The friendly skies...

I have flown a lot in my lifetime.  As a man with "wanderlust",  I have visited a number of different airports.  I have seen the small town airport with one security line and two gates, all the way up to the airport in Haifa, Isreal where the airport security folks were wearing flack jackets and carrying machine guns.  Scary...but hey, I felt safe.

Anyway, flying out of Bush International or Hobby Airport is a very nice experience.  The economy parking is very cheap (about $5-$6 a day) and not very far away from the terminal.  There are plenty of security lines to roam through and both airports do a fairly good job of moving folks along.

Now for the rather bad news...

Houston, for some reason is not a major hub.  It is the fourth largest city in the United States but flying from these two airports usually require another hop.

Group heaven

Last night, I was invited to a gathering of folks at a place called Simone's on Sunset for dinner and drinks.  I was invited by the wonderful proprietor of 14 Pews, Cressandra Thibodeaux.  She introduced me to a number of folks that were more than willing to educate me on the happenings/groups in the Houston area.

That is one of the best things about the Houston area... the friendliness.  I have frequented most of the major metropolitan cities in the US and the folks here in Houston have been some of the friendliest people to us "transplants" (ranking right up there with St. Louis in my mind).  The people I met last night were very enthusiastic about all of the happenings going on in Houston and were anxious to share.

It was also just wonderful to be sitting outside on an April evening.  I just keep telling myself "I'll never be cold again" with a big ole' smile on my face.  Having said that the drinks were a bit pricey ($5 a glass for the Happy Hour merlot) and $10 a piece for a smallish pizza that were really pedestrian in taste and had a rather chewy crust.  But aside from those nit-picky things, the evening was rather enjoyable.  The company you keep can make up for a whole lot... Salut!

Galveston

The sun was shining and the temperature was wonderful on Saturday.  I had planned to attend a wonderful International Festival highlighting Brazil in the downtown area but headed to Galveston instead.

I spent about five years in the Navy during the mid-eighties and I guess I have never gotten the sea out of my blood. The smell of the salt air and the waves coming ashore really relaxes me.  Always has...

So, it was a real treat to head back down to the water.  There is really something to be said for walking on the beach or along a pier and just looking out onto the water.  I loved driving along Seawall Boulevard and looking at all of the wonderful houses that are along the seaboard.  The pastel colors and the fact that they are up on stilts has always appealed to me.  I know that when I retire, my goal is to own a small place along the ocean/gulf.

Also found a great burger joint called Brick House Tavern and Tap (which is where the second photo was taken).  Had a delicious blue cheese burger and some wonderful tots.  They have a huge beer selection to choose from.  They are a bit pricey, but the food was good.

Tonight, is an Earth Day event at 14 Pews and I will be manning the table telling everyone how wonderful this place is to be a member.

Bouncing about...

Last weekend was the JAGA Reggae Festival in Galveston (on the beach, of course).  Loving the music... It was only $10 for admission.

On Thursday evening, I attended a wonderful performance of Thoroughly Modern Mille at the Miller Outdoor Theater in Hermann Park.  The best part was that the performance was free AND I got to spread a blanket out on the grass.  Life is really good when you can lay down on a blanket and watch a live performance...

I worked another 14 Pews event on Friday.  Sat at a table outside the venue and touted the upcoming shows and programs.  Happy Birthday to 14 Pews maestro Cressandra, by the way.


Speaking of music, I have fallen in with a group of musicians that played at a house party in The Woodlands (that name STILL cracks me up...) on Saturday night.  My problem is that if I know the words to a song, I tend to sing along and (unfortunately for everyone around) I can get a bit loud.  But, I usually simmer down when I start getting the dirty looks.

Boy, life is good.

Fredericksburg

Who doesn't like a life-size human planter?

Spent a magnificent weekend in a place called the Texas Hill Country.  Actually, the place where I stayed was an absolute German (heritage) town called Fredericksburg, TX.  Stayed in a wonderful B&B called "A Place in Time" and both "B"s were just lovely.

The town itself is just a wonderful place to wander around with a number of artisan shops, a winery (Fredericksburg Winery), a brewery (Fredericksburg Brewing Company - has a great lunch there) and a wonderful chocolatier that implants liquor into some of their chocolates (I highly recommend the Kentucky Bourbon).  You can literally spend the day roaming main street, but I had other places to be on that Saturday.

There are wineries all over the area offering some pleasantly surprising offerings.  I do so love to visit wineries and go to the tasting rooms.  On this weekend at a winery called Beckers Vineyards which was about fifteen minutes from Fredericksburg.  The weather could not have been better for this trip.  Now, I list just a few of the places.  There are SO many more wineries, breweries, and even a bourbon distillery in Hye, TX that could have made this list.

The evening was spent listening to a fantastically tight country band called "Drugstore Cowboys" at a place called Hondo's (highly recommended).  Also, please remember that if someone says to you "just go to the German restaurant on Main Street", give them a quizzical look - there are about 5 German restaurants on Main Street.

Movin' right along...

My boy Zazzles and I

There are periods of time where (just like everyone else) I just do not have a lot going on... I drive to and from work, make dinner and sit my butt down on the couch and watch something on Netflix or play a computer game while listening to Pandora.  My cat, Zazzles (yes... my son named him after one of the cats from the Big Bang Theory episode) usually enjoys these down periods because it gives him ample opportunity to make me crazy.

So while I may lament the possible boredom of sitting in my apartment watching/listening to a ballgame, these times also serve an important purpose... it gives me a chance to organize my schedule.

There is SO much to do in this city.  So many sights to see, groups to join, events to attend.  There is a wonderful web site called meetups.com that has a group for almost any interest (or you can create one). The point being, that one should take a couple of days off to plan... and plan you must.  There will always be times when you decide on something on the spur of the moment, but it helps to populate your Google calendar if for no other reason than to list out all of things going on.

P.S., not everything costs money... Miller Outdoor Theater events are free and fantastic.  Book 'em..

That time of year...

It is a sport that we all grew up playing.  A sport that we all fantasize about playing at a professional level because we know how to do it.  We watch the game and tell ourselves "I could do that" because we have done it in our youth.  It is for that reason that I believe that baseball is the greatest game.  Unlike football where the players are all behemoths and anyone under six feet four inches tall is an oddity in basketball, baseball is a sport that we all watch and say to ourselves "I can do that".

Yesterday was opening day for my new home team, the Houston Astros.  They won, 8-2 over the Texas Rangers.  I have always been a baseball fan (short for fanatic or fancier).  I grew up close to St. Louis so the Cardinals are in my blood but I will root for my new home team.  They play at Minute Maid Park near downtown and I cannot wait to go to my first game.  I do love this game.

Play Ball...