Friday, January 13 – Our daughter, Carrie, was able to leave work a little early today so we headed to her apartment in downtown Houston to enjoy the evening. She lives in a very historic building called The Corinthian. At the turn of the twentieth century, it was not only the first steel structure in the city, but at an impressive eight stories was also one of the tallest buildings in the state - a skyscraper of its day! It is located in the Downtown Historic District.
We parked at Carrie’s place and headed the few blocks to Discovery Green and Minute Maid Stadium, home of the Houston Astros baseball team. This is also the area where many of the upcoming NFL Super Bowl events will be held.
We needed to walk through the Law District of Houston on our way to Discovery Green. Located in this area are the courthouses and many, many law firms.
Harris County Courthouse
Harris County Civil Courthouse
Passing by the Houston Astros Stadium.
Things were happening today for this weekend's Houston Marathon. It seems like something is always brewing in the big city. We made a stop at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The Convention Center was set-up for the runners to check-in and for non-runners to get involved as a fan experience. There were hundred's of informational tents, freebies, and, of course, tons of runners gear for sale. One part of the NFL Experience for the Super Bowl will be held here also.
They have put new signs up all around town for the Super Bowl.
Marsha and Carrie having some fun with the Gieco Gecko. 
They had a really neat mural of the Houston landscape. The landscape was made up of all the participants’ names. Carrie has a friend running in the Marathon held on Sunday. We found Holly’s name. Pretty cool idea.
There were photo booths just to add to the fun.
Discovery Green is a park next door to the stadium where many outdoor events are held. They were setting up for Super Bowl LI, so we just walked around and enjoyed the activity.
There is a huge section of Discovery Green dedicated to the arts. There is a section that has a different theme every few months. The Enchanted Promenade, ten colorful, giant peony bouquets, is the current display.
It was getting dark signaling the start of Houston Nightlife. We have never experienced a big city with all the restaurants and bars. There were thousands of people downtown enjoying the city after dark. I should mention that with all the people about, we never felt threatened or uncomfortable. Although, it is wise to be aware of your surroundings.
We visited several bars enjoying some craft beers and glasses of wine. We also played darts, and table top shuffleboard in a couple of the places. Of course, we enjoyed some snacks too!
One of the newest, hottest places in Houston is called Biggio’s. It is a two-level sports bar named after the former Astros All-Star Craig Biggio. This restaurant/bar is located directly across from the Convention Center.
If you visit Houston, don’t miss Phoenicia Foods. Phoenicia Specialty Foods carries more than 15,000 products with down-to-earth pricing from more than 50 countries. The also have a MKT BAR (short for Market Bar) that is beautiful.
One of the neatest bars in town is OKRA Charity Saloon. A group of independent restaurant and bar owners have launched a unique concept--a bar where 100 percent of the proceeds are donated to charity. The charities are all locally based. The charity with the most votes at the end of the month receives the next month's proceeds. For each drink purchased, guests receive one vote that they may cast that night for one of four charities selected by OKRA’s members.
We gave our four votes to Main Street Theater.
Carrie could have gone on for hours but by 9 o'clock we were tuckered out and were ready to walk back to Carrie's loft apartment and head back to the Houston Elks Lodge campground. It was a very enjoyable evening with Carrie and fun to experience Houston after dark.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day.
