Things to Do in Texas City

Appearances on ESPN’s Redfish Cup and the Gulf Coast Troutmaster circuit are only a sample of the multifarious accolades that dot Captain Steve Auld’s resumé. A paramedic, licensed US Coast Guard captain, and professional angler, Steve is also the owner of Bay Adventures Sportfishing, where he leads as many as 200 fishing trips per year. Armed with included gear, fishing groups set out on Galveston Bay’s salty waters in search of catches such as speckled trout, redfish, and flounder. Groups are also privy to Steve’s special instruction and secrets garnered from years of professional experience, ensuring they don’t make newbie mistakes such as getting too attached to a fish and eloping with it. In addition to his Galveston Bay jaunts, Steve also leads specialty trips such as flounder gigging and guided duck and dove hunts in Mexico.

Kara's Pole Studio is anything but exclusive. Owner Kara Davis makes a point to welcome every adult—no matter their age, size, or gender—to engage in high-flying, liberating exercises. Though spouses and significant others can't attend the same classes as their mates, Kara welcomes all to experience her pole-conditioning, chair-dance, and cardio-burlesque courses. As an extra treat for her students, Kara also hosts special guests, which have previously included industry celebs such as regional pole-dance champions and Miss Pole Dance Australia 2012.

The sun reflects off the chassis of a crimson Cobra as its engine lets out a declarative roar. Suddenly, gears shift and the driver makes their way onto the track. At Racing Adventures, thrilling moments are a normal occurrence as instructors show visitors how to handle vintage racecars and exotic sports vehicles from the inside of the cockpit. In two models of American muscle cars, a Porsche 911, or a Carrera, guests taste the adrenaline rush of high-performance driving during full-day racing adventures, laps around racetracks, or excursions on skill-testing roads in Arizona and Colorado.

Racing Adventures’ team also educates thrill-seekers in more aggressive styles of driving in its school. After outfitting students with suits and helmets, instructors demonstrate the basic principles and advanced techniques of racing before letting students practice on a real racetrack. Students can take the wheel of a Cobra, Corvette, or Porsche during three levels of driving experiences, and graduates of the program earn a certificate of achievement.

Maximum Scuba's team of certified instructors caters to all levels of aquatic adventurer with a wide roster of name-brand equipment and all-inclusive classes. PADI open-water certification courses employ textbooks and at least four open-water dives to acquaint underwater neophytes with the joy of subaquatic breathing, enabling them to finally explore timeshare options in Atlantis. The PADI advanced open-water certification course sends previously certified divers on five adventure dives, plumbing watery depths to discover ocean-floor wrecks. Other specialty classes deepen underwater adventures and arm explorers with the know-how to defeat Blackbeard's ghost by teaching skills in spearfishing and technical or cave diving.

Weekend cruises along the lake. The occasional night fishing trip. While many people would like to own a boat for those reasons, the expenses of maintaining and storing a boat year-round can be daunting. Carefree Boat Rental eliminates the tedious bits of boat ownership by lending its well-maintained fleet to members by the hour. Inspected weekly by a dock staff using a 50-point checklist, each boat is also equipped with US Coast Guard-required safety equipment such as flares, approved flotation devices, and an emergency stash of Cheetos. The crew also takes care of regular maintenance, such as oil changes, hull cleaning, and annual bottom painting.

Moody Gardens Hotel is just a stone’s throw away from Moody Gardens, and many of the rooms were designed to reflect the lush grounds. The Terrace Restaurant, for example, brims with colorful plants and hand-painted murals of the butterflies that can be found in the garden’s Rainforest Pyramid. An indoor waterfall stocked with fish and turtles forms the centerpiece of the lobby bar. And guest rooms feature bright, tropical colors and views of Moody Garden, Galveston Bay, or the city itself.

The hotel’s freeform pool is ringed by tropical foliage, including towering palm trees. There’s even a swim-up bar where guests can grab a libation or play underwater darts. For more pampering, an onsite spa offers sugar and coconut oil scrubs and self-heating mud wraps that anchor a menu of indulgent treatments.

There are a number of dining options inside the hotel. AAA Four Diamond-rated Shearn’s Seafood and Prime Steaks serves broiled Canadian lobster tail and the day’s fresh catch drizzled in a lemon-butter sauce. Or, grab a bowl of shrimp gumbo in the more casual environs of The Terrace Restaurant.

Moody Gardens

Perched on picturesque Galveston Island, Moody Gardens possesses a storied history that complements its scenic surroundings. Its horticultural and animal-therapy programs—which began with the park’s inception in 1983—pair visitors living with physical and emotional difficulties with horses and multihued flora, helping them learn coping skills and build confidence. Elsewhere on the sprawling grounds, the Moody Gardens Golf Course boasts multiple holes that run alongside the rippling waters of the Gulf and its intervening waterways, forming intimidating hazards and housing a thriving civilization of merpeople who use golf balls for currency. The park also thrills families with water attractions, including a wave pool and a lazy river. The newly restored, 10-story Rainforest Pyramid holds more than 1,000 exotic plants and animals from the Asian, African, and American rainforests.