put up with something. Fires Earthquakes Tornados Cold weather rain storms hot weather snow you name it. Pick your poison and deal with it and chive on.
@@curtisphilumalee1447 Up here in northern Wi. we had a little F0 just miss the house back in 1990 but it did no damage plus I have a good stout basement for a storm shelter. We get lots of snow and I have a couple of snow blowers and a skid steer to deal with it so I'm prepared and used to it. Lets just say I'm NOT prepared to get used to hurricanes.
Yeah my wife was born and raised in the Red River valley of Minnesota. The cold weather and snow was ridiculous but it was the wind that would go right through you. I remember the first time I met them I flew into Fargo. Walking out of the airport I almost did an about face. Actually hurricanes are not that bad. TWC over sensationalism them. Ever since TWC started having commercials I gave up my viewership. We laugh at Jim Cantore commentary. Personally I’ve never experienced more than eight to twelve inches of rain from a T/S or Hurricane and anybody with half a brain won’t buy property in a low area. Again it is what it is. We haven’t had a storm since Zeta and that’s been probably three or four years and for the most part wind damage was real minimal in the area. All I had was some broken tree branches and leaves to pickup and I live exactly one mile in from the beach. There was no flooding and this was a late season storm. Thinking we had lost power for about three days but again I have a generator.
The crazy thing here is we have had a huge influx of people move here from blue states in the last couple years and they’re the ones that panic cause they have no idea what to expect or how to prepare.
About lost count of the number of hurricanes that I have been through, including one offshore in the Gulf. Ample weather warnings and storm trackers are well ahead of the game. After a winter in Colorado, time in the mountains and deserts of west Texas, and inclement weather in other locations I stay with my native Gulf Coast. Riding out a hurricane is a very enlightened experience and part of being a coastal Texan. Besides, I would rather sweat than freeze my ass off.
Sound.
I lived in Palacios as a child, it was a wonderful time and an amazing place for a child to grow up. There was boat racing some weekends, the pier was always busy with shark fishing and night fishing, someone was sitting on the pier with his feet in the water and got bitten by a shark...That's the way a 5 year old me remembers it, anyway.I always remember going fishing with papa dad's dad..He'd use chewing gum and catch crabs,and stuff.
He always wore a fedora, even fishing.
What year was that?
@@theNfl_Esq Probably 1966 it was a very nice place,I remember removing treble hook from an old stray dog he was hurting and everyone said,Stay away from him ,he might bite.He didn't move as I removed the hook and blew EVERYONE'S minds..It was a good day.
@@unclebuzz6913 I was there in ‘76-77
I agree, it is definitely eerie. That's ground zero for hurricanes. I'd be reluctant to live there.
Another fine video!👍
Thanks 👍
Yah Palacios sees more than its fair share of storms
Several comments here state that a town or city cannot exist on the coast.
Well, look at Corpus Christi. It continues to grow and prosper.
I expect that the folks living in Corpus would strongly disagree about hurricanes making coastal living impossible.
Corpus because it is bigger @@jamesgoode9246
I wish you could have seen Port Arthur in the 1970s and before. It was a beautiful thriving city.
When I was growing up, music was a big thing in my life. Janis Joplin was a great singer from Port Author that we would jam with.
Jealous but thrilled for you…sounds like an amazing way to grow up🎸🎹🥁🎸🎤🎹😎!
@@colleenhunt4273
I was in high school with Johnny and Edgar Winter, more great music folks.
For the past three years we have abandoned wet Washington for the winter and traveled the gulf from Port Isabel TX to Gulfport MS. You guys nailed it with Palacious. Stayed two weeks last year. We had the same feelings about Port Aurther. So much potential.
Keep up the good work!!
I abandoned "wet Washington" 6 years ago and retired to central Mexico. 320 days of clear blue sky/year. Sometimes you just need some sun.
Beautiful coastal towns! I love the water. Bird watching is a plus! The Victoria County Court House is gorgeous ! The horse rings to secure the horses and the trenches are nice vintage touches. Nice museum. Love Janis Joplin. Thank you for a great video! Can’t wait for your next leg of the journey!
