Travel to Houston, Texas – Episode 729

Hear about travel to Houston, Texas as the Amateur Traveler talks to Kerwin McKenzie of passrider.com, cruisinaltitude.com, discoveringhouston.net about his adopted home town and the 4th largest city in the USA.

Kerwin says, “Lots of people don’t really think about Houston. All they think about when they hear of Houston is the space center. There’s a lot of food here. It has a really good population mix. Because of its proximity to Mexico, we get what’s called Tex-Mex. There’s also other large ethnic populations here. There’s actually some folks from the African diaspora as well. There’s really a lot more here to do than people think plus all the major sports teams are here.”

Kerwin starts us in the downtown area which is crisscrossed with a series of underground tunnels to shield you from the heat of the summer. You can find the Aquarium there as well as Minute Maid Park (Houston Astros), and the park Discovery Green. Discovery Green is right by the convention center. In Minute Maid Park, the entrance is the old Union Station train station. 

Herman Park downtown has the Herman Park Miller Outdoor Theatre, aquarium, and zoo. The Japanese Garden is also within Herman Park. This is where Japanese festivals are hosted. All this is right next to Rice University. You can take a train from Herman Park to Downtown for $1.25 through the Museum District.

In the Museum District, one museum that Kerwin would recommend is the Buffalo Soldier Museum which tells the history of all African American cavalry units in the old American West. For modern art, Kerwin recommends the Menil Collection (the outside if not the collection) in the Montrose neighborhood.

If you are a “space geek”, Kerwin highly recommends a visit to the Johnson Space Center which is outside of town. The last time he toured his guide would subtly point out the different astronauts that they encountered as they toured the grounds. 

Also out of town, you can visit the USS Texas Battleship and the San Jacinto Battle Monument and Museum. If you are not familiar with San Jacinto, you may be familiar with the Texan battle cry from that battle “Remember the Alamo!”  The hero of that battle was Sam Houston after which the city is named. 

We talk about side trips to the German-American town of Fredericksburg as well as the beaches of Galveston.

Along the way, Kerwin tells us a couple of his favorite restaurants for cheap good food.

Find out what is happening in one of the United States’ fastest-growing big cities.

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Show Notes

passrider.com
cruisinaltitude.com
discoveringhouston.net
Visit Houston
Free Things To Do In Houston
JW Marriott Houston
Houston Hilton
Quilt Show
Discovery Green
Minute Maid Park
Houston Downtown Tunnels
Downtown Aquarium
Space Center
Houston Zoo
Miller Outdoor Theatre
Japanese Garden
Rice University
Buffalo Soldiers Museum
Menil Collection
Montrose
Hubcap Grill
Langford Market
Cali Sandwich
College Park Cemetery Association
Waller, Lucy – College Park Cemetery Association
Houston Art Car Parade
Houston Art Museum
Toyota Center
Aquarium Restaurants
Houston Zoo – See them. Save them.
Hermann Park Conservancy
15 Best Things to Do in Downtown Houston – The Crazy Tourist
1940 Air Terminal Museum
Fredericksburg TX
Official Luckenbach Texas
USS Texas (BB-35)
Goode Co. Barbeque
Bar-B-Que Contest
Houston Visitor Center

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Amateur Traveler trip to Turkey in September 2020

Houston photos by Falkenpost from Pixabay