HUGE SURPRISE!!!

Sunday, April 1 – This weekend was moving day! Not for us but for our daughter, Carrie. She was surprised by her landlord three weeks ago when he told her he sold her loft, and she would have to move ASAP. Luckily, she found another nice place in downtown Houston. She got busy, packed her belongings, hired a mover, and relocated this weekend. Due to the holiday, it actually ended up being a good time to move because downtown Houston was deserted the entire time. Everyone must have taken off for Easter/Passover.

We started early Friday morning and by shortly after noon, the movers were paid and on their way to their next job. Now to get things unboxed and put away. We worked till about four o'clock when Carrie had to take some things down to the rental office. When she returned there was another SURPRISE!!!

She had two additional “helpers” with her. Our daughter, Kelly, and husband, Dave, had flown in to surprise us for the Easter weekend. WOW! What a great surprise! They were a great help in getting Carrie settled in to her new place and a wonderful addition to our holiday weekend. Carrie is not settled in but she's uncluttered and comfy in her new home.

L-R: Marsha, Paul, Carrie, Kelly, Dave.

We spent a wonderful time at a local restaurant watching the Cleveland Indians (win) and the Houston Astros (win). The weather was beautiful. We had a bite to eat, some beverages and a lot of fun playing Jenga.

The entire family is here for Marsha's Easter dinner, so she is in heaven! And of course, we ran out this morning to buy eggs. Paul thought this was going to be the first Easter we didn't color eggs. Duh! What was he thinking. The family will be arriving shortly, and we'll be making memories for another Happy Easter. 

Decorating eggs.

We went for a walk on the Edible Arbor Trail. This trail features several groves of hardy trees and shrubs that produce edible fruits and nuts along Missouri City's Oyster Creek Trail. The trail is a little over two miles and includes 213 trees within 19 groves. Residents and walkers are invited  to pick any of the fruits or nuts for free. Nothing is ripe right now.

Golden Fig trees.

Mexican plum trees.

We really enjoy playing games when we get together. Today was no exception. Farkle was in order.

Dave really gets excited when we play.

Lastly, we take some photos to save for years to come. Thank you so much Kelly and Dave for flying to Houston to surprise us. Thanks, Carrie, for keeping the surprise. What an awesome and blessed weekend we had. We will be leaving Houston tomorrow heading towards Florida for a super visit with Paul’s brother, John.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

ENJOYING OUR TIME IN HOUSTON, TEXAS

Wednesday, March 28 – We've been in Houston for a little over a month and are preparing to head to Florida to visit family. After spending Easter weekend with our daughter, Carrie, we'll head East. It's been a busy time, but we've also spent many a day just relaxing here at the Houston Elks Lodge Campground and enjoying the spring weather.

It's been fantastic to visit with Carrie. She's preparing to move into a new downtown apartment, so she is very busy. This was not her choice. Her landlord sold her loft and gave her three weeks to find a new place. Carrie has moved several times and seems to have everything pretty much under control. We're happy to be here to help ease a little of the stress involved in moving. She'll put Paul to work installing a couple TV's and possibly rearrange some furniture after the movers finish their work.

We've spent several Saturday afternoons downtown enjoying the city life with Carrie and watching NCAA March Madness in several of the thousands of sports bars around town. It sure has been a crazy and exciting tournament with numerous bracket busting games. Hope you've been able to enjoy a couple games!

We are always discovering new places to watch the game, grab a bite to eat or just quench our thirst. Today we discovered King’s Bierhaus.

We shared an order of the American Sampler, which is one of their signature dishes. Delicious. We all ordered one of their German beers on tap. Yes, Marsha even had one, and she hates beer. She said that if you don’t like beer, try the Stiegl Radler, Grapefruit. She loved it.

Carrie took us to the Art Car Graveyard that she accidentally found during one of her many outings around Houston. We were in town for the Art Car Parade last April but unfortunately will miss it this year. It's a wonderful event and a great time! This scrap metal yard is where many of the old cars, and parts removed from unused vehicles, end-up after the parade. We recognized many of these cars and weird parts from past parades and visits to the museum. The museum (you can read about our visit here) is where the car art is on display and makes for an unusual place to visit while in town. We highly recommend a visit to the Art Car Museum.

Before…Azaba, 2011. It isn’t your eyes; it is a bit blurry…hehe

Graveyard….Azaba, 2018

Before…Eele, 2011

Graveyard, 2018

Before…Cable Guy, 2011

Graveyard…All that is left, 2018

Before…2012, Mr. Green.

Graveyard, 2018. Not too bad.

Before, 2011. No idea of the name.

