October 2012 - Thunder Roads Texas Motorcycle Magazine

RIDE MAP
TRT’s Lone Star Loop
Jackie’s Brickhouse, Kemah
Continuing on Highway 146, again, just a short way, we’ll
veer off course again for stop at our newest Thunder
Roads Texas BIKE NIGHT location, Jackie’s Brickhouse
(1053 Marina Bay Drive; JackiesBrickhouse.com). Take
a left on Marina Bay Drive/FM 2094, before crossing the
Kemah Bridge. On the left about a mile up, you can’t miss
it. It’s another live music venue place with great food and
drink specials. If you happen to be around on the third
Thursday of any month,
we’ll be there partying
down for BIKE NIGHT!
Fred Hartman
Bridge, Baytown
Page 34 H October 2012
From here, back to
Highway 146… before
crossing the Kemah
Bridge, there’s the famous
Kemah Boardwalk
offering food, drink, and
amusement park rides.
But we continue on up
146 toward Baytown.
One of the magnificent
... continued
sights on this route is the Fred Hartman Bridge. It spans
the entrance to the Houston Ship Channel from Galveston
Bay. It was named for the editor and publisher of the
Baytown Sun from 1950 to 1974 and is the longest cablestayed
bridge in Texas. Completed in 1995, it replaced the
Baytown Tunnel that had to be removed in order to deepen
the Houston Ship Channel to accommodate larger ships.
Just after crossing the bridge, take the exit on the right
onto Business 146. About two miles down on the right side
is Rocky’s Pelican Junction. It was one of the haunts of
Mean Gene Kelton (1953-2010), who resided in Baytown.
The next part of the ride is a bit of a stretch, so make
sure your tanks are topped off and bellies full. Continue
on Highway 146 to the Grand Parkway/Highway 99. Exit
Cedar Boulevard and take a right on FM 1405. Continue
down to Tri-City Beach Road/FM 2354 and take a left. This
takes you along a nice waterside road along Trinity Bay…
a little more scenic than remaining on the Grand Parkway.
This road turns into South Cotton Lake Road/FM 180 and
carries you to I-10/East Freeway. Here, head East toward
Beaumont. Take Highway 61 exit and go right. This road
turns into FM 562, then Smith Point Road. The road will
‘T’, with Smith Point continuing to the right and Whites
Ranch Road/FM 1985 to the left; go left. The road dead
ends at Highway 124 where you will go right and continue
on Highway 124. This takes us onto the Bolivar Peninsula
at High Island.
The Bolivar Peninsula is a narrow strip of land on the
coast. It stretches for 27 miles, with the widest point
only 3.5 miles wide. Although classified as a peninsula,
it’s actually a barrier island. This small community was
splashed all over the news after Hurricane Ike basically
Bird Watching
on High Island
obliterated everything on
the island; the before and
after photos are incredible.
The name, High Island,
comes from the large salt
dome under the area.
The dome rises to an elevation of around 38 feet, giving it
the highest elevation of any point on the Gulf Coast. This
area is best known for bird watching, with the Anahuac,
McFadden, and Moody National Wildlife Refuges; and the
Houston Audubon Society operates four bird sanctuaries
nearby. The best time of year is spring (April through
mid-May) to catch a wide variety of migrating birds in vast
numbers.
At the water, catch Highway 87 South toward Galveston.
Take the Bolivar Ferry, returning to Galveston Island. Now
for some of our favorite watering holes before returning to
The Strand area of the Rally. First up on the Seawall, at
30th Street is the Poop Deck. This is a very small bar, but a
local favorite. Just a couple blocks down is The Spot. Lots
of bike parking, especially during the rally, with really good
“beachy” food. Continue down the Seawall, onto FM 3005.
On the left is Woody’s Beach Bar. It will be full of bikes!
They’ll have great live music and a balcony that reaches
ThunderRoadsTexas.com