A new adventure ahead...

There is a new adventure ahead of me.  While I have absolutely loved my time in Houston (and would recommend this city to anyone who is interested), I have been given an opportunity that I just can't pass up.  So, at the end of this month this blog will transition in a new exploration.

I shall miss all of the things that have made this city great.  The Art Car Parade, the Bayou City Art Festival, trips to Galveston, the rows and rows of restaurants, and especially Miller Outdoor Theater.

The hospitality of the folks of Houston is something I will always appreciate.  The forth largest city in the United States has many things to be very proud of and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself here.

Salut!
New Blog for a new adventure - The Corn Bred Kid in Cali

Well, it was bound to happen...

It just had to happen at some point.  After nearly three years of attending (almost) weekly performances at Miller Outdoor Theater, there had to be a clunker.  The worst part of it is that it had absolutely nothing to do with the performance but with my fellow audience members around me.

You see, I attended the Houston Ballet's performance of Giselle on Saturday night and per usual, I was in my regular seat in the back corner (stage left) of the audience.  Not sure why, but I always pick that spot.  There honestly is not a bad seat in the house...

Anyway, the evening was marred by folks who decided to carry on conversations right next to me.  The place was packed (both on the hill and in the seating area) and some folks were looking for a seat.  They were a bit vocal.  I understand looking for something but please try to do it without chatting about your day in a normal voice.  Since a number of them could not find a seat, they decided to congregate on the back corner(s).  Ugh!

The ushers did their best to shoo them away, but they were like a herd of cats.  The ushers shoo'd them from right by my seat and then they congregate in another section and when they get shoo'd from there they return to my area.  Unfortunately, I left before the end.  Too bad, because when I could see the stage the dancer were absolutely wonderful.

People from all over

Happy Cinco de Mayo! (I know that it is day late...)

Being a stereo-typical, corn-fed, midwestern born, middle aged, white guy I feel that I can fit right in and contribute to the diversity that is the city of Houston.  Living in one of the most diverse cities in these United States, I take great pride in bringing my unique culture to the masses.

That may sound rather silly, but in a very weird sense it is true.  Because of the diversity of this city, I feel that everyone can contribute their own particular brand of culture to the melting pot and have it appreciated.

This past weekend I was (as usual) at Miller Outdoor for a  Cinco de Mayo celebration that featured Los Lobos.  It included an emcee that is a television host from one of the spanish speaking stations and the best part... he spoke mainly in spanish to the crowd.  Oh sure... he interrupted his spiel to inform the english speakers in the audience what he was saying, but we were there for a Cinco de Mayo celebration which is a major Mexican holiday.  So naturally, the prime focus of the presentation should be Mexican - including the speeches.

I guess it goes back to the heart of this city - diversity.  There seems to be a cultural celebration of some sort going on here every weekend and that is marvelous.  There is a restaurant for basically any nationality here (check out the Bosnian cuisine at Cafe Pita) and every year most nationalities have a festival.  You really cannot beat it.

More than the buildings

It is more than the buildings, you know.  More than the seemingly endless shops, restaurants, parks, and theaters.  It really is that people that make this such a great city.  I know that every metropolitan area will espouse the folks that inhabit it, but the case for Houston is a very strong one for one simple reason.

Immigration.

You see, Houston is one of the most diverse communities in the United States.  The population of Houston is made of folks from all over this country and (for that matter) the world.  Let's set aside the benefits of having people from other countries living here for a moment.  I can make an entire argument about the culture that having folks from all over these United States living here.

For example, I had an extremely enjoyable lunch last week with a colleague who (like me) has bounced around quite a bit.  She has lived in Japan (as have I) and enjoyed experiences in many cities.  It was a charming, funny and informative lunch.  We laughed and picked each other's brains about certain situations.  She is an amazingly wonderful conversationalist that could discuss many topics.

The best part..?  We were sitting in her office having a box lunch.  Now that is just one example.  Every time I go out to a show at Miller, or standing in line at a shop or restaurant, I can usually fall into an enjoyable conversation with someone.  It really is that easy here.

