< Previous10 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2022 N ot long ago, a meme floating around on social media stood out in a sea of posts. It was a photo of two beach chairs facing water with the caption: “The answer may not be at the beach, but we should at least check.” It caught my eye because it hit precisely on a recurring theme in answers readers gave Coast Monthly about what they most like to do on the beach. For many, the beach is a place to find peace, solace and sometimes healing — physical and mental. For some, it’s an unwalled place of worship. As a child, unburdened by serious wor- ries, the beach was a place to build primitive sandcastles and run into salty waves as seagulls laughed overhead. As a teenager, the beach was about sporting the perfect bikini and watching a parade of boys drive by, blaring Guns N’ Roses from candy-colored Camaros. Boone’s Farm Straw- berry Hill may or may not have been involved. But it wasn’t until I was a young adult that I came to understand the real power of beach therapy. My friend’s par- ents were divorcing and she, as could be expected, wasn’t taking it well. Her mother piled us into a totally uncool minivan and headed to Galveston. It was a gray winter day. We didn’t swim. We didn’t flirt. We just sat watching waves crash to the shore under a weak sun, speaking little, never about the divorce. We returned to Houston with a better outlook, but I couldn’t tell you why. Just a few years later, when my mother died, my grieving father, born and raised in Corpus Christi, sought solace by the sea. My siblings and I traveled with him to a Galveston beach for an impromptu private memorial service for a woman who loved beaches and hated funerals. Something about the vastness of the Gulf and the rhythms of the shore for a moment stilled our raging sorrow. Beaches still are fun and happy places for me. The fastest way to a smile is to watch children or dogs — or both — run into the surf. I can do that for hours. But, like the readers who answered our Shorelines ques- tion and the islanders interviewed for this issue, I turn to the beach in stressful times or just for artistic inspiration. Because the answer may not be at the beach, but we should at least check. LAURA ELDER Coast Monthly Editor FROM THE EDITOR WHATEVER THE QUESTION, THE ANSWER IS THE BEACH JENNIFER REYNOLDSA trusted name with over 50 years of real estate experience Carolyn T. Gaido REALTOR ® CLHMS, CRS, RSPS, SRS 713.851.3377 CarolynGaido@SandNSea.com CarolynGaido.com Sand `N Sea Properties, LLC Top Agent Since 1999 Michael J. Gaido, III REALTOR ® 409.457.4900 MichaelGaido.com Kimberly A. 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Gladys Haak Meditation is popular now on our beaches. Chris Becker Walking along the shore, looking for pretty beach glass to make jew- elry with and hanging out with the ladies on Beach Monday, sharing snacks and drinks for the day. Brenda Bumpas Johnstone Cocktails and Frisbee. Carrie Robbins String up a hammock under Mur- dochs and read a book! Roxanne Tandy Barton Just sit and watch the pelicans, with a bottle of wine. Ginny McDonald Relax, savor the waves and birds and be thankful we are here. Marilyn Swanson Run. Tatiana Verega Sift for sharks’ teeth at the water’s edge. Julie Ghidoni Listen to the sound of the waves and search for seashells and other washed-up beach treasure. Sheri Darrell Davis Watching the sunrise from the Gulf with the reflection on the water is magical. Galveston has some of the best sunrises in the country. Melody Smith Beach bike cruise with the family! Jose Rodriguez Looking for treasure in the wrack line, especially sea beans. Maureen Nolan-Wilde Walk my dogs and take pics of the sunrise! Le May I like to have music playing low, so I can also enjoy the wind and water. I’ll either read a book, sketch, paint with watercolors or meditate. It’s very soothing. Alicia McReynolds Forsythe I love to just walk along the beach and close my eyes periodically and listen to the waves. It’s therapeutic and calming. Denise Sowell Shead I followed my heart and it led me to the beach every time. She is where I go for my sanity and a good cleanse from the saltwater. Lawana Price The sounds of the seagulls and waves crashing is therapeutic. The sun on your face and the wind in your hair. Kim Lain I love just to walk on the beach and watch the seagulls and look at the shells! Audrey Keim Feet in the sand and nothing on your mind other than the surf, the occasional shark’s tooth and shells. Maria Mutmansky Just sit and let my mind wander wherever it wants to go — this is ultra-relaxing. Although I have been known to walk knee-deep in the water and scream to the horizon at the top of my lungs to release built- up steam. Becky Dundee When my boys were young, a day at the beach was like Disneyland! We would pack a cooler of lunch, snacks and drinks and spend the whole day enjoying the sand and waves. My boys loved digging in the sand and playing with their tractors and shovels and beach toys. From a teacher point of view, it was the perfect way to spend a day — imagination, being outdoors, nature and fun! Jill Peterek Presnal Paddle boarding, sailing, shelling, walking and sunrise stretching. Jeanna Leek What’s your favorite thing to do on the beach? LUKE WILLIAMS See what photographers love about living on the coast in Shutterbugs on Page 108.THERE’S A BETTER APPROACH TO CANCER CARE in Clear Lake 281.333.8899 houstonmethodist.org/cancer-clearlake The Woodlands Willowbrook Katy-West Houston Sugar Land Baytown Texas Medical Center Clear Lake At Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center, we treat every aspect of your cancer. Leading oncologists work with our specialists across disciplines to minimize cancer’s effects on major organs. One comprehensive team — dedicated to your individual care — uses the latest research, treatments and technology to stop your cancer. From infusion and clinical trials to surgery and reconstruction, our innovative care is available in Clear Lake. That’s the difference between