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 trip to the moving picture show

Edwards Greenway Grand Palace Stadium 24

I have always been a bit of a movie buff.  I remember sitting with my father and watching old Laurel and Hardy, Bowery Boys, and Abbot & Costello movies via KPLR TV (St. Louis) on Saturday afternoons.  I would listen to him tell me about some of the stars and co-stars from these flicks and what other movies they were in... so needless to say, I have had a love and knowledge for movies drilled into my noggin'.  I have always tried to see at least one movie a month at the cinema.

One benefit of living in a city as large as Houston is the absolute breadth of theater choices we have.  There is everything from the shiny Edwards Greenway Grand Palace Stadium 24 (what a name) complete with restaurant attached (Harlow's), to the great megaplex AMC 30 on Dunvale, to the quaint and intimate 14 Pews which literally has 14 pews for seating.

My kid's favorite is the AMC megaplex because the ticket booth is outside in the courtyard, although they do love the muli-storied theater at Edwards Greenway.  They loved taking the escalator up to the theater.  I might also add (for all of you adults out there) that there is bar service at the Dunvale location.  Staying in the alcohol vein, 14 Pews regularly serves free beer (donated from St. Arnold's Brewery) to it's patrons.  I am not sure what all of this alcohol service has to do with going to the movies, but who am I to argue with having a drink before a show.  They have been doing that at live theater events for decades.

I also hear tell of a theater that serves dinner while watching... may have to check that one out.

Cheers!

Doing nothing...

It was bound to happen, you know.  Before long I had to come to this point...

I did not do a blessed thing this weekend.  Nope, I sat on my backside for most of the weekend and watched the ole' idiot box.  Forgoing all possibilities and obligations (such as a much needed cleaning of my bathrooms), I stared at a television and a computer screen.  I think that sometime Sunday evening, I actually started to grunt monosyllabic sounds while stuffing a frozen Snickers bar down my gullet.  Yeah, it got pretty bad there.

Now wait a minute... that is not necessarily true.  On Saturday night, I attended a wonderful gathering with some good people for a couple of hours.  The gathering had a New Orleans theme so I made some pralines for the occasion.

Yes, let's stay with this topic.  Because it occurs to me that our little get together happened on November first and we dined outside.  Yup. Outside.

The web guy dining al fresco in November

Now let's think about that for a moment... for those of us that were born and bred north of the city of Dallas, the very notion that you could relax outdoors on November 1st without the aid of a jacket or bonfire is a bit out of the ordinary.   I informed my family out there in the hinterland about my al fresco dining experience and discovered that my mother can have quite the potty mouth on her.  They woke up to freezing temperatures on Sunday morning.

We are entering the time of year that makes Houston a fantastic place to live.  While everyone else is starting to bundle up and there was even snow in Boston this weekend, I am sitting outside eating a wonderful dinner with some friends.

So, yes... I did do something this weekend.  There, I feel much better about myself.  Now I just have to come up with something that justifies wiping out an entire box of frozen Snickers while watching Netflix...

Outside the bubble...

A long time ago in a far away portion of my memory, I lived in "The North".  In fact, I still have family and friends in "The North".  Now that I live in Houston, I have come to appreciate the those hearty souls that occupy the nether regions north of Dallas.  You may be a bit confused at this attitude of mine but there is one simple reason for it...

...it is cold up there in "The North".

I have recently returned from a trip up there.  A trip where I was being enticed to move back up there.  Sure, the leaves were turning colors and on the surface, it looked wonderful.  The wind was blowing and there was the smell of fall in the air.  Folks were serving wonderfully hearty soups and stews (as is the tradition), a cup of hot apple cider or a hot toddy in my hand.  I pulled out the jackets that were gathering mothballs at my apartment in Houston.  I was sporting a fashionable sweater... it was all looking and feeling good.  I will admit that I went to bed that evening feeling really good about a return.

Then it happened...

I awoke the next morning and went for my walk.  It was 25 degrees and the wind was blowing.  I think my nose and right ear froze and fell off...

So I returned back to the comforts (68 degrees) of Houston and immediately drove to Galveston for a day at the beach.  Mid-November and I am walking on the beach with the sand in my toes and dipping my feet into the warm Gulf of Mexico.  Yeah...

So while I will have to travel back up there for the Christmas holidays, I think that it will be a good thing.  It will simply remind me that I really like Houston.