Houston is a city of immigrants and it is that fact that makes this place such a wonderful place to be.

A walk on the moon

Okay...first off... NASA is just COOL!!  The kids and I visited the Johnson Space Center and it was simply awesome.

I have been interested in space all of my life, not maniacal about it mind you, but always interested.  Well, this place was definitely worth the visit.  Cannot say enough about it.  There is also a tram tour of the facility and we got to see some of the new "deep space" stuff that they are working on.

After the Nasa visit, my young 'uns got to experience a Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich.  Now, what I learned was that the term Banh Mi literally means "sandwich" so that was a bit of a letdown, but the sandwiches were not.  Great place called Hughies.

Also got a chance to go to Sky Zone.  My knees and ankles would not allow direct participation, but the kids bounced around like crazy.  It is a trampoline fun house with trampolines on the walls as well.  Half hour for $10 and the kids (15 and 12) were exhausted.

It was wonderful to have too many places to go and actually have to make choices.  But then again, that is Houston.  There is always something to do here.

The rugrats are coming..! The rugrats are coming..!

The Web Guy and the rugrats.

After a lovely spring break vacation (the university allots a three day weekend for staff - no I am not complaining...).  I am now in the midst of preparing for the impending invasion of teenagers.  One fifteen year old Prince and a twelve year old Princess shall grace the halls of the manor.  This also means that there shall be new rules/realities within the manor.

1. The day shall not begin before 10 am AT THE EARLIEST!
2. The carefully laid out plans of the Lord (Me) have a great chance of being tossed aside by said teenagers.
3. The Lord of the manor (Me) shall lose all control of the viewing habits within the manor.
4. The Lord of the manor (Me) shall have to deal with an overly pampered and hyped up Cat of the manor once the Prince and Princess return to the corn of Indiana (He gets this wide-eyed, manic look on his face that screams "Play with Me!' for about a week after they leave).

Now...having understood what is about to happen, I am thrilled beyond belief and the impending outbreak of pandemonium.  Thank goodness that I live in this area because there is no shortage of things to do.

The Bayou City Art Fair is this upcoming weekend.  If you have not been to one of these, I cannot recommend it enough.  I am finally going to visit NASA's Johnson Space Center.  Then there is the mandatory visits to the Houston Zoo and the Museum of Natural Science.

My son has already decreed that he MUST schedule a visit with his Houston friends which I have no idea what that may entail.  Maybe a visit to the Galleria Mall (... that IS what these teenage types do isn't it?).

So, I have cleaned the apartment and made the beds.  I have stocked up with snacks.  Life is going to be grand!

Making the lineup...

The rugrats are heading back to town!  The rugrats are heading back to town!

The excitement is palpable and I am starting to run around like a chicken with it's head cut off.  You see, I have to create a schedule.  Now it is certainly not hard to come up with things to do in the greater Houston area.  That is the easy part.  The hard part is to not to cram too many things in...

On top of all of that, my lovely young lady sent me a gift over the weekend that will be sure to be a hit when the rugrats arrive.  I received a milkshake maker and a book with recipes for making syrups and sundae toppings.  She really is the best...

In my mis-spent youth, I worked at a restaurant with an old fashioned soda/ice cream station so I got good at making milkshakes, ice cream floats, egg creams, sundaes, and the like.  The book has recipes for making homemade cola syrup, New Orleans Mead (root beer), and all of the fruit syrups.  I know that the young 'uns and I will have fun.

So... we have a trip to Galveston on tap (of course), and I still have not gotten out to the NASA Space center (Johnson Space Center for those of us "in the know"), and I just found out that there is a place that has trampolines all over the place.  And then, there are all of the restaurants...

Going to be a good visit.  Guess I should clean the place up a bit...

