What to do in Houston TX?!

that_L_do_pig said:

Alright, if we are adding Sugarland to the mix and must-eat Mexican is Lupe Tortillas.

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Pappasitos = Mexican
Rajun Cajun = Seafood Poorboys
PF Changs = Artsy Fartsy Food
Kristie's on Westheimer = Seafood
Saltgrass = Steak
Hardrock Cafe = Overpriced food and irritating atmosphere... :lookaroun

pisco said:

You are killing me that_L_do_pig. My wife and I lived in Houston in the late 80's (she is originally from there) and the only things I miss about that place are Ninfa's fajitas and everything at Goode Co. :slurp:

We also used to go to a great health food place called The Hobbit Hole. I can't for the life of me remember what part of town it was in. Do you know if it is still there?

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hobbit hole is still around but I think it moved. It was originally adjacent to the river oak shopping center on Kirby by West Gray. I have never been.

Aurora_25 said:

Never have been there- where is that??? (and I have lived here for 11 years.....:hammer: ) Or maybe I have eaten there and have forgotten???

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Oh crud, I got Lupe Tortillas and Lopez confused. Lupe Tortillas is off of I-10 and highway 6, with a new one just completed on 249 by Compaq/HP.

For sugarland, I meant Lopez. Been there forever but moved next door into a freestanding building I guess about 7 years ago.

that_L_do_pig said:

Oh crud, I got Lupe Tortillas and Lopez confused. Lupe Tortillas is off of I-10 and highway 6, with a new one just completed on 249 by Compaq/HP.

For sugarland, I meant Lopez. Been there forever but moved next door into a freestanding building I guess about 7 years ago.

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Ive been to Lopez....very, VERY good food. Not a chain resteraunt. Its owned by a family.

Ok everyone, I finally found the info for the wedding. My house is in a major mess right now, we just had new carpet put down in the office, so my paperwork had been placed elsewhere.

Ok, the bride lives on Space Center Blvd in Houston.
The groom (who also works for the space center) lives in Webster.
The out of town guest dinner the night before the wedding is at the complex where the bride lives on Space Center Blvd.

The wedding and reception is at Butler's Courtyard in League City, TX.

The 'after party' and hotel we are staying at ins on NASA Parkway in Seabrook TX. (Comfort Inn and Suites)

They sent directions/maps etc to everyone invited, and they sent suggestions of food places too....

Kemah Boardwalk
Mamacita's
Tokyo Bowl
Mogul's
Double Dave's
Perry's Grille and Steakhouse
Freebird's World Burrito

FanofDinsey1981 said:

Ok everyone, I finally found the info for the wedding. My house is in a major mess right now, we just had new carpet put down in the office, so my paperwork had been placed elsewhere.

Ok, the bride lives on Space Center Blvd in Houston.
The groom (who also works for the space center) lives in Webster.
The out of town guest dinner the night before the wedding is at the complex where the bride lives on Space Center Blvd.

The wedding and reception is at Butler's Courtyard in League City, TX.

The 'after party' and hotel we are staying at ins on NASA Parkway in Seabrook TX. (Comfort Inn and Suites)

They sent directions/maps etc to everyone invited, and they sent suggestions of food places too....

Kemah Boardwalk
Mamacita's
Tokyo Bowl
Mogul's
Double Dave's
Perry's Grille and Steakhouse
Freebird's World Burrito

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The Kemah Boardwalk has a Steak place, Joe's crab shack and a couple other good places to eat.
Double Dave's is pizza ( just in case you didn't know)
Perry's is good, but a little pricey
Freebirds :slurp:

Thre hours to the west of Houston is Schlitterbahn's Water Park. It is ranked the est in the country and is sitting on 65 acres of fun. That could be a really great time for you and the kids.

I will second the vote on Goode's BBQ! :slurp:

But if you aren't up for driving, AstroWorld (6 flags)is alot of fun and sure beats walking the Gallaria.

longfamily said:

Thre hours to the west of Houston is Schlitterbahn's Water Park. It is ranked the est in the country and is sitting on 65 acres of fun. That could be a really great time for you and the kids.

