Welcome to Houston!

Gratitude, Hope, Houston, Peace 4 Minutes

The morning of August 27 began with two feet of water inside and out of my house. That was two years ago, but the memory is unforgettable. (You can read my first ever blog post about our Hurricane Harvey evacuation by clicking here.)

When I meet Houston locals and reveal my fairly recent relocation, the conversation usually goes something like, “How do you like Houston?”

“Well, we made it here just in time to flood and lived in a La Quinta for ten months.”

“Oh, Man! I’m sorry to hear that. Welcome to Houston!”

I always exhale that monosyllabic Ha! “I know, right? Thank you. It’s okay. Other than that, I really like Houston, except I do miss my friends. We were in Dallas for over twenty years.”

Anyway, if I’ve ever given Houston a bad rap, today I count my blessings. Welcome to Houston!

Silence by Moriah Alise

While living in the La Quinta, Kody and I dined out for almost every meal, often eating at restaurant bars, making friends, and changing up the conversation. In this way we met Moriah Alise, an up-and-coming, young local artist/former high school art teacher with the drive and determination to open her own District Art Gallery. Moriah invited us to her gallery opening, and her artwork Silence spoke to us. I needed the calm, and I feel blessed to know Moriah and share this piece of her [he]art. Did I say we brought it home? (Well, technically many months later when we finally moved home again).

While returning to District Art Gallery, we’ve enjoyed getting to know another top nationally-known emerging artist, Shawn Artis. All of his pieces have stories, he’s a storyteller, and the one above spoke to me.

Elevation 80 ft., Houston is the most populous city in the state of Texas and the fourth largest in the United States. We have a large and growing international population, a Chinatown, a Mahatma Gandhi district, and an estimated 1.1 million residents born outside of the USA. Houston is a cosmopolitan destination with world-class shopping and award-winning dining at every turn, and there’s always something to do, even for free (Wikipedia and me).

This is the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir. I probably stumbled across a photo on Instagram one day and then Googled with intrigue. For followers of Hinduism, the Mandir is a place of worship and prayer and a house of God. No matter your views, you will feel His LOVE and ACCEPTANCE, PEACE and HOPE in this place.

McGovern Centennial Gardens, Hermann Park, Photo Cred Texas Monthly

Welcome to Hermann Park Conservancy, Houston’s 445-acre urban park, situated at the end of the Museum District. This past spring, I chaperoned around 400 high school students here for a day of freedom and a break from school at the park. You might think that would be a problem, but everyone made it back to the busses on time and unscathed. Our kids explored the Houston Zoo, Miller Outdoor Theatre, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The Hermann Park Golf Course is right there, too. Then there’s a reflection pool and a recreational lake with pedal boat rentals and a train and picnic areas and statues and walkways and gardens galore. You can kill a whole day here, no problem (Wikipedia and me).

  • George Hermann presented the park to the city of Houston in 1914.

Then there was that time when my Alma Mater’s symphony came to Houston. I’m a sucker for the symphony, a blessing indeed.

And there was that time when the Indigo Girls came to town and the Houston Symphony accompanied. Um, WOW, and I may or may not have almost been kicked out for not-so-covert, banned recordings.

And speaking of concerts, we attended a couple of more this year. Matt Heckler is a banjo/fiddle-playing genius, who opened for the Lost Dog Street Band in an intimate, standing room only venue upstairs at White Oak Music Hall on Mother’s Day. We returned to the White Oak lawn for Texas songwriter Shakey Graves just a few nights ago, and what a performance! If you don’t know these guys, give them a Google or click here for Matt and here for Shakey.

  • Thanks, Matt! It was a great Mother’s Day!
  • Shakey Graves was on my bucket list.

Then there’s the theatre: high school, college, or professional musical theatre. So many performances, so little time.

  • Rice University field trip
    with high school students for
    A Mid Summer Night’s Dream

So I love the arts. One of my all time favorite outings here in H-town includes feeding my soul at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. ProTip: Thursdays are free. (Oh, and photo cred to Wikipedia for museum façade below).

My friend Misti accompanied me to Van Gogh earlier this summer, and it was amazing, but crowded as the exhibition was grinding to a halt. Now I know. Don’t wait. Go early. Besides Misti and I had a mini-road trip planned to Galveston, just an hour from Houston for beaches, relaxation, more feeding of the soul, and Mexican food for our stomachs.

Then there are professional sports, which I don’t really do, but we have the Astros and Texans and Rockets and Dynamo. And there’s the rodeo, which is sort of a big deal with big name concerts every night for the month of March. Tickets are already on sale for 2020. And there’s NASA, maybe I’ll check that out one day.

  • Lunch date with this burst of sunshine, Chandrell.
  • Murals all over town. Must stop for the photo op.

It’s the morning of August 27, and today I’m thankful for so much. Welcome to Houston!

Published by Crystal Byers

When I was young, my dad would always say, "Crystal, you can choose your attitude." One day I chose to believe him.

Published

55 thoughts on “Welcome to Houston!”

  2. Wow! It’s like an ad for Houston. I’m in! My mom talked about Texas when I was a kid because I guess she had to go there once while my dad was in the Army. She hated it. Said all of the curbs were a foot high and I guess she fell down or something. I visited Dallas/Ft.Worth once and saw the ranch from the show Dallas. I think I saw a Hard Rock Cafe too, but Houston looks a lot more cultural. Thanks for posting!

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  5. Wow, so much to do and see, and I look forward to returning and seeing more of the above and remembering when Drew played his cello with Echo, but that Galleria…whoa, that’s another world, and then, of course, your newly refurbished lovely pad…Bam!! I call it a pad because I feel like I’m in a New York loft at your home… I love it!!
    Thanks for ALL the Houston insight!!
    Love u my dear & hope to c u soon!
    Dana, Nana, Mom

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  8. Interesting post about Houston. Lots to offer the residents and tourists. My cousin lived there five years, I should have visited.
    A long post and diverse, it could have been part 1 of 3 exploring Houston series

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    1. I completely agree on your one of three point. Originally it was more of a photo blog. Then the whole thing starting taking more time than I expected, and I sort of gave up. Thanks for visiting! It’s never too late for a trip to Houston!

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  11. There is clearly much to enjoy. I owned a house in France for a few years. A week after completion, before I had gone over to take possession, I learned that it had bee flooded by a freak storm and burst pipes. Like you, I persevered.

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  22. Thanks Crystal. Houston looks amazing!. They say that everything is bigger in Texas. I’m retired in Spain, which has also lots to offer. But very different to the UK where I was born (in England). There are so many beautiful places on our planet to be sure. Cheers.

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