Simply awash with goodies

The Web Guy and Shasta

First off, I would like to let everyone know that I found a great breakfast place.  Well... if truth be told, I should probably amend that to say that my young lady friend found it.  I just drove.  Anyway, it is the Fountain View Cafe.  My young lady friend always has a hankering for biscuits and our search turned up this place.  The food was great, the coffee was good and plentiful, and the biscuits were delicious.  A place to keep on the list.

Last Friday we had a birthday party for the University of Houston.  The University is 88 years young and we pulled out the stops.  We had the pep band, cheerleaders, dance squad and the mascot Shasta.  We also had cake (enough to feed about 400 college students), t-shirts, temporary tattoos, and a photo booth.  It was genuinely a lot of fun and we had the students turn out on a Friday.  Of course it should be noted that it is extremely easy to create a crowd of college students, just give away t-shirts and cake.

It is also hysterical to witness a group of 18-22 year olds trying so hard to look cool.  There is a band playing, cheerleaders cheering, dance squad dancing and the mascot is bouncing around, and here are about 400 students forcing themselves to look bored.  Being the rather exuberant man myself, I am of course chastising this group of dour individuals.  They in turn look at me as if I am a fifty year old man with mental issues, but that is okay... I am having fun.

Not-so Kinky Boots

Sixth Street Austin

...and a good time was had by all.

My young lady friend and I had a great time last weekend and I learned another lesson.  I learned that while it is great to visit some places, there is no place like home.  Pure and simple.

Austin is a great city.  The two of us roamed the South Congress area and 6th Street.  There were a lot of great vintage shops to peruse, music to listen to and places to eat.  The Young Lady also noticed that there are a lot more people wearing cowboy boots in Austin than they do in Houston.  I casually confirmed that notion on the theory that Houston is a much more cosmopolitan city than Austin.

So yes, Austin is a great place to visit but I do believe that I would rather live in Houston for one very important reason - breadth of activities.  You see,  I could definitely see enjoying "the weirdness" of Austin but I do believe that I would run out of things to do before long or end up in a rut of doing the same thing over and over.  Here in the Bayou City, there is such a laundry list of constantly changing thing to do.  Austin has South by Southwest, but Houston has so many more things.  Anyway, I'll stay here.

Next up was going with the Young Lady to see Kinky Boots at the Theater Under the Stars (TUTS).  Once again, the venue was gorgeous.  The Young Lady and I were a bit tired after two days of walking and making the three hour drive earlier in the day but the thought of relaxing at a broadway musical sounded great.

My review of Kinky Boots..."Meh" (shrugging shoulders).  You could recite what was going to happen three minutes into the show and while Cindi Lauper's score was good, it was much like her pop career and you could not remember any song ten minutes after you left the building.  Nothing stuck.  You enjoyed it while listening to it, but...

Anyway, a great (and much needed) weekend with the Young Lady.  I do miss her and can't wait to see her again.

The crust alone...

There is a jewel here in Houston that I am surprised I have not mentioned before.  It is the go to place for desserts and pseudo dining...

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The House of Pies!

There are two locations here in Houston (on Westheimer and on Kirby) and while it bills itself as a "family dining" place, no one is fooled by this.  It is simply the place to go to get a slice of pie.  Everything from your traditional fruit pies to the creme pies to cheesecakes.  Now they do have a great set of cakes (the carrot cake is great), but the shiny baubles are the pies.

Now, this weekend the Web Guy is getting a visit from the very lovely lady and we will be venturing to Austin for my first visit there.  Now that SHOULD the center of our discussions, but no... we are ensuring that our schedule includes two mandatory stops.  Everything else revolves around this... pie at the House of Pies (which we will hit after seeing Kinky Boots at TUTS on Saturday night) and sopapillas at Molina's Cantina (traditionally before I take her to the airport).   It is funny (but not surprising) that places to eat here in Houston override pretty much everything else.

So eat up, folks.  Go out and grab a slice (or two) to go with a cup of coffee.  I know I will be...

Sunshine on my shoulder and Austin on my mind

Okay... it is February 12th and it is going to be 65 degrees today.  I know that this hackneyed explorer has said this type of thing before, but I still cannot quite grasp it.  It is going to be 65 degrees in the middle of February!  It is 17 degrees today where I grew up...

