12-17-2008, 11:37 AM
I am sure that a large number of Bronco fans are going to be making the trip down to Houston for the Texas Bowl. The reason why I am sure of that is that no one in their right mind could pass up the chance to visit one of the world's premier tourist destinations. With all that Houston has to offer, I'm sure you are feeling a little bit overwhelmed, so I thought that maybe some Rice fans could offer some specific suggestions to pare down the list a bit. Here are mine.
First of all, Houston has a fabulous highway system, and I encourage you to check it out. In particular, if you've got the time, you should try to drive on the West Pasadena Freeway (225), which you will recognize from the Mad Max movies. Try to do it around dusk. The road itself is not that impressive, but the gas burnoff flames from all the oil refineries really provides a spectacular lighting effect. On second thought, you should do the drive in the day so that while you're out there you can check out San Jacinto battleground, which features the WWII battleship USS Texas and the San Jacinto Memorial - an obelisk memorial to the battle where Texas won its independence from Mexico. It is exactly 15 feet taller than the Washington Monument and has an awesome giant star at the top. I love Texas...
Now, instead of inserting some "everything's bigger in Texas" remark, I ought to point out that not everything is bigger in Texas. For instance, our Forbidden Gardens are actually smaller than the original. However, while our Chinese (Qin dynasty) monuments may be smaller, our Chinese basketball players are indeed bigger. You can check out Yao Ming at a Rockets game on either the Monday before or Wednesday after the Texas Bowl.
And speaking of rockets, you should also consider taking a trip down to Galveston. Some of the Rice folks that live down there can offer some specific suggestions, but I would just like to point out that NASA is on the way there. If you have small children, it might be worth checking out the visitor's center - but if you're over 10 years old, the only thing that is really worth seeing is the largest phallic symbol ever sent into space (it's around the corner from the visitor's center, and when you ask for directions you should probably call it the "Saturn V rocket").
Aside from these curiosities, most of the real action in Houston is probably closer to downtown. If you are into art museums, there are some really great ones around Rice. There are some science museums (some of the Dead Sea scrolls are on display right now at the Museum of Natural Science), kids museums, and several art museums. It's amazing what art you can buy with $400 million of oil money. The Museum of Fine Arts is nice, but the best place for the money is the Menil (it is free). I have been told by a man who has lived his entire life in Paris that the art museums here are even better than in Paris because "the art is just as good as the art in the museums in Paris, only there aren't any American tourists here." The Menil is also nice because it is just down the street from the West Alabama Ice House, which is a true "ice house" that dates back to the pre-prohibition era. It consists of picnic tables and a shack that sells pretty much nothing but beer and has the oldest liquor license in Texas. (You guys might appreciate this - the term "ice house" originated in the pre-refrigeration days when people in places like Michigan would cut up blocks of ice, pack it in sawdust, and ship it down to places like Houston, where it would be immediately put to use at "ice houses" for the vital purpose of cooling beer.)
As far as the bar scene is concerned, I would probably suggest staying around the Rice Village area. I suspect most people's loyalties are to either the Gingerman (which has the best selection of beer) or to Two Row's (which brews its own beer and also has food). I am also personally partial to the Kelvin Arm's since it has a "Scottish Wall of Fame" decorated with pictures of Sean Connery. Downtown (along Main St) also has a fair number of bars - the Flying Saucer is particularly good. If you are here on a Saturday, you could also take a tour of the Saint Arnold Brewery.
If you've still got time after all that, you should just try walking around the Rice campus and neighborhood. Rice has a really nice campus with some interesting sights (check out the giant piece of the Berlin wall right outside the "Baker Institute" - and see if you can guess which side was on the West German side. Hint: one side is covered with graffiti peace signs which are periodically "retouched" by the Rice maintenance staff.) Also, the neighborhood just north of Rice is really cool too, and features what the NY times calls "the most magnificent residential street in America". You might recognize it from the movie Rushmore, which was entirely filmed in this area.