I will second the vote on Goode's BBQ! :slurp:

But if you aren't up for driving, AstroWorld (6 flags)is alot of fun and sure beats walking the Gallaria.

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Schlitterbahn is great, but not a day trip type thing from what I have experienced (tried that a few times) By the time you get there, pay for your tickets and get in- you get about 6 rides done (because of the LOOOONG lines) and then it's time to go home. It's more of a overnight adventure

Aurora_25 said:

Schlitterbahn is great, but not a day trip type thing from what I have experienced (tried that a few times) By the time you get there, pay for your tickets and get in- you get about 6 rides done (because of the LOOOONG lines) and then it's time to go home. It's more of a overnight adventure

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Not necessarily...
If you purchased the tickets online (of course you run the risk of rain) it should not be an issue. We were just there and managed to complete both sides in a day. The only long line was for the Master blaster.
Still, just an idea How often are you near the #1 water park???

longfamily said:

Not necessarily...
If you purchased the tickets online (of course you run the risk of rain) it should not be an issue. We were just there and managed to complete both sides in a day. The only long line was for the Master blaster.
Still, just an idea How often are you near the #1 water park???

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I just checked out the website, and it doesn't look like they are open at the end of october. I have seen some great stuff about it too (travel channel).

Clifford'smon said:

Oh my God, I didn't think anyone else knew about the Hobbit Hole. We used to go there while at UoH. It's on Shepherd Dr. across the street from River Oaks.

Being a displaced Houstonian myself I don't know if it is still there but I don't remember seeing it last time I was there.

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The band I was in when I lived in Houston seemed to wind up there everytime we needed to have a band meeting. I loved their Turkey sandwich on homemade wheat bread.

What part of Oklahoma do you live in Clifford'smon? I am originally from Bartlesville myself.

We live in Edmond. We haven't made it up to Bartlesville but I hear it's really nice.

Sorry for the thread drift.

longfamily said:

Three hours to the west of Houston is Schlitterbahn's Water Park. It is ranked the best in the country and is sitting on 65 acres of fun. That could be a really great time for you and the kids.

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I see this on all the travel shows and for the like of me cannot understand how it is ranked the best. Sure it's great - but the BEST? no...

It is a haphazard arrangement of water-related attractions spread across three geographically separate areas with little theming to hold it all together.

Fun for the kids? yes...

#1 in the country to the advanced requirements of a WDW forum? not even close...

that_L_do_pig said:

I see this on all the travel shows and for the like of me cannot understand how it is ranked the best. Sure it's great - but the BEST? no...

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The Travel Channel and many other travel advice institutions rank this particular park #1 among water parks. It is widely known that this particular park has cutting edge attraction technology and that specific technology is sought after by many other top ranking names in the amusement industry, including Disney.

that_L_do_pig said:

#1 in the country to the advanced requirements of a WDW forum? not even close...

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Not quite sure about the advanced requirements of a WDW forum. What exactly are those requirements again? I seemed to have missed that section in my membership handbook:lookaroun

It really is a shame that it will not be open for the end of Oct.

Here are some other fun ideas:

Texas Renaissance Festival- Billed as one of the largest of it's kind. A very cool outing if you have never done something like this before. Kids love it! Check out www.texrenfest.com for more info.

Fright Fest @ AstroWorld Six Flags- Check out www.sixflags.com/parks/astroworld/ShowsAndEvents
All free with park admission (discounted online) you will encounter Zombies in the streets, several haunted houses and Huanted shows. There is a not so scary area for kids. The park is decorated for Halloween.

Also to consider is Moody Gardens in Galveston, The Space center, Houston Zoo, Houston Children's Museum, or a guided canoe trip down Buffalo Bayou.

I hope you find something to do, and have a great time no matter what you choose!!!

longfamily said:

Fright Fest @ AstroWorld Six Flags- Check out www.sixflags.com/parks/astroworld/ShowsAndEvents
All free with park admission (discounted online) you will encounter Zombies in the streets, several haunted houses and Huanted shows. There is a not so scary area for kids. The park is decorated for Halloween.

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Astroworld is alot of fun during Fright Fest but the weekend you're going I have to suggest DO NOT GO!! It is HORRIBLE. The lines are INSANE and the people are INSANE!

