< PreviousExquisite Homes Laffite’s Cove, Galveston TX 3425 Petite Circle | $3.8+ mil. 13538 Stewart | $900,000 13243 Binnacle Way | $1.6+ mil. New Listing New Listing New Listing 281.773.3477 bjennings@greenwoodking.com BET JENNINGS 2022 Real Trends America’s Best Real Estate Pros in Galveston & Texas Specializing in the Pirates communities: Laffite’s Cove, Pirates Cove, Pirates Beach & Pirates Beach West A long-time resident of Laffite’s Cove Director of Laffite’s Cove Board Pirates POA & UTMB Development Board GREENWOOD KING PROPERTIES a place to find your homeCompassionate Guidance in Your Time of Need. E. R. Johnson Family Mortuary has been serving the Galveston, Galveston County area with compassion and respect for over 71 years. Our deep roots in the community are a source of pride, as we grow side by side with the families we serve. During this time you need someone who understand the needs of families in celebrating the life of their loved ones and making sure that we take all precautions in maintaining a safe environment to assure the health and well-being of everyone that wants to celebrate the life of their loved one with dignity. E.R. Johnson Family Mortuary has always been in the forefront making sure the families we serve receive our utmost attention, care and service. We hope you will consider us your source for compassionate care and exemplary service. Our pledge is to help you honor your loved one in the most meaningful way, offering thoughtful guidance and personal attention to every detail. 3828 Ave O | Galveston, TX 77550 409.762.8470 E. R. Johnson Family Mortuary42 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2023 Koby Brown waits for the breeze to fill his massive octopus kite on the beach in Galveston. Brown bought the 76-foot black and orange kite from a Chinese business during the COVID-19 pandemic to humor himself, he said. COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2023 43 FEATURE ARMED AND CURIOUS Islander’s 76-foot octopus kite is a show-stopper on the beach story by JOSÉ MENDIOLA photos by STUART VILLANUEVA T his is a story about a man and how he came to own a 76-foot black and orange octopus kite. Tequila may or may not have been involved. When driving down Seawall Boulevard in Galveston, it isn’t uncommon to see a person flying a kite on a spring or summer day. It is, however, unusual to see a 76-foot octopus kite flying in the sky. Islander Koby Brown’s giant octopus kite might appear as if aliens finally have descended to Earth to invade and conquer, but with closer inspection, it’s just a man enjoying some quality time on the beach. Brown didn’t get the kite because he was looking for a kite, but because he was bored and finally decided to respond to a Chinese business that kept spamming him with emails during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. “During the lockdown, I started getting these random emails from an overseas manufacturer of all sorts of products,” Brown said. “They kept offering me all these things for sale. It started with robot vacuum cleaners and then it was e-bikes.” Brown found the emails humorous but disregarded them, he said. It wasn’t until a month and a half into the pandemic that his boredom and curiosity got the best of him, he said. “I didn’t expect this when I got the kite, but I cannot tell you how many people I meet because of the kite. When you throw that in the air, you’re going to end up talking to someone. KOBY BROWN44 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2023 FEATURE This is where a little tequila might have come into play, Brown said. “One night, I decided to respond to the guy. We started talking and I said, ‘You know what I really need? A giant octopus kite.’” Brown was humoring himself, but the vendor replied back wanting to know how big he’d like this octopus kite to be, he said. Brown responded: “huge.” “He said, ‘OK, how huge?’ and I said, ‘76 feet,’” Brown said. The vendor made Brown a sample of the kite and sent it over to him, Brown said. This isn’t the first or only kite Brown has or cherishes, he said. “I have two daughters,” Brown said. “Since they were little, I would take them out to the beach and it was something to get me and my girls out to do something.” If you ever find yourself in Brown’s position and want to buy a 76-foot atten- tion-grabbing kite, make sure you’re a peo- ple person, he said. “I didn’t expect this when I got the kite, Koby Brown’s massive octopus kite is a show-stopper on the beach. Everyone wants to take a picture with it, he said. COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2023 45 GALVESTONCOUNTY& GALVESTONCOUNTY& BOLIVARPENINSULA BOLIVARPENINSULA SINCE1995 ProudlyServing (409)684-3233 but I cannot tell you how many people I meet because of the kite,” Brown said. “When you throw that in the air, you’re go- ing to end up talking to someone. It’s fun because everyone freaks out over it and wants to take a picture with it. But you have to be willing to talk if you’re going to fly that.” MELISSAREKOFF BROKERASSOCIATE melissa@onyxrealtygrouptx.com melissa.onyxrealtygrouptx.com 409-996-9838 ForEducators BUYINGSELLING or ahomethis Spring BuyingorSellingahomeisnoteasy,butIpromisetoeducate youontheprocess&setexpectationstomakethings smootherandlessstressful. Getanexpertyoucancounton!ExcitingWavesofChange anewstate-of-the-artBallHighSchooltomatchthe outstandingqualityofthestudentsandinstructionwithin. Learnmoreaboutthisdevelopment andmoreatwww.gisd.org.48 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2023 Baytown resident Ashton Johnson places a flag on the bed of a truck while visiting Crystal Beach on Bolivar Peninsula. COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2023 49 FEATURE BOOMING BOLIVAR Once sleepy peninsula is wide awake with tourists and development story by KATHRYN EASTBURN photos by STUART VILLANUEVA B olivar (pronounced bah-leh-vur, not bo-lee-var, thank you very much, national news media) is a peninsula on the Texas Gulf Coast, just a 18-min- ute ferry ride from the easternmost tip of Galves- ton Island. It’s an anglers’ paradise and birders’ Mecca with multiple nature preserves owned by Houston Audubon Society. It’s a few tiny municipalities strung together by a straight, flat highway next to the sea. It’s a state of mind. Bolivar represents survival in the face of hurricanes and deadly storm surge. Hurricane Ike in 2008 nearly wiped it off the map. Its population has hovered around 2,500 per- manent residents for decades. After Ike, some 15 years later, Bolivar is a developer’s playground, one of the last great Texas sand spits waiting to be filled in with condominiums, luxury homes, beach getaway cottages, RV parks and all manner of vacation amenities. Sleepy Bolivar isn’t so sleepy anymore. But this isn’t the first time it has seen a development boom, long-time resi- dents say. “Over the last 30 years, it’s always been the same,” said Keith Zahar, owner of the peninsula’s major retail outlet, The Big Store in Crystal Beach. “People buy here and stay for three, five, seven years then sell and move on. About 10 percent will keep a home here forever, but for most, once they’re here, they realize it’s not for the timid.” With typical peninsula candor and hard-earned confi- dence, Zahar characterizes the place he has called home since 1986 as friendly and where most people generally are in a good mood and happy to see each other. Bolivar Peninsula is a place where people learn lessons the hard way, Zahar said. Once Hurricane Ike retreated after sweeping across Crys- tal Beach, Zahar’s Big Store was left with a front wall and part of a roof, he said. “Everybody learned a lot, and the new, stricter building codes have worked,” Zahar said.Next >