• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    Tattered Jeans

    The most magical sunset in the world makes itself known — and the kayak man in the moon isn't far behind

    Katie Oxford
    sunsets
    Aug 17, 2014 | 4:32 pm

    Along the Florida panhandle, if the green water and white sand don’t scratch something deep, stick around for the sunset. There’s more.

    Around 7 p.m., folks start gathering on the beach. Here, from the porch, if you squint your eyes, the shoreline looks scattered with pick-up sticks. Only upright, as though stabbed in the sand. Everyone’s gazing west. Yearning in unison to see the sunset. Lovely.

    Several times throughout the night, it pulls me out of bed to the porch like a magnet. I’m always, surprised.

    These sketches in the sky change in seconds so you best be camera ready. I’ll be looking at a horse’s mane and by the time I’ve gone to grab my own camera, the horse has hightailed it and something like Thor’s hammer is happening. In the natural world, life turns on light.

    In the eastern sky, an encore is on the rise. Mister Moon, a supermoon they call it, is making his move up and out over big blue. Several times throughout the night, it pulls me out of bed to the porch like a magnet. I’m always, surprised.

    During one of these visits, I see a light on the beach that suddenly slips into the ocean as easily as an otter. I can’t make out what it is, but in a few seconds, it’s already reached the first sand bar. Then, the light clean disappears and the otter lets out a shout. More like a song, really. The kind that comes from someplace deep.

    I realize then that it’s a man in a kayak. I stay with him and his song for a long time, gliding further and further out with no hesitation, feeling like I am riding there too. In the great green Gulf of Mexico, now, blue.

    "Hat."

    4. Katie Oxford sunsets August 2014 Hat
      
    Photo by Katie Oxford
    "Hat."
    unspecified
    news/travel

    a shore winner

    Crystal Beach sails among top 10 spring break destinations for 2025

    Amber Heckler
    Feb 25, 2025 | 11:00 am
    Camp Margaritaville RV Resort Crystal Beach
    Camp Margaritaville RV Resort Crystal Beach/Facebook
    undefined

    It may still be February, it's never too early to start thinking about spring break vacation. Fortunately for locals, Houstonians won't have to travel far to reach Crystal Beach, which was just named one of the top 10 destinations for a beachy spring break in 2025.

    Crystal Beach climbed through the ranks to land as the No. 7 best beach in vacation rental company HomeToGo's 2025 Beach Index. The report examined 35 beaches around the country based on seven metrics, including a "hidden gem" popularity score, affordability for accommodations in March and April, and a "local secret score" based on vacationers' average distance traveled to reach each destination.

    Avila Beach in California took the crown as the No. 1 best beach for spring break in 2025.

    Crystal Beach is located in the middle of Bolivar Peninsula, about 100 miles from downtown Houston. The beach earned high praise for its affordability, clear skies score, and local secret score, earning 9.52 out of 10 possible points in all three categories. It also earned 9.11 points for the report's "heat score" which measured the average temperatures in March and April (where higher temperatures received higher scores).

    This is how Crystal Beach performed in the remaining three metrics:

    • 7.33 – Food and drink score
    • 7.19 – Hidden gem score
    • 5 – Visitor satisfaction score
    For travelers that want a resort-style vacation, Camp Margaritaville RV Resort offers a beachside concert venue, a Texas-sized pool with a swim-up bar and 50 private poolside cabanas, large turf playing field, and RV accommodations. The resort also provides access to 27 miles of beaches along the Bolivar Peninsula.

    If Houstonians want to check out a potentially less busy coastal area during their vacation,  Surfside Beach (No. 11) and Jamaica Beach (No. 17) were the only two other Texas beaches that were included in the report. Both are situated on Galveston Island less than 65 miles southeast from downtown Houston.

    HomeToGo says spring breakers can expect to pay a median nightly rate of $121 per person for accommodations across all of these coastal areas, but prices will likely fluctuate depending on peak travel periods. However, the report additionally revealed that Surfside Beach is the most affordable destination out of all 35 beaches, with visitors paying a median $66 nightly rate per person for accommodations.

    "Spring Break continues to be a highly popular time for beach trips across the United States, and with so many destination options available, we are excited to share our annual Beach Index to help travelers navigate the vacation planning waters," said HomeToGo spokesperson Eleanor Moody. "Whether travelers are after blue-sky breaks, savvy stays, or under-the-radar retreats, we hope this report will help pinpoint ideal trips exactly according to personal preferences."

    The top 10 best beaches in America for spring break vacation in 2025 are:

    • No. 1 – Avila Beach, California
    • No. 2 – Kure Beach, North Carolina and Cherry Grove Beach, South Carolina (tied)
    • No. 4 – Saint Joe Beach, Florida
    • No. 5 – Vilano Beach, Florida
    • No. 6 – Bethany Beach, Delaware
    • No. 7 – Crystal Beach, Texas
    • No. 8 – Pensacola Beach, Florida
    • No. 9 – Miramar Beach, Florida
    • No. 10 – Navarre Beach, Florida
    beachtexasvacationsspring breakspring break destinationsrankings
    news/travel
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Houston intel delivered daily.
    Loading...