Graveyard, 2018

This weekend is Easter and a sure sign of Spring with warmer weather finally arriving in Houston. Of course, Marsha has planned dinner for Easter Sunday and was adamant about Paul not even thinking about leaving before Tuesday, April 3. This will be the last we see Carrie until her planned visit to Ohio later this summer. Of course, we'll return here next fall on our way to visit places unknown at this time!

A little taste of Spring here in Houston for our family and friends up North.

We'll be heading East along the Gulf next week for an eventual stop in Florida. Stop back and enjoy a few days at the beach in beautiful Amelia Island, Florida. See you there!

We wish all our family and friends a very blessed Easter day!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

WE CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS IN HOUSTON!!

Saturday, March 7 – We met up with Carrie and her friend, Holly, to visit one of Houston's historical sites. Located near the edge of downtown on the Buffalo Bayou is the “Cistern”. The “Cistern,” as it has been dubbed, was the City of Houston’s first underground drinking-water reservoir. Built in 1927, it provided decades of service until it was drained when it sprang a leak that couldn’t be located or contained. This huge concrete structure is hidden within the multi-use Buffalo Bayou Park, right next to the skateboard track. If you weren't looking for it, you would never know it was there.

Bike rentals are everywhere in Houston.

On top of the Cistern is a beautiful lawn area, stage, and a patio area with a gorgeous view of the downtown skyline. We have visited this area several times in the past and had no idea there was a hidden gem below our feet.

Down Periscope was built in 2015 to let visitors take a peek into the Cistern. It is being repair after the recent hurricane.

Carrie and Holly check the periscope out.

There are still signs of recent Hurricane Harvey flood that buried this area under more than 50 feet of roaring water. The city is coming back but will take time and tons of money to completely rebound from that disaster.

The Buffalo Bayou is still brown. In the next two photos you can see how it took out so many trees along the water.

The visit to the Cistern begins with a stop at the Visitor Center where we picked up our passes for the tour. The tour costs $5. You can make reservations online.  We then proceeded to an inconspicuous door in the wall off to the side of the Visitor's Center. Once opened, we passed through the door down a short walkway into a cool underground waiting room. After a brief explanation and review of safety instructions, our guide asked us to follow her down another walkway into the Cistern.

Our wonderful, informative guide.

We think our guide memorized everything and anything knowable about the Cistern. Marsha had to go back to the Internet to refresh her memory on the facts. Unused for years, the 87,500-square-foot expanse includes 25-foot tall, slender concrete columns set row upon row, hovering over two inches of water on the reservoir’s floor. The space, which was only very minimally renovated to make it safe for the public to access, feels like a work of art in itself. The size of one-and-a-half football fields.

Oh My Gosh! This place is awesome. 421 enormous columns.

The guide explained that several inches of water is constantly pumped through the Cistern system and onto the floor to keep the concrete moist, and the air damp in order to maintain the environment that has existed in the Cistern for nearly 80+ years. The walkway around the perimeter, safety railings, emergency exits, and LED lighting are the only additions added to the Cistern since opening to the public.

The space is also accessible via small hatches that open to 14-foot ladders used before the public access tunnel was constructed.

The spillway back when the Cistern was used as a water source.

Remember the photo of the Down Periscope…here is what it looks like under ground.

The guide asked us to join in on an experiment to illustrate the echo effect inside the Cistern. She counted to three and had us all yell at the top of our lungs for several seconds then stop. The echo lasted for about 17 seconds. We did this several times. Amazing!

We were then treated to an acapella rendition by our guide of God Bless America to show off the acoustics of the Cistern. She did a beautiful job with the song convincing us that with our ability to sing we would be turned down if we volunteered as a guide here at the Cistern.

Before we left the Cistern, our guide gave us one last illustration of the beauty of the Cistern…a light show. Using a high powered lantern, she directed the light beam across the Cistern to illustrate an optical illusion that made the pillars double in height and appear to travel infinitely across the dark expanse of the Cistern. Very cool!

We took photos but they don’t do it justice. It is so amazing.

That concluded our ¼ mile walk around the perimeter of the Cistern, one that our guide made walking backwards the entire time so she could talk to the group. We were lead back up the ramp to the surface.

Our happy guide. Great job!

The Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern is located at 105 Sabine Street, Houston, TX, 77007, and tours are offered Thursday through Sunday. Access is limited to guided tours. Reservations required. Tours are free on Thursday but still require a reservation. In addition to tours highlighting the history and architecture of this unique industrial site, the Cistern houses periodic art installations. If you want to see a short video on the Cistern, please click here.  What an exciting tour! Now we can say to others...”You won't believe what's hidden among the trees at Buffalo Bayou Park!”

If that wasn’t enough excitement, we all headed to the Beer Market for some eats and drinks. We all had a great time talking about what we just saw, watching some basketball and filling our stomachs.

In case you didn’t know, it is crawfish season here in Houston.

Peddle Parties are in order every weekend.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!