Houston Trip Recap | Houston I’ll Be Back

First Time in Houston

302 miles traveled and endless memories obtained. I spent 2 days in Houston exploring parks, farms, tourists traps, nightlife and catching up with old friends. I started off my trip per usual referencing my itinerary that I made for this trip.

Day 1

I touched down at IAH picked up my rental car, my friend and took off. First stop was food because I was starving! We went a vegan spot called “Green Seed Vegan”. Their food was amazing. Most of their items on the menu are sandwiches but  don’t let that deter you, their food is very flavorful! 

Buffalo Bayou Park

After we stuffed out faces we made our way to Buffalo Bayou Park. The original plan was to find all seven thoughts words scattered throughout the park. The trail is a 6 mi. loop. and can be taken by foot or by bike. The tricky part is there are no clear indications as to where any of the thought words were placed and certain part of the trail were closed due to the damage from hurricane Harvey. 

momumental moments - listen

We decided to take the trail by bike. We biked for an hour and a half but only found four out of the seven words. Four total were spotted but only three were photographed. The fourth wasn’t accessible because that part of the trail was closed off.  Overall the trail was beautiful and filled with many nice surprises along the way.

momumental moments - reflect

Smither Park

smither park mosaics

After we exhausted most of our energy at the park we headed south to Smither Park. This park isn’t like a traditional park, it’s only about two blocks long, and is filled with some awesome mosaics! While we were there we had the chance of witnessing how these mosaics become a part of the park.  It’s is a very meticulous process. Artists come in with buckets filled with mosaics and add them to a surface piece by piece. 

 

smither park mosaics - artists at work

Hermann Park

We left Smither Park then headed over to the Japanese garden located in Hermann Park. We took a short stroll because by then we were hungry again and ready for showers! Hermann Park has plenty to do: 

  • boat rides
  • Japanese garden
  • zoo is located next door
  • arts & sculpture

japanese garden - hermann park

We weren’t able to do it all but with half a day you can enjoy all of the things this park has to offer.

Dinner and Dance

After we were all parked out, we went back to our hotels got ready for dinner, then went out salsa dancing! This last bit was very spur of the moment since the night was young and we weren’t as exhausted as we thought we’d be. I called a salsa school to see where the popular places were to dance in the area. Luckily enough they were having a grand opening for a social they were hosting!

After we ate our dinner and I headed over to the social to take their 2 hour lesson before the dancing began (merengue, bachata and salsa). The atmosphere here is great! It’s located on the second floor of this beautiful ranch style home which was converted to a restaurant/bar. It features a wrap around balcony with outdoor seating. I danced the night after before calling it a night. Not a bad way to introduce myself to Houston! 

Pro tip: This place is great for beginner dancers who want to get out enjoy the night and a few steps. If you are an seasoned dancer, like myself, I’d suggest another place because most of the dancers here are beginners.

Day 2

After letting my body recover from all of the cardio intense activities. The plan for this day based on my itinerary was Galveston Island to enjoy the beach, but after speaking to a few locals they said there was much beach area there.

Houston Space Center

nasa - houston space center

So I 360’d my plans met up with my friend again and we headed to the Houston Space Center. We spent about 3 hours here and still didn’t cover everything. I’d say expect to spend at least 5 hours to go through everything at a comfortable pace. I’d recommend doing the tour first because those run on a schedule and can get pretty busy so you may not get your tour preference without having to wait quite some time. They offer two tours, a shorter and a longer tour, where you can tour the mission control center that was originally used, rockets that were sent off to space explorations and more. We did the shorter tour because of our time constraints, but if you have the time, get there early and do the longer tour. 

houston space center

Horseback Riding

In good old Texas fashion we ended the day with horseback riding! Thankfully we were able to get same day reservations. I’ve never ridden a horse before but it was an experience I can’t forget. The rates for this were also amazing! We did an hour and a half ride for only $50.00 bucks! 

