Some of the best evenings on the Texas coast start with a cold drink and a band that knows how to fill a room. The Coastal Benders bring their sound to VFW Post 8967 in Port Aransas — a welcoming, unpretentious spot open to all, where the shuffleboard tournament gets things going in the afternoon and the live music carries the night from there. It's a locals-and-visitors-alike kind of place, easy and unhurried, exactly the way an evening on the island should feel.
When the last song winds down, the short walk back to Beached Inn is its own kind of pleasure — salt air rolling in off the Gulf, the day's warmth still in the sand beneath your feet, and a quiet porch waiting to close out a perfect Port Aransas night.