Wow! Another fascinating trip! I was surprised that you combined Port Arthur with the towns on the other side of Houston, but I get the port city theme. I might have combined PA with Orange no get and Beaumont. Matagorda or Rockport might have worked with Palacios and I ort Levaca (or Ingleside). If you wanted to live in Florida but the price is too high, Texas has you covered. The bar with the spittoon trench (spittrench?) was fun, as were the museum and Tia Juantia's. Mexicajun is a great concept. Both styles use much the same spices but in different ways. Thanks for another great episode.
We will be doing a separate video of Beaumont and the towns around it soon. 👍😀
@ 18:47 you drive by Drago Supply on the left. I worked there for a few yrs. It was the largest supplier of tools and items for refineries. The Drago family sold it to Motion Industries while i was there. Ive been thru 3 sells in my life and all 3 were purchased by competitors and closed down
Love Palacios, honestly I am quite content that is off the beaten path so to speak. No throngs of tourists, traffic and all the other annoyances that one experiences in C.C., Port Aransas (Port ‘A’), Galveston, SPI, etc...
Wait until the next Force 3. You'll have another Inndiola.
I was born in Port Arthur. My older brother grew up there and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. Former TJ and Lincoln High Schools are well known for producing some of the greatest athletes. I have nothing but great childhood memories. Port Arthur will always be a special place for me. Looking forward to visiting soon.
TJ was also known for its girls drum and bugle corps, the Red Hussars. Its founder, Smitty Hustmyre, would be hired away by millionaire H.J. Lutcher Stark in nearby Orange to start a similar unit there, the Bengal Guards. The Guards, funded solely out of Stark's pocket, would perform at the Sugar Bowl and the Chicagoland Music Festival at Soldier Field. In the 1970s, the Stark Foundation demolished most of Orange's downtown to build an art museum and performing arts center, flanking a plaza with the family home and a church the family had built. The Lutcher Stark fortune came mainly from lumber.
It's alway's a great day when you show another video! Thank you Joe and Nic!
Glad you came through Port Lavaca, I moved here 4 years ago and bought a place right on the bay. We love it! Large enough to have walmart and HEB, small enough to have no traffic or crime.
I visited Port Lavaca a couple months ago, I stayed a weekend in Hampton Inn next to Walmart. Such a nice little city, it is hard to believe Harvey had chosen to land there …
An awesome video, so interesting. Coastal towns have such a relaxed atmosphere. I'm always fascinated with beautiful big old hotels, and it's sad to see them sitting empty. Their history would be amazing ! The residential areas are lovely, I love the leafy tree-lined streets, so pretty ! Thank you, Joe and Nic, I really enjoyed exploring these towns.😊💚
Thank you, CL. :)
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗💯💯💯👌✌👍👍👍👍👍👍
His views of Victoria remind me of the absolutely beautiful streets and homes in La Grange, straight up 77 from Victoria.
I lived just down the road in Port Lavaca for 13 years. There are lots of cozy little towns along the Texas coast.
Love these videos of towns outside the big cities we in the uk never get to experience, so thanks for them all.Carry on the good work!
Thanks!
Tia Juanita’s Fish Camp in Port Arthur is now on my bucket list! Cajun Tex-Mex Fusion is a wonderful idea!!!!
There are several other TJ's in the area. One in Beaumont, one in Orange, one in Lumberton, and another in Lake Charles, LA. The food and atmosphere is pretty much identical in all of them, so just visit the location most convenient to you.
Wow!!! Incredible!!! I had no idea that Cajun Tex-Mex existed!!! I gotta try it!!! My two favorite cuisines smashed together!!!!@@chuckschillingvideos
I live in Houston and have visited most of the places you show here as well as others further down the coast. Terrific fishing and bird watching up and down the coast as you note.
Two seasons: hot/humid (May through September) and not hot (October through April). Coastal areas are typically 5 degrees cooler in summer than inland with some breeze. Very mild and pleasant during not hot season. Hurricanes are a real risk (mostly August and September) in all of these coastal communities as others have said.
Further down the coast is Corpus Christi, Rockport, Port Aransas, further still (almost to Mexico) is Port Isabel and Brownsville. Generally speaking, the beach is better the further south down the coast you go.
Slow pace, low cost of living and mild winters bring a lot of retirees (or seasonal “snowbirds”) as you say.
Thanks for sharing, Mom told me once ( Your going to wish you had some pinto beans to eat) will never forget. I understand what she was talking about. I was raised in Texas.
