So Earl and I landed at Houston Airport yesterday morning 45 minutes ahead of schedule. Since it was still morningtime, we couldn’t check into the hotel until 3:00 p.m., so we decided to head up to an area north of Houston called “The Woodlands”. This is a planned community that has a lot of retail and other stuff going on. We walked the mall (which was like most malls) and then went across the main street to what they call Market Street. This area had the same kind of vibe as Main Street of Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom; very clean and modern and not entirely what it seemed to be. Nevertheless, shopping was enjoyable and I picked up a few things needed for the trip. We also enjoyed a beverage at Starbucks with our online friend Jay. He was very nice in a person.
Last night Earl and I explored Downtown Houston a bit, which doesn’t really have a lot going on outside of banker’s hours, apparently. It was still enjoyable though, and we walked to the festivities near the convention center, where there were people ice skating (despite 75F weather) and beautiful holiday decorations that put me in the holiday spirit.
Today Earl and I drove to the Battleship TEXAS. The tour is self-guided so we checked out many of the nooks and crannies of this massive ship that saw action during both World War I and II.
From there we headed to the San Jacinto Monument, which is 12 feet taller than the Washington Monument. Built in 1936, I LOVED the architecture of this monument.
The elevator ride was acceptable because you could see the emergency stairs through a little window in the car, which assured that you were actually moving. I like knowing what’s going on.
After the visit to the battleship and the monument we headed down to the coast to the Kemah Boardwalk, where we had a delightful lunch and a nice walk and then we were on to Galveston, where we watched surfers play in the gulf.
It has been a most excellent, relaxing day. I’ve been chatting more about it on Facebook and Instagram, be sure to check out all the photos there.
I go to Cooperstown every summer for the Glimmerglass Opera Festival and I always drive around the countryside to the antique barns and the Ommegang Brewery. I have always found the people very cordial and friendly. But maybe by January their good humor is as short as the days.
Actually, people in that part of the state seem to be a little more friendlier. It’s the folks in the Utica-Rome area that seem the crankiest, but then again, they have the highest amount of cloudiest days in the state.
I love self-guided tours on ships and submarines. I really hate when they block of certain parts so you can’t go inspect.
This tour was pretty open to snooping around. There were a couple of closed off portions but they were areas that hadn’t been restored yet.