Saturday in Beaumont, TX
We traveled to Beaumont on Saturday, May 7, 2023. We visited the Gator Country, Ben J. Rogers Visitor Center, Spindletop Glady City Boomtown and I closed out Saturday evening enjoying a King and Country concert with friends. I wish we had traveled to Beaumont on Friday instead of Saturday. We didn’t have enough time to visit the Texas Energy Museum or go on the Swamp Boat Tours.
Gator Country was okay. They advertised a show with alligators, but it was a history of alligators. It’s a great place for someone who loves stuff like that. The history lesson was interesting, but I wanted more entertainment. We fed the alligators, goats, chickens, ducks & snakes. You can hold baby alligators, snakes & other creatures but I wasn’t going to touch anything. I tried wading with baby gators (their mouths were taped) but I couldn’t bring myself to touch them out of fear. I loved feeding the goats.
Beaumont’s (Ben J. Rogers) Visitors Center has a large selection of travel pamphlets, one of the best variety of materials I have seen. They have a good informational video about the history of Beaumont. It’s a nice place to take a break from driving.
Our next stop was Spindletop Glady City Boomtown on Lamar University campus. The Gladys City Boomtown is a must visit while in Beaumont. It was interesting to learn about the oil and gas history, and touring the buildings on site. However it was a hot day, so make sure you stay hydrated if you visit. We’re thankful for the oil and gas industry which provides many good paying jobs for our families.
We headed to our hotel, where I had just minutes to wash my face before my friend was picking me up for a concert.
She had tickets to the King and Country “What Are We Waiting For” concert at the Ford Arena. The seats were great, first row on the second level! We arrived early and enjoyed the pre-show entertainment. Joel and Luke Smallbone were taking questions before the concert. Fans could text their questions and the duo would answer them up on stage. I have never seen that before in lieu of an opening act.
King and Country put on an amazing show, performing from various stages around the arena. They made their way around twice engaging the concert goers. As they passed us, my friend gave Luke a high-five.
*FYI – MercyMe will be at Ford Park in Beaumont, TX, Oct 21, 2023 at 7pm.
We left Beaumont Sunday morning. One of the things we like to do while traveling on the road is listen to audio books. This trip we continued listening to “Killing the Legends” by Bill O’Reilly. It’s a good book about the larger-than-life stories of John Lennon, Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali.
A final thought: we booked a hotel close to the Ford Arena. The hotel was fine, but the neighborhood was a little rough-looking. Double check hotels by the Ford Arena if you plan on staying in the future.