Before my principal in high school gave me a swat with his "discipline paddle," he told me, what do you want to eat in life steak or beans, steak or beans. He both physically, with the swats, and mentally, with his steak or beans speech, helped push me in the right direction.
Lived in North Dallas for 2 decades now and looking to retire in next few years. Thanks for showing me these beautiful little towns. We normally go to either Corpus Christi or South Padre/Port Isabel area. But those are always crowded which is what we are trying to get away from.
I just wanted to thank you for putting up these videos. You show the good, the bad, and the ugly. In other words, you show the truth. If I'm thinking of visiting a place or retiring in a place I want the truth, not a sugar-coated version put out by the local chamber of commerce. I want to know the crime rate, I want to know the poverty rate, I want to know these things that could effect my safety, security, and my life. Thanks for putting this information out there and showing us what places are really like, instead of a one-sided view.
Thank you. 😀
wow, so glad i found this channel, real people checking out real towns..thank you
I was born in Pt Arthur, lived there 22 years. That was decades ago. I used to walk downtown to buy kids' stuff at Woolworth's, McClellans, Kress "five & dimes." No empty stores downtown at that time. The Sabine Hotel was grand and there was another large hotel nearby; I can't recall its name. Gulf Oil and Texaco (then "The Texas Company") were two major oil refineries in the city. My father was employed at one and other male in-laws also worked at oil refineries. At that time there was a majority Cajun population in the city, having migrated from Louisiana. It was a nice town in those days; food was always good and not expensive, especially Tex-Mex. My mother's Cajun cooking was terrific, a full meal every day made from scratch. Hurricanes were mild in comparison to what was to come in the 21st Century. Much of the white population since moved into surrounding suburbs, into very nice affluent neighborhoods. I couldn't wait to get out of Pt Arthur; it wasn't my thing. Good thing I did. I've since expanded my horizons: in Houston, Dallas, St. Louis, New York and now California. I really enjoyed your tour and am hankering for some of Tia Juanita's Cajun-Mexican food.
Glenn(what a coincidence that's my name) the other hotel you were thinking about was called the Goodhue!
@@89Questor WOW, Goodhue, that's it. For some reason I'd been wondering what that hotel's name was. Thank you, Glenn. Btw, I watched your drone shot of Woodrow Wilson and the library. Two places I was VERY familiar with back in the day.
I traveled the Texas coast before so found this video interesting. I never discovered Palacios it's definitely a secret gem many winter Texans would find intriguing, especially with exotic bird watching part
Winter Texans really do love it here!
Thank you so much for your Wonderful videos, you really do great work on the historical part and I learn a lot from your Wonderful work that you do .many blessings to your family and please keep up the amazing work that you do . Take good care and I'll be looking forward to seeing your next video.👍💖😁🌞
Thank you the enjoyable trip. Only drove through parts of Texas in 1981 by Greyhound bus.
I was there in 2009 not long after Ike. The downtown area was pretty bad. The beaches were still riddled with boats a ground. I worked on rehabbing the hospital. There was the abandoned part of the hospital that was the segregated portion. That part of the hospital was very unnerving. The elevator in that part of hospital was the old style with the man door & manually closing gate.
The Victoria County courthouse is absolutely gorgeous. I’ve never seen nothing that gorgeous in my life in any town. Thank you so much for this video.😊
That coastal strip of Texas is really nice, especially on a warm sunny day. Palacio is the "Shrimp Capital" of Texas, eh? Do the eateries there serve pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwiches?
One of the reasons for great birding there is because it's one of the first points of land that migratory birds hit when they come up from Southern and Central America. The state of downtown Port Arthur is pretty shocking, but as mentioned the multiple hurricane hits have definitely taken their toil. The house at 20:34--wow, that has to be a contender for the biggest yard collection you've ever documented...and it doesn't look super junky either! See ya next time...happy trails!
ask Forrest Gump
😂😂😂😂
I live in Palacios during the winter. Now I laugh at places that say they serve jumbo shrimp. Honey, you haven’t seen jumbo till you come to our neck of the woods 😂
There is ONE decent seafood place in Puhlashsus. Kinda pricey, not great, viet owned. Fried seafood is their thing. You'd think there'd be decent pho and great seafood, but there's not. There's no customers for either there.