I went last year with my girlfriend and we had the WORST time ever. We arrived late because it was a spur of a moment "Lets get one more use out of our season passes before the end of the season" decision to go. We only rode one ride and it was the fastest ride in the park at 48 seconds long, Greezed Lightning. The line was 2 hours long with a normal wait time in the summer on a weekend usually being between 5-10 minutes.

Plus to top the horrendous lines off, three fights broke out while we were there. One IN THE LINE of Greezed Lightning (In my wait time, i'm not including the time the ride was shut down while the police were there). One lady was sent to the hospital, everyone involved was arrested by HPD and my girlfriend got blood on her when the lady that was sent to the hospital came running up the ramp with blood dripping down her face.

We saw another fight when we were leaving Greezed Lightning to head to the First Aid station to get cleaned up with alcohol. I heard people screaming "HE'S GOT A GUN" and I swear that I smelled Gunpowder (Six Flags does have metal detectors but the security that runs them does a horrible job of searching bags and other items. My uncle walked into the park and the alarm went off and all he had to say was "Its my steel toed boots and they waved him in) I picked up my girlfriend, threw her over my shoulder and took off running to the medical station.

We were planning on leaving right then but decided to give Astroworld one more chance. We headed toward Serial Thriller and yet another fight broke out in the Nottingham Games area. This time between two girls. We then decided to leave and never look back at that park. I haven't returned to Astroworld again and am not interested. I'll stick with WDW which is about a 16 hour drive.

As a former employee of Six Flags Astroworld I have to say that park was bad when I worked there and has only gotten worse. Theres plenty of other stuff in Houston to fill your trip.

As Ebert and Roeper would say, ASTROWORLD- TWO THUMBS WAY DOWN!!!

-DGJake

longfamily said:

The Travel Channel and many other travel advice institutions rank this particular park #1 among water parks. It is widely known that this particular park has cutting edge attraction technology and that specific technology is sought after by many other top ranking names in the amusement industry, including Disney.



Not quite sure about the advanced requirements of a WDW forum. What exactly are those requirements again? I seemed to have missed that section in my membership handbook:lookaroun

It really is a shame that it will not be open for the end of Oct.

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Since you asked, here is my humble opinion.

So they had the blaster first. Okay, I rode it and it was not a big deal. It barely pushed my fat butt (not too fat at 200# 6'-0") up the hills.

1. captivating queueing
2. enchanting theming
3. area to area flow
4. non attraction entertainment
5. hidden but rigorous crowd control
6. happy, shiny employees
7. some sense of order

Schitterbahn has none of these. If had the beginnings of this in it's first generation, especially the sleds that went down the side of the pitched roof. I think I was 12ish and it was around 1982. Obviously I am only thinking of the New Braunfels location. I have never been to the Corpus Christi one but it looks orderly since it is so small. I am excited about the Galveston one since it would only be an hour away, but especially because it is indoors.

I went once in the past 5 years and it is just one big charlie foxtrot.

Thank you everyone! This has been very helpful, and I am getting VERY excited to go. We leave in less than two months, so if you think of anything else between now and then, let me know! :wave:

FanofDinsey1981 said:

Thank you everyone! This has been very helpful, and I am getting VERY excited to go. We leave in less than two months, so if you think of anything else between now and then, let me know! :wave:

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put this in your 'obscure bag' in case you need to pull it out on your trip

http://www.orangeshow.org/

that_L_do_pig said:

Schitterbahn has none of these. If had the beginnings of this in it's first generation, especially the sleds that went down the side of the pitched roof. I think I was 12ish and it was around 1982. Obviously I am only thinking of the New Braunfels location. I have never been to the Corpus Christi one but it looks orderly since it is so small. I am excited about the Galveston one since it would only be an hour away, but especially because it is indoors.

I went once in the past 5 years and it is just one big charlie foxtrot.

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There is not a Schltterbahn in Corpus Christi. There is one in South Padre Island. It was good and smaller than the one in New Braunfels.

astroworld (if you like coasters), the museum of natural science/imax, the houston zoo is pretty, katy mills outlet mall, IKEA, the galleria, theater district downtown... and about 10000 malls. i'm not too far from houston!