Surfside Beach up and Going Strong after Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike came roaring on shore in September 2008 with Galveston and Surfside Beach in its bullseye Galveston and Bolivar Island, on the "dirty" side of the storm, suffered significant damage

Hurricane Ike came roaring on shore in September 2008 with Galveston and Surfside Beach in its bullseye. Galveston and Bolivar Island, on the "dirty" side of the storm, suffered significant damage. Surfside Beach on the good side of the hurricane, fared the wrath of nature amazingly well.

A scant 4 months after the storm, Surfside Beach is up and thriving. Very few reminders of Ike are visible, with the possible exception of a closed Kitty's Purple Cow. Kitty's was a Surfside Beach as well as a Texas institution with a reputation of serving up some of the best hamburgers this side of the Rio Grande.

The damage to Kitty's is so severe since it was on the ground level rather than elevated on posts, that permanent closure is more than a possiblity. A permanent closure would be a real loss to the locals and visitors to Surfside Beach. Children, now grown, were bringing their children to this fabled restaurant of summer Texas beach memories. It would be the end of an era.

The Red Snapper Inn with its great gumbo is open along with the Valero station and quick stop. Hammerheads Bar and Grill hardly skipped a beat and was open soon after residents were allowed back into the Village of Surfside Beach. Castaways Club and Grill is back to rocking with the locals favorite of karoke on the weekends. The Jetty Shack is back to serving up its famous jumbo Angus burgers. Life on Surfside Beach is good.

Beach house rentals are back on track and seem to be only a little slower than is normal for the winter months. That could be more due to the economy than fears that the town is crippled. Word travels fast and Surfside Beach devotees soon learned that their favorite surfing, fishing, beaching spot was back and as good as ever.

Surfside Beach is the best kept secret in Texas - nearer than Galveston to Houston, yet close to all that Galveston has to offer. And, the City of Galveston just didn't do the job in getting back up that Surfside did. Galveston was known for its boisterous crowds, and for being less than family friendly. This is one charming beach town with no high-rise condos or hotels & 21 miles of unspoiled shoreline where relaxing is the order of every day.

Whether it's birding, fishing, surfing a few waves, or just relaxing on the beach, Surfside Beach is the perfect Texas coastal destination. It is nestled between Galveston, Freeport, the Gulf of Mexico and the Intracoastal Waterway, where highway 332 meets the sea.

While the town's beaches stretch only 4 miles from the Freeport jetty, to the east of the town limits are miles of windswept sandy beaches where it's only you, the salty breeze, the birds, and other wildlife. Birders are amazed at the abundance and variety of birds that gather in and around Surfside (Southern Brazoria County has been ranked number one 12 times in the past 20 years for migratory bird sightings).

Surfside Beach also is home to the Beach House. Hundreds and hundreds of multi-colored dwellings line the gulf, ready and waiting for you to call home, for a week or a weekend. Most all of them are ready for occupancy.

The great condition of the town stands as a stark testament to the "can do," close knit community. While the summer population swells into the thousands, the 900 or so year round residents are what causes Surfside Beach to tick. They are what make the village so warm, inviting and comfortable for anyone fortunate enough to find this gem of a vacation spot.

Merilou Athens-Barnekow was a writer for the Denver Post, The Post Tribune (subsidiary of the Chicago Sun Times), the Castle Rock Daily News Press, and numerous weekly publications. She was the editor of a Colorado monthly. She is the webmaster and copy writer for: FavoriteVacationRentals.com<a>