@@texasgma3578 heh you should see them down in the island nations. Bigger than any ive had stateside
I like your tour living financial stats, local historical facts, tours of the local residential hoods, you & your wife’s eateries & drinking fixes plus showing the bill.
Despite being born in Texas, when you do videos on Texas, I always see and learn things that I did not know. I no longer live there, but my family does, and I visit often. The first town looked great to retire in, but some of the homes in Victoria were awesome. I can only imagine what the inside of the house looked like with the overcrowded yard. I also wonder how many citations they received. LOL. Lastly, I loved Janis Joplin's hand-painted car!!! What a talented little town that was. Another great video as usual, Joe. Thank you. I even watched all the stupid commercials so you get paid and keep doing this. LOL Travel on, young man. 🧳🧳
Texas is bigger than a lot of countries, so much to see! Big cities, deserts, coastline, swamps, and prairies
When a house has stuff outside, it either IS, or USED TO BE, a flea market ( and home).
There are a few around in places where people can still do what they want.
A few years back, my wife and I vacationed two different summers in Palacios, staying in the Luther Hotel. A lot of history in that place. There was a little Mexican(Tex-Mex) restaurant downtown, on Henderson, that had the best fajitas ever. We were actually fork fighting over the onions. I worked in downtown Port Arthur for several years in the early 70's. I found myself seeing the ghosts of bygone times in your video. So many missing buildings and history.
Grew up in San Antonio. Most vacations were on the Texas coastline, state parks, Lakes and Rivers. The water was BLUE, CLEAR and NOT SMELLY. My 32yr nephew has never seen it blue in his lifetime.
How pollution has taken over our beautiful world. Indianola was where we fished on the coastline. We had a lot with an airstream within close walking g distance to boat ramp. Aaahhh the beautiful memories.
Wow another great trip and good eats, Looking forward to our new trip ahead, Thanks
Yes I'm only 3 months away from my 35 year company retirement and I thought here in Myrtle Beach south Carolina was going to be great but the crime rate is outrageous! Gonna do some further research on that first Coastal area! Looks decent. Thanks for the advice!
There's still 3hrs or so south of Victoria with more coastal towns with rare cold weather.
This was a great video. Thanks for showing Joplin's Porsche. Going off the beaten path is the way to go.
Thanks for sharing Port Arthur and Victoria. Been a long time since we were there but we enjoyed the laid back, slow mo feel to the area. Glad Victoria still has her southern charm. What wasn't shown here (you might have another video on it) was Houston. I really didn't enjoy Houston's scent and was surprised by how industrial it is. Another story for another time. I can't wait to see your next trip through TN, WVA, VA and NC. Happy Trails to you!
Happy birthday, Nicole's daughter! And all done by Christmas? Sheeesh, let's glo!
I lived in Corpus for a very very short minute so watching this video brings back a flood of memories, those coastal towns all look the same in a lot of areas. Although I'm thinking how nice it would be to just leave Michigan and go buy a home in this sort of area...I then think of the cons such as hurricanes and well, yeah...I'd rather not play with that kinda fire. I'd rather deal with tornadoes, droughts and snow storms here in Michigan.
If you're of working age; go where you can find good pay. Once you retired and on fixed income, small towns with low tax, low crime are ideal.
We lived there for 30 years and got tired of getting ready for hurricanes that didn't come. They haven't had one since we left. I still have a love of the folks in that area.... Fun people
Corpus has become ghetto
I'm in the RGV about 100 miles inland so by the time a hurricane hits here it's calmed down some. The summers as you know can be brutal but our cost of living is low and it doesn't get that cold which makes here and decent place to retire. Side note, Houston sucks! lol! It floods when they get any drizzle. It took as long as it took me to get my order at Jack in the box for it to flood window high to a sports car. Firetrucks and buses running through it making some impressive waves for a city street.
the Texas coast has tornados as well
Really enjoy your videos. You are one of my favorites on RUclips. Give great insight about the places you visit. You make an awesome couple. Happy journeys. Thanks.
Wow, thank you!
Good episode. The museum in Port Arthur looks cool and worth a visit. Those Boudan Quesidillas sound really good. Safe travels.