Of course, no trip to Houston could possibly be complete without seeing the giant presidents heads. I'm not kidding, just go to google maps and search for "giant presidents heads houston", get the address, and go there. In addition to 20 foot tall busts of every president (except for W, which would obviously immediately be defaced), as a bonus you get to see a set of 4-story tall statues of the Beatles. Why, you ask? I don't think I really need to answer that question...
First of all, Houston has a fabulous highway system, and I encourage you to check it out. In particular, if you've got the time, you should try to drive on the West Pasadena Freeway (225), which you will recognize from the Mad Max movies. Try to do it around dusk. The road itself is not that impressive, but the gas burnoff flames from all the oil refineries really provides a spectacular lighting effect. On second thought, you should do the drive in the day so that while you're out there you can check out San Jacinto battleground, which features the WWII battleship USS Texas and the San Jacinto Memorial - an obelisk memorial to the battle where Texas won its independence from Mexico. It is exactly 15 feet taller than the Washington Monument and has an awesome giant star at the top. I love Texas...
Now, instead of inserting some "everything's bigger in Texas" remark, I ought to point out that not everything is bigger in Texas. For instance, our Forbidden Gardens are actually smaller than the original. However, while our Chinese (Qin dynasty) monuments may be smaller, our Chinese basketball players are indeed bigger. You can check out Yao Ming at a Rockets game on either the Monday before or Wednesday after the Texas Bowl.
And speaking of rockets, you should also consider taking a trip down to Galveston. Some of the Rice folks that live down there can offer some specific suggestions, but I would just like to point out that NASA is on the way there. If you have small children, it might be worth checking out the visitor's center - but if you're over 10 years old, the only thing that is really worth seeing is the largest phallic symbol ever sent into space (it's around the corner from the visitor's center, and when you ask for directions you should probably call it the "Saturn V rocket").
Aside from these curiosities, most of the real action in Houston is probably closer to downtown. If you are into art museums, there are some really great ones around Rice. There are some science museums (some of the Dead Sea scrolls are on display right now at the Museum of Natural Science), kids museums, and several art museums. It's amazing what art you can buy with $400 million of oil money. The Museum of Fine Arts is nice, but the best place for the money is the Menil (it is free). I have been told by a man who has lived his entire life in Paris that the art museums here are even better than in Paris because "the art is just as good as the art in the museums in Paris, only there aren't any American tourists here." The Menil is also nice because it is just down the street from the West Alabama Ice House, which is a true "ice house" that dates back to the pre-prohibition era. It consists of picnic tables and a shack that sells pretty much nothing but beer and has the oldest liquor license in Texas. (You guys might appreciate this - the term "ice house" originated in the pre-refrigeration days when people in places like Michigan would cut up blocks of ice, pack it in sawdust, and ship it down to places like Houston, where it would be immediately put to use at "ice houses" for the vital purpose of cooling beer.)
As far as the bar scene is concerned, I would probably suggest staying around the Rice Village area. I suspect most people's loyalties are to either the Gingerman (which has the best selection of beer) or to Two Row's (which brews its own beer and also has food). I am also personally partial to the Kelvin Arm's since it has a "Scottish Wall of Fame" decorated with pictures of Sean Connery. Downtown (along Main St) also has a fair number of bars - the Flying Saucer is particularly good. If you are here on a Saturday, you could also take a tour of the Saint Arnold Brewery.
If you've still got time after all that, you should just try walking around the Rice campus and neighborhood. Rice has a really nice campus with some interesting sights (check out the giant piece of the Berlin wall right outside the "Baker Institute" - and see if you can guess which side was on the West German side. Hint: one side is covered with graffiti peace signs which are periodically "retouched" by the Rice maintenance staff.) Also, the neighborhood just north of Rice is really cool too, and features what the NY times calls "the most magnificent residential street in America". You might recognize it from the movie Rushmore, which was entirely filmed in this area.
Of course, no trip to Houston could possibly be complete without seeing the giant presidents heads. I'm not kidding, just go to google maps and search for "giant presidents heads houston", get the address, and go there. In addition to 20 foot tall busts of every president (except for W, which would obviously immediately be defaced), as a bonus you get to see a set of 4-story tall statues of the Beatles. Why, you ask? I don't think I really need to answer that question...
