What We've Learned From Houston

Landon and I have been going to Houston for almost a year now.  And for these two small town people it has been quiet an experience!  We Just got home from our most recent trip and came back with a whole new experience!  We have compiled a list of things we have learned about Houston and we thought we'd like to share!

Things We've Learned About Houston:
1. Houston Is Loud!
    There are so many noises in that BIG town!  It is constant and even at night.  Cars, trucks, emergency vehicles, trains, and even people and animals contribute to the din!

2. There are palm trees here!
      Everything here is just so green and it stays that way pretty much all year long!  (except for that crazy ice storm they got just recently)  The grounds at MD Anderson are so pretty.  Their gardens are filled with beautiful flowers and ground covers everywhere!  I wish I had taken some more pictures of the flower beds, maybe that will be a good post for next trip!  ;)

3. Mexican Food in Texas IS NOT the same as Mexican food in Oklahoma!
     I especially love Mexican Food, but the Houston Mexican food is true Mexican.  Not the TexMex like we have here in Oklahoma!  So far, I have fallen in love with the food we've eaten!  Yum!

4.  Pappa's Restaurants are Excellent!!
    Speaking of food.....If you ever go to Houston you definitely need to check out one of the Pappa's restaurants!  There is a BBQ, Mexican, seafood, Steakhouse, burger joint, and a few more!  We had had a few people tell us we needed to try them out and we finally did back last fall once we were finally able to find our way around town a little bit more!  They are so delicious and this last time we ate at the BBQ Restaurant two times!

5.  Houston traffic is CRAZY!
  For two small town people, driving in Houston takes A LOT of getting used to.  They have five lanes of traffic for each direction!  And Bridges!  The bridges are pretty amazing! There are so many of them and they twist and turn everywhere!

6.  The Waze app is great!
     If you are frequently driving in big cities or in new places you need to download the waze app onto your phone!  It's wonderful!.  It's navigation in real time.  people who have the app downloaded onto their phones can report things on the road.  Things like construction, wrecks, police. and other hazards they discover while driving.  If the traffic is jammed the app will let you know and can sometimes help you find a way around.  Twice it has warned us of big jams and we just pulled off and ate supper.  By the time we were finished the roads were all cleared off and we made time to our hotel a lot faster! 

7.  Hotels in Houston......Hmmmmmm
   While staying in Houston, we have encountered a wide variety of stays.  Some of the hotels are wonderful!  They have bellhops, valet parking and lots of other 5 star perks.  Some of the hotels have dirty floors and bath tubs that might fall through to the floor below!  And sometimes it's uncomforting to have to be let into your Hotel by a security guard or to have notes handed to you upon check in about the rising car theft rate in Houston!  And there's even a few in between....

Hope you can use these tips if you ever decide to make a trip down Texas Way....
Amy