Lord how I love this place!

Anyhoo, I am also getting very excited because next weekend I will be making my first trek into the city of Austin.  My very special friend is flying in to Houston as a belated birthday present and we will discover the state capitol (supposedly there is music there...).  I have been scoping out the places to visit on Sixth Street and also on South Congress street.  I have no idea what we will find, but I know that we will have a ball.  The two of us have been in a blues mood lately so that will be the focus.

What we have a tendency to do is to map out and plan to visit a few places which gives us a battle plan.  Then, once we get there we have the total freedom to throw everything to the wind and wander.  I believe that the mapping give us something to fall back on if our wandering needs help.  It really is a great way to explore.

Now... I want to go walk around outside.  This weather is gorgeous!

Always something...

I have made a bit of a discovery.  It very well could be that I am the last one to this party, but the young lady I am head over heels for just introduced me to Jeff Daniels.  Yes, the actor Jeff Daniels...only did you know that he is also a singer/songwriter?

 Now I believe that the primary reason my lady knew this is because she and Jeff are native Michiganders and those people have a tendency to have some sort of telekinetic thing going on with each other...(people from Wisconsin have similar capabilities), but I am impressed nonetheless.  And I also have to say that I am very impressed with Jeff Daniels as a musician.  So impressed that I am going to buy his albums.

I guess it just goes to show you that there is usually much more than what is on the surface of things.  There is almost always another layer or aspect to what you see.  So, it is with a deep sense of gratitude that I learn that lesson again and again.  I try never to focus on the appearances but it is always great to have the lesson smack you upside the head every now and then.

And while we are at it...give Jeff Daniels' album "Days Like These" a listen.  You just might like it.

Winter lineup

Thick socks are a must!

Okay, okay... for Houston, winter is here.  The temps are dipping into the lower 40's... possibly even (gasp) into the freezing zone and the folks here are a bit taken aback.  As a born and bred northerner (where it is currently 7 degrees), I can offer a bit of advice to these poor stricken folks that will help.

First off.. THICK SOCKS!  Go out and get a few pairs of hunter socks from a place like Gander Mountain.  I cannot tell you how much this makes a difference in the winter.  "Warm feet, warm heart" is an old Amish saying and those folks know how to brave the cold.

The other winter time occupation has to do with the kitchen.  There is nothing that will warm you up and keep off the chill better than to make some home made bread, soup and stews.  Because of the length of time that it takes to make these items, it is a really great way to spend an afternoon basking in the warmth of an oven.  The smells of what is cooking will naturally cheer you up and the eating of your concoctions will (for some reason) keep the warmth with you longer.

So cheer up Houstonians.  These three or four weeks of winter will pass before you know it and we will once again be on our way back to the 70s, 80s, and 90s.  Go get some socks, make a hearty beef stew for dinner (or loaded potato soup), curl up in the blanket and watch a movie.  I will make the popcorn.

Back in the Saddle...

The Web guy and the Web kids

I sincerely hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday break.  I made the insane 14 hour drive up to the frozen north to see my family.  Now when I say insane drive, please take that with a grain of salt.  Sure 14 hours is a long time to be driving, but what I am referring to with my quip is the scenery during the trek....specifically a certain three to four hour period between Little Rock, Arkansas and the Missouri line.  'Taint pretty, McGee... (look up the reference).  I actually saw a house that had ten to fifteen mattresses on the front and side lawns.  But the best part was that the mattresses seemed to have multiple burnt holes in each of them.  It was as if they were experimenting with explosives... 

The trick to these marathon types of drives is to simply put your head down and bull through it...as my father has always done.  No, actually it helps to get out of the car periodically.  I always get out for a bit (get a drink/snack) when I fill up the car and get out about half way between fill ups.  I cannot stress enough how wonderful a bluetooth ear piece is as well.

A wonderful time was had by all as you can see by the picture.