Home of my youth, Bolivar Peninsula holds the best childhood memories anyone could ask for. Coming from a large Irish-Catholic family of five children, vacation trips to foreign lands were out of the question. Wisely, our parents decided early on that we needed a family vacation home for summers to keep the kids entertained and out of our parent’s hair. Dad had a passion for fishing and Mom had a passion for the beach in general. Endless days in the surf, coming in to wolf down lunch, and head back out after a brief nap, were a child’s best dream come true. Mom would sit on the balcony with a boat horn and watch. If we dared to wander past the second sandbar, she would blast that horn of warning to let us know if we didn’t come back in, grounded for the day!

We acquired a seine that was small enough for us to pull through the waves on the calmest days, catching mostly minnows. We would dig a mote around our sandcastle and fill it with the little fish until the water drained out and they obviously needed to go back into the gulf. There was crabbing in the surf and always shell hunts. As we matured, Dad brought down an old Willis jeep painted gold with a gold and white striped top (like they did in Hawaii:). Since I was the oldest, I took the youngers on long beach rides in search of new adventures. Sometimes when there was a special event across the water, we would take the ferry over to Galveston, feeding the birds along the way. The seagulls were raised knowing that it was ok to take bread from the hands of a human (they still do it today).

The entire area near our old family home has since been wiped out by hurricanes. I have retired and now reside on the seawall in Galveston, hopefully safe from the storms. Unexpectedly I received a call recently from my cousin Dottie announcing her purchase of a bayside Bolivar beach house. I couldn’t wait to visit. So many happy childhood memories flooded back. As soon as Dottie and her sister Nancy showed up on Bolivar, I was on the next ferry over to visit this fabulous new house. It was in immaculate condition, with gorgeous cabinetry and crown moldings, to say nothing of five bedrooms and four baths! After a wonderful tour of the casa, our cousin Tommy stopped by with his hunting companion for an unexpected but very pleasant visit. He was on the way back from LaBelle after a few days of duck hunting. A great time was had by all. Looking forward to many more, now that I have family so close!