GALVESTON, Texas — A beautiful, sunny holiday is the perfect excuse to travel to Galveston Island. Most Houston-area residents know that, but visitors are starting to catch on too.
During the July 4 holiday, Galveston was packed with people enjoying the sun and their day off.
"There are just so many people," said visitor Bertie Sowell. If you just go down the road, it’s just bumper to bumper.”
Visitors like Sowell hit the surf and sand as early as Tuesday morning, wanting to see what the hype was all about.
"I heard great things so me and my family jumped on the road to see what Galveston’s all about," said New Orleans native Billy Taylor.
Taylor and his family visited the island for the first time from their current home in Texarkana.
“I advise anybody to come out there and enjoy the weather man," said Taylor.
Madga Garcia and her son Tomas also visited Galveston for the first time on July 4. Magda is originally from Poland.
She said the sand in Poland is way more soft and beautiful, but what the Gulf has against the Baltic Sea is warmth.
"So you don’t get freezing when you go to the water,” she said.
There were a few problems reported to beach patrol on July 4, but for the most part, everything ran smoothly.