Before we took off we were given the basics of how to ride. My horse’s name was Bentley and boy did he feel like one. He was powerful, smooth and had quite some speed on him, and most importantly I didn’t fall off.

All in all Houston was a ton of fun and I would definitely go back. If you want tips on any additional things to do while in Houston or want your own itinerary created based on your interest, send me a message! 

Full Itinerary – Houston: 05/19 – 05/21

Here’s a glance of my itinerary for Houston. This is for a two day trip mostly filled with a lot of outdoor activities
Flight (EWR->DFW->IAH): $122.80
Flight (IAH -> EWR): $95.19
Hotel: $99.20
Rental Car: $57.24
Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern at The Water Works: $2.00
Gas: $30.00

05/19

3:30 AM

Uber to Airport

5:00AM

Check-in: EWR -> DFW

8:45 AM

DFW -> IAH

9:00 AM

Pick Up Rental Car

9:45 AM

Head to St Mark’s United Methodist Church (25 minutes)

View Love Wall (5 minutes)
600 Pecore St, Houston, TX 77009

10:00 AM

Head to Buffalo Bayou Park (10 minutes)

View Art Installations (3 hours)

  • Start at Shepherds Drive & Memorial Drive and follow the Kinder Trail
    • Houston artist Anthony Thompson Shumate recently installed “Monumental Moments,” a series of six human-scale word sculptures in Buffalo Bayou Park.
      • Explore
      • Pause  (JUST BENEATH THE SABINE STREET BRIDGE OVERLOOK)
      • Reflect
      • Listen
      • Emerge
      • Observe
  • Tolerance (Plensa) Statues, 77019, 2121 Allen Pkwy, Houston, TX 77019
    • Seven sculptures of kneeling men debuted in February 2011 to signify unity and diversity
  • Spindle Eleanor Tinsley Park, 18-3600 Allen Pkwy, Houston, TX 77019
    • The abstract piece, cast in bronze, is mounted on a circular concrete base painted matte brown. The curves, points, and edges were inspired by Michelangelo’s famous depiction of God’s and Adam’s fingers almost touching across an empty space.
  • Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern at The Water Works, 105 Sabine St, Houston, TX 77007 ($$)
    • The Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern is a former drinking water reservoir built in 1926 for the City of Houston. As one of the city’s early underground reservoirs, it supported the municipal water system’s goals of fire suppression (water pressure) and drinking water storage. After operating for decades, an irreparable leak was discovered and after a few years, the reservoir was decommissioned in 2007.

3:00 PM

Food Break

4:00 PM

Head to Hermann Park Railroad (15 minutes)

Tour Park (1 hour)

  • Japanese Garden
    • With its waterfalls, bridges, and stone paths that wander among crepe myrtles, azaleas, Japanese maples, dogwoods, and cherry trees, the Japanese Garden is a peaceful hideaway in Hermann Park
  • MOUND TOWN (TRAIN TUNNEL) BY TRENTON DOYLE HANCOCK
    • A little bit Wonkatania, a little bit pink elephant.
  • DILLIDIIDAE BY SHARON ENGELSTEIN
    • A former Core Fellow and a resident of Houston for many years, Sharon Engelstein is known for her organic, bubbly sculptural forms.

5:00 PM

Head to Chong Hua Sheng Mu Holy Palace (30 minutes)

Bizarre Houston Oddity.The only views of this abandoned building are from outside the gates and fenced area of an 11 acre site.

6:00 PM

Check-in Hotel

05/20

7:30 AM

Breakfast in Hotel

8:30 AM

Eclectic Menagerie Park

A private collection of massive steel monsters guarding a Texas pipe works.

9:30 AM

Smither Park

A park filled with vibrant mosaics created by more than 300 folk artists.

12:00 PM

Head to Galveston Island (1 hour)

Tour island by car, eat and chill on beach

6:00 PM

Head back to Hotel (1 hour)

05/21

5:00 AM

Drop Off Rental Car (40 minutes)

7:00 AM

IAH -> EWR

Total Spent: $406.43