Station/Boat Location~Sabine Pass
Date there~1994 - 1998
Weather~Hot and very humid in the spring and summer, decent falls, winters vary sometimes cold enough for big ice storms, sometimes warm enough for shorts.
Military facilities~There's some kind of navy depot in orange for ID cards and such, but no major facilities with commissary or anything.
Medical~We used USFHP which was an alternative to Tricare there.
Housing~None. Most members opt to live in Port Arthur, Nedeland, Groves or Port Neches
Shopping~ Most of what you need can be found in Port Arthur or Beaumont. All the usual chain stores and malls.
Adult Schools~ Lamar University, there are campuses in Port Arthur, Beaumont and Orange
Fun Activities~ Leaving town... you're about an hour and half away from Galveston, Houston, and Lake Charles LA (for gambling), and about 5 hours from San Antonio which is a really fun city.
Beaumont has a bunch of bars and clubs. There are a lot of churches and strip clubs in this area, something we thought was ironic and amusing.
There is a nice big beach with the kind of sand you drive on, we had a lot of fun crawfish boils and parties on the beach there. You can't really swim in the water though because its really polluted and usually has a slight sheen from all the oil rigs
Additional Info~There are tons of refineries here so air pollution is BAD, do not go here if you have pre-existing breathing or sinus conditions. I'll be honest, this is not a very pretty or exciting part of Texas-- this is on the LA border so you are in hot, humid bayou country, complete with lots of fire ants.
Homeport TX