In Houston

[Jack in Wilmington]

Just finishing up our stay in Houston. I have to say for a big city, this is one of the nicest we've been to. We're downtown by Minute Maid Park and there is a nice park across the street with restaurants and fountains that are there for the kids to play in and cool off from the heat. There is a free bus to take you on a loop around this area and it stops by some of the local restaurants (House of Blues) (Spaghetti Warehouse) (Hard Rock Cafe) etc. All in all a great place to visit and we really only scratched the surface. We will be back.

The best part of the trip happened yesterday as my nephews volleyball team, which came into the tournament here as the 20th ranked team out of 36 that qualified played some truly inspired volleyball. Through will and determination they wound up winning the Bronze Medal match. Being their last match as a team, as they all move on to college volleyball now, this was really special.

This is a view from our window looking at Minute Maid Park where the Houston Astros play baseball.






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[jdandy]

Jack.......Seems like this trip has been a real blast.

[j3brow]

Very nice. I stayed at that same hotel. Well, at least my view was identical. Hilton of the Americas if I remember correctly. My kids loved the pool on the top floor overlooking the city. Great place to stay.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Jack.......Seems like this trip has been a real blast.

I'm at 33,000 feet now on the way home. Should touch down in Philly around 5:45. It has been a great trip, but it's nice to get home to my system and a nice G&T with a twist.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Originally Posted by j3brow

Very nice. I stayed at that same hotel. Well, at least my view was identical. Hilton of the Americas if I remember correctly. My kids loved the pool on the top floor overlooking the city. Great place to stay.

Good eye my friend. We liked the pool terrace in the evening. It was sort of like a BYOB party. My older nephew was making White Russians and the guy next to us had a case of Landshark on ice. The pool was noisey, but the kids loved it. We would definitely stay there again.

[miner]

Glad you liked the city - how about the humidity? I have become accustomed to it.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Originally Posted by miner

Glad you liked the city - how about the humidity? I have become accustomed to it.

If there was a breeze blowing, it wasn't oppressive. I was surprised at the difference between San Antonio (humidity was low) and Houston. Sometimes the heat even felt good. After sitting in the convention center, where it was quite cool, to watch the volleyball matches, it felt good to warm up a bit while we walked over to the park for lunch. All things considered we really liked it. You always felt safe and the city is very clean.

[jetblack]

Glad you enjoyed your Texas fiesta. Gosh, so much has changed in the Houston area since I lived there. At the risk of sounding like a geezer, at that time, the Astros played in the Astrodome, Houston had an AHL team called the Aeros, and the Woodlands area was in it's infancy.

Some 'food for thought' for your next Texas visit:

http://www.texasmonthly.com/lists/50...q-joints-world