JFK 60 years ago
Yet another great video, glad that Victoria is still vibrant and not run down sadly like many small southern towns, had a great time there back in the day, once again the food looked super
Another really lovely and nicely presented Vlog Joey, I have to admit I would never know the taste of gator meat as we don’t have that here in the U.K. But, seeing you have a traditional British dessert of bread pudding made me smile, if you didn’t already know it was invented by monks in the 11th century..
I was really interested to see all the beautiful houses too and right next to the coast it was certainly a change.
Love it when Nicole makes an appearance (Happy Birthday) to her daughter.
Thank you so much again for sharing your travels, I for one really appreciate it.
Stay safe, virtual hug from across the old pond guys 😊❤
Thank you. :)
Having lived in Galveston almost my whole life (76) appreciate this video. Very interesting
Hello guys greetings from England 🇬🇧 Simon and Beth watching ❤.
Thanks for showing us around 😀,sure loved the beautiful building 🏰,and that sure was a cool 😎 car ❤.
We both hope you enjoyed your meal ,sorry to hear about the heat on the potato chips.
Your tacos 🌮 sure looked delicious ❤
Take care and safe travels Simon and Beth 💚 🙋
Thanks 👍
We used to drive through Palacios all the time. A perfect place to retire for sure. A hidden gem.
I could consider retiring here, but for two things.....too close to family issues AND...the weather may be lovely in November, but just think of the long HOT and humid summers. Don't think I could return to that now.
All that said, thank you for showing these beautiful small towns in Texas. I've never been to Palacios, but it sounds like a good place to visit.
Don't forget all the chemical plants polluting and exploding.
and the hurricanes & flooding!@@jomo9454
And hurricane season!
@@ajf5823 Oh yes. That too.
Well said...maybe winter there
I'm really enjoying your videos. Its a virtual tour guide come alive. The stats and history and road trip feeling are great!
The Vietnamese temple makes sense, seeing how when they first came to Texas in the 70s, that would have been their first stops. As a lot of them we're fleeing when Saigon fell.
Yes, many also came to California...even then the boat people were being picked on because they were the "new" immigrant. A few years later the Hmong people arrived and Fresno has a very large population now.
Good people.
@@williebrown5329 yeah we had some as neighbors. They would let us try what they cooked. All I can is, "different".🤣 Good tho... Had a few I befriended in middle school, Tuan Lam we traded comic books. That was my friend. 🤛✊
Wow 783 thousand views in 13 days!!! Looks like these coastal towns ain't gonna be empty for long! Must be one of your most popular videos to date! Congratulations!
I love watching 🎉y'all going place to place . You inspire me to want to travel, may God bless y'all to be safe on all your journeys
Me too!
I'm from Hardin county, husband is from Beaumont. So interesting to see all of this. Thank you
Great video: wife and I met one of our daughters there at the Museum of the Gulf Coast a few months ago. Nice little treasure there in downtown Port Arthur. After leaving there we went down to Sabine Pass to the battlefield and then drove into Louisiana. Next time we're in the area we'll go see some of the other little towns.
I Love Your content! The city you were in that had the beautiful tree lined streets was awesome nice town. It’s good to see you and your lovely wife on camera and not just your voice. Keep up the good work and I will keep on watching.
Thank you!
The bay there is only about 4 or 5 feet deap ,the land is only a few feet above the sealeval for many miles inland and there is tremendous polution from the chemical plants near ( allowed by the state of texas ).
Really appreciate you guys taking us along on these trips including the musea and food. Also appreciate the verbal conversion to Celsius as the F-scale makes no daily sense here in The Old World. Thx and Cheers, Jan
I love train horns in the distance. Great vid, thanx.
I can only imagine the great Mexican cuisine (tacos, mariscos) and multitude of
pretty Mexican ladies in those towns. Big fan of your channel.
Lot of shrimp tacos
Incredible contrast between Victoria and Port Arthur. Great video, thanks.