practicing medicine and leading it. 14 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2022 FEATURE SOAKING IT UP Whatever their hobbies or professions, islanders find inspiration at the beach story by JOHN WAYNE FERGUSON W hat makes a good beach? There’s no single good an- swer because the answers vary for people who enjoy Texas beaches. But most agree they find inspi- ration standing by the Gulf of Mexico. Galveston-based musician Robert Kuhn, for example, finds peace on the beach, he said. When he isn’t on the road performing in his band Galvez- ton, Kuhn is on the beach practicing yoga or tai chi. Kuhn has been going to the beach most mornings for nearly 20 years, he said. “I think it just kind of puts me in a good place to go ahead with the rest of the day,” Kuhn said. “It just makes my day seem better. I leave there feeling a little more balanced and just ready for anything.” Kuhn also believes the beach has some healing properties. In 2019, he was involved in a car crash in Col- orado that left him in the hospital for two weeks and with lasting injuries to his neck and arm. When he returned to the island and began recovering, he found the beach and the Gulf of Mexico helped him feel better. “The wreck happened, and then I started swimming and that became part of my therapy,” Kuhn said. “I started swim- ming every day. I had all this inflammation, and they said to ice it. So I started to soak, even in the wintertime. Now I just go all year-round.” As a kind of public service, he also takes pictures of the surf and posts them on social media. “I just post a little Instagram story and Facebook story, and just say what the surf is doing and what the ocean is doing,” Kuhn said. “It’s nice for me. I get messages nearly every day saying, ‘thank you for doing this, we really appreciate it.’” Kuhn, who was a featured artist at Austin’s South by Southwest music festival, plans to host a concert and surf contest, the La Izquierda Surf and Music Festival, May 7 at Menard Park in Gal- veston, just across from the beach, he said. There are other ways to spend time on the beach. Treasure hunters often scour the sand with metal detectors looking for rings and coins and other objects people have left behind. It isn’t unusual to see church services on the beach, or for people to draw medi- tative labyrinths in the sand to walk through while contem- plating the sunrise. Early mornings are when Lesley Barbiaux finds her quiet time on the beach. Barbiaux works with at-risk children. Since moving to the island three years ago, Barbiaux has made it a daily tradition to walk a block to the beach at sunrise with her “I think it just kind of puts me in a good place to go ahead with the rest of the day. It just makes my day seem better. I leave there feeling a little more balanced and just ready for anything.” ROBERT KUHN COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2022 15 Galveston-based musician Robert Kuhn has been going to the beach in the morning for nearly 20 years, he said. When he isn’t on the road performing in his band Galvezton, Kuhn is on the beach practicing yoga or tai chi. STUART VILLANUEVA16 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2022 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2022 17 Lesley Barbiaux walks her dogs Roxie, left, and Peaches on the beach at sunrise. She walks the dogs on the beach most mornings and loves watching the sun come up over the water. JENNIFER REYNOLDS18 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2022 FEATURE two dogs, Peaches, a Yorkie, and Roxie, a Jack Russell terrier. “I have a very stressful job,” Barbiaux said. “In the mornings, that’s kind of like my time to enjoy the minute and relax. Almost like a little mental health walk that we try to do.” The walk is good for the dogs, too. Peaches is 17 years old and los- ing her vision, Barbiaux said. “She loves it out there,” Barbiaux said. “If we walked around inside, she’d hit a wall. On the beach, she just trots along free. It’s always beautiful.” For Rachel Wiley-Janota, Galves- ton’s beaches aren’t just a place of peace, but a place of inspiration. Wiley-Janota, a Galveston artist whose work is on display at her family’s gallery on Postoffice Street in the island’s downtown, spends many mornings out on the beach with an easel and palette, and sometimes a sleeping baby nearby, trying to capture the scenic nature of the beach — whatever that might be on a given day. “It’s this one place you go, and it’s always different,” she said. “For me, it’s the fact it’s always going to be a mystery of what kind of weather is there, what kind of clouds, what kind of colors.” The beach brings new challeng- es all the time, she said. “Right now, I’ve been really into trying to capture the morning or the evening golden light,” Wi- ley-Janota said. “It just shimmers off the water. I’ve been using actu- al gold leaf to try to create that. I’m attempting to capture that sparkly glow.” JENNIFER REYNOLDS Rachel Wiley-Janota holds her son, Charlie, as she paints on the beach in Galveston. Wiley-Janota spends many mornings out on the beach with an easel and palette trying to capture the scenic nature of the beach. “It’s this one place you go, and it’s always different. For me, it’s the fact it’s always going to be a mystery of what kind of weather is there, what kind of clouds, what kind of colors.” RACHEL WILEY-JANOTAThe New Voice American Rock 'n Roll Songbook! OF THE THE MUSIC OF BILLY JOEL & ELTON JOHN STARRING MICHAEL CAVANAUGH Sat, May 7 | 8 PM GET TICKETS! TheGrand.com | 409.765.1894 Michael Cavanaugh is ready to rock The Grand! Described as “Brilliant,” by Variety Magazine, “Amazing,” by The New York Times, and “Entertainer of the Year,” by Reuters, Michael scored his big break when Billy Joel handpicked him for the lead in Broadway’s smash hit Movin’ Out. The role garnered him rave reviews and a ccolades, culminating with Grammy® and Tony Award® nominations. In this one-night-only concert, he will lead his band through the biggest hits by Billy Joel and Elton John.Next >