Coming up on a year...

It is hard to believe, but I have been in Houston almost a year now.  I moved south the weekend before Christmas and have been having an absolute ball here in the Bayou City.  I know that I still have two months to go before I hit the year mark, but I had some time to sit and reflect on what a wonderful year it has been.  The fantastic places I have visited here in Houston, the absolutely wonderful friends I have made.

I about fell out of my chair laugh at a post I read last week from a Houstonian that said "FINALLY, it is camping weather".  Um... it is November, but I completely understood the point.  Today, it will reach 70 degrees and some natives are chilly.  But I do understand...(...I think)

With the holidays approaching, I can't help but get excited over the possibilities.  There is a wonderful opportunity out there just waiting to break.  Let's see what happens...

Look at the faces...

People are wonderful things.  People have viewpoints that drive you crazy, make you think and some will just make you stop dead in your tracks and wonder.  People have styles and habits ranging from the hilarious to the awe inspiring.  Here in Houston, we have some of the widest variety there is in the United States.

Diversity is woven into the fabric of this city from the variety of places to dine to all of the ethnic festivals.   You can just walk down the street and see it.  You can hear the languages spoken and the garbs being worn.  All of this coming together into one city and it is magnificent.

My apartment complex is a great example.  Just in my little section there are three hispanic families, four Indian families, a Pakistani couple, a group of (I believe) Nigerian taxi drivers, and an Arabic family.  All of these wonderful people all living together in one (what would be) small, city block of apartments.  The folks are all polite and happy.  All of the kids are rambunctious and fun to watch.

Life is really good.

With a little bit of this...

First off, the ExxonMobile symphony series continues at Miller Outdoor tonight.  For any of you that have never seen a live symphony performance, you really should.  A live performance is so much better than listening to the radio or a recording.  I don't know why, but it really does...

Staying in the listening mode, I just have to reiterate that there are concerts and happenings going on all the time.  Discovered that the burb north of Houston called The Woodlands has a pavilion with an outstanding line up this summer.  They have everything from Big Time Rush to the Jonas Brothers to Black Sabbath playing this summer.  This is something to definitely check out.

I will also try to do another photo walk somewhere.  Not sure where yet, but I know I can find somewhere.  Also starting to get the itch for a new city.  Maybe Austin, maybe San Antonio...

When the munchkins arrive...

Two of my favorite people showed up over the past weekend and will be here for a couple of weeks.  Since I have not stockpiled enough vacation time yet, these two will be heading off to camp during the day.

Note to parents:  there are more camps and daily activities to do in this city than you can shake a stick at...

My two are enrolled in the Main Street Theater summer camp.  This wonderful camp has the kids creating their own play complete with dialog and choreography.  And we are not talking a live improv at show time.  No, they will have lines to memorize, marks to hit, and scenes to fill.  Of course, the folks who run the camp are smart because the first day the kids learned stage fighting.  My ten year old daughter came running to the car and yelled "I learned how to fake slap someone in the face and kick them in the head!" That is my little princess...

Aside from the camp, we will be visiting the zoo (one of my favorite places), the Natural Science Museum and heading down to the beach in Galveston.  Since my kids live in Indiana, which to my surprise does not have an ocean or gulf to it's name, they will love to frolic in the salt water.

There are a number of other things that we will be doing such as enjoying a couple of performances at the Miller Outdoor Auditorium and listening to zydeco at the Juneteenth celebration.

Fun is to be had as always...

Dancing the night away...

...and then tipping back a few.

Houston Metropolitan Dance Company - Photo by Simon Gentry

The Houston Metropolitan Dance Company is performing tonight at the Miller Outdoor Theater.  I will admit that it took me a while to warm up to modern dance.  I credit the television show "So you think you can dance" with educating me in this realm.  Now, I have come to appreciate a lot of modern dance for the beauty that it displays.  The stories that can be told through dance are as wonderfully pleasing to watch as the sheer elegance of a Viennese waltz.

As I have stated on this blog repeatedly, this is one of the benefits of living in the fourth largest city in the United States.  I have seen the Houston Ballet, the Houston Grand Opera, and tonight, the Houston Met.  Life is really good.

