Bay City – A Town Not On The Bay!

If you have driven out Highway 35 along the Texas Coast between Houston and Corpus Christi, you have gone through the town of Bay City. The most interesting thing to me is that the city does not reside next to any bay. Actually, the town was given its name as a reference to its location on Bay Prairie. Who would have thought that?

We have driven though this town many times and never have stopped, but today Suzanne and I drove specifically to Bay City just to see what we could find. Bay City is full of activity during the week. As the county seat of Matagorda County, the downtown district is bustling. Across from the County Courthouse we found our first stop, The Fat Grass Restaurant. Located in an old historic building, the ambiance is delightful. The large wooden bar makes you feel like you are living in the past, but with modern amenities.

The Fat Grass Restaurant got its unique name from the English translation of Matagorda, which means fat grass or thick brush. To me, Fat Grass sounds better than Thick Brush so I like the name they chose. On to the more important stuff - like the food. Suzanne ordered the Mahi Thermidor with roasted squash and fingerling potatoes and I settled on a Chicken Fried Deer Steak with cream gravy, mashed potatoes and sautéed green beans. Both dishes were great and the service was excellent. What a wonderful way to start our day in Bay City.

With full stomachs and smiles on our faces, Suzanne and I decided to walk around the square. We found a few antique stores to browse through and ran across the Matagorda County Museum. The Museum was an unexpected delight.  We enjoyed seeing the prized brass cannon from Robert de LaSalle’s ship, along other artifacts from the recovered shipwreck. The museum also included Indian artifacts, pioneer items and an Alamo Shrine. 

One thing that was unique for a small town museum was their Children’s Museum. Nestled in the belly of the historic Bay City Post Office building, it provides kids (and grandpas) an opportunity to live out their fantasies in an early 1900’s setting. I can’t wait to take my grandson, Drayton, to drop our horses off at the stable, mosey on over to the General Store for some Root Beer and candy. Who knows we might even get a haircut and shave at the Barber’s Shop, try out the wind-up toys in the Toy Shoppe, read a book in the one room schoolhouse, or write a letter to mom at the old post office and tell her we are heading west for a new adventure. Oh, we better stop by the bank and get some money! Hope we don’t run into Jesse James or Billy the Kid. What a fantastic place to EXPLORE.

After Suzanne lassoed me and led me out of the Children’s Museum, we returned to our car. The temperature was starting to get hot (typical summer Texas weather) so we decided to drive around town in air conditioned luxury while looking at some of the architecture of old homes. Suzanne and I found many homes we would like to own! As the afternoon sun started to set out west, it was time to hitch the wagon up and head home from another great daytrip as we visit Texas Thru My Back Door!

We challenge our readers to join in our fight against breast cancer.  Visit Suzanne's new blog "My Equations for Life" as she reflects on life B.C. (before cancer) and A.D. (after diagnosis) and help support new early cancer detection research at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center with our Go Fund Me project below.