Well, a rainy, cold, dreary day in Houston. Awesome! Movie time! Just lazed around, watched a couple of movies and waited til Adam came home. Once Adam got here we drove to Target then Barnes and Noble. Adam cooked another wonderful meal, drank some very intoxicating beer and will probably have an early night.
Til tomorrow.........
-Adam's work building
-Cool building with reflections (the Chevron Building)
- One of many fountains
-City Hall/Visitors Center (see the protesters? They wanted Cambodian prime minister Hung Sen kicked out of office)
-Beautiful old library
-Adam cooking dinner
-Our liquor stash :)
-Houston skyline
We spent about 5 hours putzing around in the business district of downtown. It was still a pretty chilly and dreary day. I don't think it got warmer than the high 40s. Walked the 2 miles to the Visitors Center to get info on how to see Houston. Then we got on the Green Link, a free shuttle that you hop on and off all around downtown. It helped us see where things were. We stopped on Main Street where the light rail goes but it isn't really a nice place. Decided to turn around and get back on the shuttle and go to the area where the Visitors Center was.
As we were walking around the city I noticed that there were very few people - anywhere on the streets! Lots of homeless people and beggars but not too much more. We had heard about underground tunnels and found the entrance to one of them and.... there they were!!! The Mole people!!
That is exactly how it felt! The 7 miles of climate controlled tunnels link all of downtown for all of the workers. They are 20 feet underground and they all have food courts, dry cleaners, sundry shops, banks, post offices; you get the picture. I felt like I was in a SyFy movie! I apologize if I offend anyone but , honestly, I couldn't wait to get back on the streets!
We ate lunch at Papas BBQ, established in 1967. It was really good! ! Then walked back to the apartment. Adam came home right then and we walked to Specs - a store that sells most of its supplies to big restaurants and clubs. You should have seen some of the items. And some were quite pricey. More than half the store was liquor! Each side of the aisle was dedicated to one kind - tequila aisle, whiskey aisle, vodka aisle, etc. On display was a bottle of King Louis De Remy cognac that was up to 100 years old. Price - $25,000.......CASH! Well, we decided to get something a little less pricey and came away with some good stuff. Walked home, had a nice Adam-cooked meal then he took us to see his beautiful pool! Got a good picture of the Houston skyline from his building.
My feet and ankles are killing me today! Feel pretty good in the morning but with all this walking I am hobbling when we get home; can barely walk. Stupid feet!!!!
See pictures in next post......
2 major events today. The groundhog saw his shadow - no early spring. Seattle won the Super Bowl.......Our son, David, is thrilled but we're not. Congratulations, David!
Slept in a little this morning 'cause the sky was dripping. After we got moving we drove to the grocery store and then Bill and Adam watched a movie while I read. We decided that it looked like it wasn't going to rain anymore so we headed out to walk a 3 mile loop along The Buffalo Bayou - a 16 mile sidewalk that goes along a canal and under all the criss crossing highways. It was cold (39°)!! Windy and wet! Well, needless to say, it rained on us most of the way. We did the whole walk, though, and it was thoroughly enjoyable! Saw lots of homeless folks....hurts my heart.
Came back to Adam's, got dry, and Adam cooked a most delicious beef stew. We then enjoyed watching the game; well, Bill watched. Adam and I bugged him by asking questions and we really only watched the commercials. It was fun on a rainy cold dreary day.
So far as i can tell, Houston has a nice laid back feel; almost old-timey. In the pictures you will see a small piece of it.
-Fog cloud ahead
-A Rest Stop picnic area
-A bird's welcome
-The Alamo shrine building (one of many buildings
-I could only get part of this gigantic tree
-A soldier cluster
Yea! We made it to Houston! After we left Fort Stockton we followed I-10 through lovely Texas. Saw more, lots more, windmills on the mesas. Those mesas (Spanish for 'table') really are quite spectacular. Went on some rolling hills and spotted some major fog up ahead. It was this huge line of white! Well, it took us over 35 minutes to drive through and thank goodness it had lifted some so we weren't completely in the thick of it. (See pictures in next post)
Made our way into downtown San Antonio to visit The Alamo. This historical monument is very well preserved but it is smack dab in the middle of a huge city! We did enjoy walking through it and seeing all the artifacts; one of which was Davy Crockett's rifle! See the pic of the impressive Live Oak tree. All in all, the parts of San Antonio I did see did not make me want to come back. I felt better when I got past the city and into open country.
Arrived at our son, Adam's, place around 5:15. It's tricky trying to get around Houston! Lots of criss crossing highways, toll roads, and city drivers. But I am so pleased with his area. Adam took us for a long walk all around the outskirts of the actual main street. Beautiful big buildings, small neighborly streets, gorgeous fountains. Most of the people we saw were in their 20's.....I think there's a college here. Adam says it is a very rich area. Well, I'll give it a chance. :)
We spent the evening catching up, watching a movie and will look forward to another long walk tomorrow.
Just did a little sight seeing in historic Fort Stockton. Saw the world's largest roadrunner and the original army buildings of what was Camp Stockton and is now Fort stockton.