Tomorrow is the Houston Beer Fest.  It is basically a showcase of different beers from around the world with musical acts playing near Hermann Park.  Where I grew up in Springfield, IL (hometown of Abraham Lincoln) we had a yearly festival called "Lincoln Fest", it was a street festival that became known as "Drinkin' Fest".  Wonder if this will be similar?

Almost forgot to mention that I went to Jones Hall to see the Blue Man Group on Tuesday night.  If you have not been to Jones Hall, I would really recommend attending an event there.  It is a beautiful theater.  From what I understand, Jones Hall is home to the Grand Opera and the Symphony.

The age of everything

There is something to be said about history.  I lived in Williamsburg, Virginia and the place is just dripping with 300 year old places and buildings.  The Jamestown settlement, Yorktown, and Colonial Williamsburg are all wonderfully fascinating places to live and visit.  Throughout Virginia there are living museums and architectural examples of the colonial era.

Having grown up in Springfield, Illinois, and having the last name of Herndon brought about a wealth of history from the mid-19th century.  Growing up in Abraham Lincoln's "home town" and having my great (x4) grand pappy who was Lincoln's longest serving law partner (and biographer) immeshed me in that era.  Growing up with the history of the Chicago fire, and the Gateway to the West (St. Louis) instilled a sense of place.  For that matter, I grew up in a house that was about 100 years old.

Houston is not that at all.  It is still a
young city.  Granted, it was founded in 1836 but the stories tell that it really did not take off until oil was discovered in 1901 and after the Galveston hurricane of 1900.  Evidently, after the hurricane wiped out most of Galveston people figured it might be better to move inland a bit.

But being in a young city is not a bad thing.  There is a wonderful vibrancy about the place.  There is not the worry of removing a building that is 200 years old.  The folks of this city are still exploring their sense of place and that can give a wonderful sense of energy to the area.

Now do not get me wrong, there is history all around Houston and the folks are rightfully proud of it.  There are also a lot of wonderful areas to visit in the vicinity to learn about Texas.  But, I want to applaud the vibrancy of a major metropolitan city that is still discovering itself and not stuck in the past.

...and a conversation about bats...

Okay... Where to begin... Or for that matter, where to end.

This weekend I witnessed garbage trucks being choreographed, sat on a lawn and watched an outstanding Houston Grand Opera performance, checked out a Greek festival, went to the zoo and even had a wonderful conversation about bats in a central american country (if memory serves, it was Costa Rica)...

Trash Dance at 14 Pews

Started Friday night with a movie called "Trash Dance" at 14 Pews.  This was an absolutely charming and funny movie about a choreographer in Austin that spent time with the city solid waste management folks and then created a performance using the trucks and the employees as the dancers.  After the film, the director of the film and one of the cast members of the film held a fun Q&A session and then there was a reception outside.  I, went off to the Down House for a bite and a drink.  Great evening.  This would have made my weekend, but...

Then on Saturday I spent a good part of the day looking for (now, get this...) a lawn chair so I could see the Houston Grand Opera.  Yeah, I know... I was thinking the same thing.  I texted a friend to say "I just feel weird shopping for a lawn chair to go see the opera".  But that I did even though I never could pull the trigger on the purchase.

As I have discussed before, the Houston arts community really embraces everyone.  The Ballet, the Grand Opera, the Houston Symphony, and the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company all have free performances for the public at the Miller Outdoor Theater.  I am not sure you will find that in every city.  Bravo Houston art folks!

Anyway, the performance of La Boheme was phenomenal.  For folks that are new to the opera, La Boheme is a good one to start out watching.  The story line is wonderful (if you have ever seen Rent, that was based on the opera),  Puccini's music is easy to listen to, and my goodness, can these folks sing.

Miller is a wonderful venue.  You can sit on the lawn and there are ticketed seats.  They do not charge for the tickets, but you do have to get tickets for the seated area.  Then they make two announcements before the show.  At ten minutes before, they warn all of the ticketed patrons that they have to take their seats and then at five minutes they release the empty seats to everyone.  So while I did not make it to get a ticket, I did get a seat once they released the tickets.  A great night.

Then on Sunday was a wonderful trip to the Houston Zoo to visit some family members that live in the primate area...  :-)  What a fantastic weekend.  I do love this city.

Out there on the cheap...

I was always warned about the expense of big city living.  Houston, Chicago, New York, LA... all of these magical lands where you are supposed to have a salary in the millions in order to enjoy the amenities.

Yeah... not so much...