I graduated from Palacios High School in 1976. I lived there a total of 46 years over 20 years a shrimper. My dad and I owned two boats and also had a retail bait business but it was located at Schicke Point just west of Palacios on Carancahua Bay. From 1974 to 2007 I lived out at Schicke Point but moved closer to Palacios around 2007 just a few hundred yards out of the city limits on twelfth street just north of the 7-11 or Speedy Stop. My wife taught high school at Palacios High and retired from there after 20 plus years my son also graduated from PHS. The town at one time had two car dealerships, four grocery stores, two lumber yards and two or three hardware stores. When the nuclear power plant was being built there was hundreds of renters in the area and also in the early eighties Palacios Vietnamese refugees started coming to Palacios. Father Joe was the priest and a thriving Vietnamese community evolved. You left that out of your tour and also most of the seafood industry. I moved from Palacios about four years ago I have heard it has gone through some changes but not drastically. A few more eating places and a neighborhood development has been built and Beachside development is progressing on the old Camp Hulen property. A new high school is being built and the old Alco is now a TSC. Still only one grocery store, a Lowes Market and the Ace is still there in its new location. I worked for the owner several years in both of his stores one in Palacios and one he had in Port Lavaca. Palacios has a cotton gin and is home of Bowers Shrimp they have a large processing plant just north of town on 35. There used to be three shipyards there now there is two and there was a barge building facility at one time but it shut down a few years ago. They hired a fair amount of people mostly welders. There is also a Baptist Encampment there that has summer camps it is a large draw to the community that was left out unfortunately. The park on south bay is very popular adjacent to the Luther it has a concrete walk that is usually busy with walkers every day. When you were in Victoria you almost made it by my sisters old house on Convent Street, it is one of the beautiful historic homes there that was moved from Indianola to Victoria and rebuilt in the early 1900's. The original owner had the lumber company in Indianola and built it with the finest materials for the time. It has long leaf pine floors in some of the rooms and beautiful oak throughout lots of history and has a historical marker. I compare that area of Victoria to the King Williams district in San Antonio.
Thank you for this, As a native Texan I plan to visit some of these places in the near future.
I love gator meat, FLA taught me to appreciate gator tail steaks. Good stuff there for sure. I might have to go to this restaurant looks interesting. Interesting stories behind each city you did this time. I still want to know where all the people were in the last town?? Great video have a great day and safe travels
Wow that first town really looks awesome. We'd move there in a minute if i found a cheap property to park our travel trailer on!
Find someone needing help on a shrimp boat....heaven!! Man i wish i had some contacts there. How awesome.
Gulf coast is basically in a permanent recession because of hurricanes. Used to be thriving, but then you had Galveston and Indianola hurricanes. History mostly gave up on the Texas coast. Makes it a nice quiet retreat for fishing though. Been through a lot of these parts personally, eerie ghost towns for the most part. People are there, but they're all at home. Gulf Coast for the most part feels like the end of the earth.
Galveston is thriving. It always has & always will regardless of storms.
Right on.
I don't miss following tropical storm developments from MAY to NOV every year... Harvey in 2017 was the last drop in the glass. I live in a desert now and I only go back for a couple of weeks, just before the start of the season🙂
Apart from the Tourist Traps, Galveston even feels post apocalyptic to me with all the industry and weird colored dystopian homes. I love fishing out in that area though in my Mad Max outfit.
Lots of homeless in Galveston And crime is through the roof!
@@lwarteman not anymore. Numbers since 2022 have totally dropped. Most strand stores are gone.
My favorite town on the Texas Gulf Coast is Rockport, but it looks like you managed to avoid it. It is very popular with birdwatchers in the winter, as it is close to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, where whooping cranes go.
I've been to Victoria a few times. They have historical home tours, some antiques & collectible stores. There are some chickens that wander around the town square. I thought that was funny. A few good restaurants too. Pretty town.
On the north end of the city is where the population lives, and all the businesses are located; mall, eating establishments, hospital, etc. All these places are off Hwy.
69/Memorial Blvd.
You did a great job introducing us to these small towns; super interesting stats! I really would have liked to see where people are getting their groceries from since you didn't show many eateries or markets. Super curious about this ('cause everyone has to eat!) ;)
Port Arthur reminds of Detroit! Those gator tacos look so good! I had gator once as a kid back in the '90s in Florida. Don't know what compelled me to try it but I did. Chicken flavored.
I'm from Port Arthur. I left for college 40 years ago, and never moved back. I believe the population was about 70,000 when I left. Almost all the white people moved to the nearby towns of Nederland and Port Neches. Motive is owned by Aramco, the Saudi national oil company. That should tell you where the money from that refinery goes.
Port Arthur is where Janis Joplin went to high School
Motiva (not Motive) is the former Texaco refinery. It was originally a joint venture of Aramco, Texaco and Shell. When Texaco merged with Chevron, Texaco's share was bought out and hundreds of Texaco stations converted to Shell. The other big refinery, Gulf, was sold when Gulf merged with Chevron and is now owned by Valero.
@@gregsells8549 Motive was a auto-correct thing. LOL. My dad was refinery manager at the Gulf refinery. When Chevron bought Gulf, he was hired away to help Valero start their Refining and Marketing company, which later bought the Gulf Port Arthur refinery.
The size of one American meal would last me a week! Your tour of America is really fascinating. Such an interesting and varied place.
You two are still doing a phenomenal job, and at a fast clip. Stay safe and healthy, so we can all see much more of the real America!
That restaurant at the end looked soooo good. Thx for the great tour in this video guys!
I live in Orange 30 minutes from Port Arthur Ive been watching you for over a year its so crazy to see you visit areas that I pass by sometimes, Fun fact Port Arthur is where the hip hop duo UGK was formed
Hip hop?!? This is what destroys towns
I don't know what's more odd, the fact that I was recommended this video or that I saw you as I was leaving the post office... 🤯
I've lived in PA my whole life & got to hear the stories from my parents & grandparents. Hurricanes wreaked havoc back to back to back(and then some) and it FEELS like people have mostly given up here.
Meanwhile your videos are a part of my life😊. I like your repectful way of presentation!
Wow, thank you!
Awesome video! Making me want to fish all these towns.
Grew up in Lake Jackson in between there. It's slowly grown over the years and has some good restaurants and bars that opened downtown after being dry most of the time when I was growing up and Sea Center Texas and the redfish hatchery are fun to visit.
I grew up in Bay City, and when they built the mall in LJ in the 70s, we thought it was SO cool to go there. I still like LJ and if I were to move back to the TX coast I would seriously consider moving there.
@@lucasinthehouse007 That’s where my parents lived for 40 years and my brother still lives there. Last name is May.
Great trip! Enjoyable to watch. Love Nicole's sense of humor:) Look forward to watching more of your videos!
MORNING 🌄 SPODES.. LET'S ROLL!! 👍
I am going to check out some of these places...appreciate y'all for this...Thanks
I've lived in 2 of the towns you've mentioned (Port Lavaca and Victoria) in this video and have visited all the towns in the video. From Palacios to Corpus are a bunch of small fishing towns rich in Texas history! Glad to see you giving them some love.
Awesome viewing of those areas and hearing the stats. Another excellent and informative video you two. Thanks always for sharing your travels. Interesting to read comments about the pollution, oil refinery and chemical plant along the coast. Sad EPA isn't the high note for these places. I appreciate your videos and bringing light to these abandoned towns that once upon a time boomed.
Wow, thank you for the kind words!
I love your documentation of the cities in Texas. However I'm surprised that nobody told you that the downtown area of Port Arthur has been transitioning from the area where you visited since the 70's. The area around Tia Juanitas. is actually most of the downtown area of the city now, with some of the offices in the area you first visited. So as for your question of where all the people in the downtown area were, I think it's safe to say you found most of them in the north area of the city. Proctor Street where the Museum of the Gulf Coast used to be the main street back in the day. However there are not many businesses still in that area. Most of them have transitioned North of Hwy 73 which divides the city into a north and south half. Thanks for your very detailed documentation.
i love watching you too enjoy yourself. god bless yall
I'm from Copus Christi,and yes is a very great town to live,rents and housing are cheap a. 4 bedroom 2 bath will cost you $650 a month...or buy a 4 bedroom 2 bath only $76k....not bad....
I was there a year ago, very nice in winter, but got to 125 degrees this summer in Corpus. Omg, no !
Pleasant pace, clear footage and impressive amount of homework you've done. Thanks
It’s a shame you didn’t drive on the to Rockport when you were in Port Lavaca, and Victoria. Rockport has one of the best beaches on the Gulf Coast. And we have some excellent restaurants.
It will be visited this spring.
Great Fishing in Copano Bay & Port A too!!
I stayed at the Luther Hotel years ago and it was SOOO comfy! Like spending a weekend at my grandparent's farm!
Another great video , Joe & Nicole. Safe travels. Greetings from Australia.
Thanks 👍