You see, this month is a very, very tight budget month for the web guy.  Some unforeseen expenses reared their evil head and things got a bit... well, tight.  So, I just have to stay inside and hibernate?  Nope.  This weekend I will be taking pictures at the arboretum, seeing a show (or two) at 14 Pews, and there are two outdoor shows at the Miller Outdoor Amphitheater.

Total to see all of these things - $0.  Yup, nothing out of pocket.

Now that does not include food but that is fine.  I can cook and (if necessary) get a quick bite on the cheap.  The point being is that there is simply SO much to do.  There are events like the Houston Grand Opera, The Houston Symphony, some plays at the Alley Theater and much much more.  So even though right now I have to screw down my spending, that does not mean I have to screw down a bit of my entertainment.

Enjoy!

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!

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.

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...

Um...yeah... more about food.

A lof of cinnamon bread and a loaf of white sandwich bread.

Okay, if you have been reading these posts you know that I am a bit hung up on food.  I do love to discover new tastes and places.  But there is also another facet of my food fascination ..I also love to make the dishes.  This leads me to another benefit of living in a major metropolitan area.

My apartment is situated on Westheimer street.  A couple of blocks from where I live I have my standard Kroger grocery store, but if I travel one block further down Voss street, I run into Trader Joes and then a block (or two) further down I have a Whole Foods market.  So... on one grocery run, I can hit all three and pick and choose my items.

But the best part is the specialty markets all over the city.  Simply put, darn near every nationality has their own market.  There is the Chinese market, Mexican market, the Bolivian market by my apartment  I think I even saw a Greek market for specialty items and many more.  There is also (as there are everywhere else) farmer's markets for fresh local produce.  I am loving this...

So, when I have a recipe that I want to try I do not have to worry about finding the ingredients ..  I am sure there is a market that carries it somewhere in this city.  The only issue that can arise is that there is also a restaurant right next to the market... c'est la vie.

P.S., Yes, I made the bread in the photo (puffed up chest).  There is simply nothing better than the smell of bread baking in the house.

Giant circle of art...and food

What a great weekend!

On Saturday, I attended the Bayou City Art Festival in Memorial Park.  It took me over four hours to peruse the booths.  The artists were from all over the country and there was something there for everyone.  Paintings, sculpture, photography, photography paintings... you get the idea.  A plethora of mediums and styles to suit everyone.

I knew that this would be wonderful right from the start when the first exhibit at the entrance was a display of brightly colored, outdoor, wind-powered, mobiles.  I am probably mistaken in their description, but man were they just a joy to look at as they moved in the breeze.  It just got better from there... the overwhelming number of artists were very friendly and loved to talk about how they created their work.  I did take my camera, but I just have a thing about taking pictures of an artists pieces.

After wandering around for over four hours, I was famished so I headed over to one of my favorite burger joints - 5 Guys Burgers and Fries.  Cheeseburger with grilled onions and grilled mushrooms... oh yeah!

Headed back to 14 Pews on Sunday to see a showing of Don Hertzfeldt's animated short film "It's Such a Beautiful Day".  I love going to this place because the company is wonderful.  The film was not my cup of tea, but there were a couple of patrons there that LOVED the film and the after show discussion was very entertaining.  Then it hit me...

DAMN!!!  I missed the Houston Food Truck Festival (Haute Wheels Houston)!  Next year...

Tapas in Rice

Asparagus spears and a fantastic Artichoke heart salad
 with a great vinaigrette.

I do loves me some Tapas...

Had a wonderful treat last night and visited Mi Luna (thank you, Groupon).  I have always been a fan of Tapas because of its nature.  It is a share-able notion.  You order a plate and a group of you share the food. That way... the offerings that you can sample expand according to the number of folks in attendance.  When I was in Spain (Bilbao), you could actually roam to other folks tables/bars and sample the offerings they had and vice versa (have fork, will travel).  It is actually a lot of fun.

The other lovely thing about the evening is that Mi Luna is situated in the Rice Village.  This neighborhood (adjacent to Rice University) is a real treat to wander around and contains a real plethora of shops and restaurants.  From a chocolate bar, used book shop, a couple of wonderful furniture shops and even a Sherwin Williams paint store thrown in for good measure.  After dinner, just walking around the residential area is wonderful with all of the Live Oak trees lining the streets.

Wonderful way to spend an evening...