Houston: We have a problem...with your BBQ sauce. It's too good.

A little bbq shack in Alvin.

After arriving in the US’ fourth biggest city we were reluctant to get our hopes up after our previous big city experience, Los Angeles, but saying we have enjoyed our time here is a bit of an understatement. We think it is the realization that we are indeed doing something you only get to do once in a lifetime and only now are we starting to spend a little bit more time, and money, enjoying ourselves. Houston is more than a big city, if you know where to look and where to go, and we feel we have really got a feeling for most of what this place has to offer.

Houston highways: A tarmac nightmare.

Our first morning in Houston was spent navigating the many causeways and underpasses en-route to a shopping complex called The Galleria [which is kind of like the one in Perth, just as many shops, just as little variety]. After spending a good half hour trying to find parking, which was made ever more frustrating when you see meadows of outdoor parking obscured by a height restriction of less than seven feet [pointless much], we grazed through the food court and meandered through the twists and turns of the main complex. Unfortunately, we have been trying to come up with an acronym capable of describing the bland and repetitive shopping big city complexes offer but have failed miserably, so if you come up with one we would love to hear it. Do not get us wrong, if you were looking to find all the usual stuff then this place would be great. However, after being on the road for so long we are always on the look out for the different and unique places offering more than the promise of familiarity and low, low prices. We have both developed a taste for things you do not find in department or chain stores. For James he does not want to dress in a flannel shirt [sorry boys] and Antoinette wants a dress capable of being worn by a model who eats at least one sandwich a day. If nothing else The Galeria served as a helpful distraction from Houston highway traffic, which managed to doubled in the time we were in the centre.

Aollo XVIII's permanently grounded Saturn V

This city sticks out in modern history for more than it’s contributions to the great Texan tradition that is BBQ and if you are thinking of possibilities that are out of this world you would be very warm. We were bound for the Houston space centre to find out about this whole ‘man in space’ business and take in a little history and see if they have room for any +1s on the space shuttle’s guest list. For starters the space centre is not really in Houston, more like the Houston greater area, but it is crammed with stacks of stuff that draws your inner science geek to the surface for a few hours. We were able to take a tram tour, which was pretty good if you forget about the frozen extremities due to the cold, and see the original mission control room restored to its former late 60s glory. Seeing the room where the decisions and communications assisted the astronauts who first landed on the moon was pretty cool and considering they did it with computers less powerful than a modern graphics calculator this was no easy task. After seeing the actual frame from the Saturn V rocket for the canned Apollo 18 mission, the training facility and trying on a few space helmets for ‘research’ it was time to call it a day.

The iguana at the butterfly house: Churro

Houston may be a metropolis, but like so many, it has its oases scattered through the dense concrete jungle and one of them in the heart of the city is home to the museum district. We were looking for a lazy afternoon and being in what most would call a desert we did not expect to end up in the Butterfly House. The Butterfly House is a maintained habitat with tropical temperatures, humidity to match and more wings than a Texas sports bar on game day. The collection of butterflies they have is really impressive and when surrounded by so many it is a unique feeling difficult to capture through any photograph or paraphrase. We hung around and discovered an iguana named Churro staking out a spot under his conveniently placed heat lamp before heading back to the RV and our temporary home. This morning was also a special morning because we did our first shop in over two weeks. Our food shopping has been lasting us a long time and we have taken some ‘creative culinary’ steps to make each shop last a little longer than the last. Cutting down on luxury items has been hard, but with the bigger picture of more money to spend in the big apple as a reward it will be worth it in the long run. It seems strange that only now are we getting the most out of what we have and we only have just over five weeks left before we have to hand, Phoenix, our trusty steed back to her rightful owners.

After that little blast of sentimentality for our RV we needed to get our heads straight so after being in Texas for almost two weeks we did what any Texan would to relax, shoot a gun. This is something we have both been reluctantly excited about since crossing the border from New Mexico and after a little research we found a place that looked the goods. Right from the moment we walked in it was clear it was going to be less intense than either of us thought, but still the excitement and nerves of holding a genuine Smith and Wesson 357 Magnum is something we will not be forgetting in a hurry. After a quick training session and being told about how to load and unload this kick ass revolver, how to shoot straight and that the range was all out of Osama Bin Laden targets we hit the indoor range. We were both a little nervous, but got the hang of it in the end. Antoinette stuck it out and actually had a smile on her face every time she turned after letting off six shots into, and around, the target despite the deafening thunderclaps going on around us while James was happy just laying shot after shot into the head of the blue silhouette, with a few exceptions. We were both surprised at how unnatural and controlled it felt and were both happy that most of the shots landed somewhere in the blue zones. We both buzzed our way down the highway and after a good cup of tea and a few hours it was time to experience another Texan tradition.

Our first visit to Joe's BBQ. Mmmm ribs.

A forty minute drive down the Texas Six took us right where we needed to go, Joes BBQ. We searched for BBQ places a few nights before and this looked the most tantalizing and we were both a little confused when we walked in and saw what looked like a food court smashed together with a taxidermy practice. A powerful lesson to learn in the southern US states is that good food comes from places that look anything but. Some of the best food we have had in Texas has been from places that look like little more than a dilapidated farm house on the outside and Joe’s BBQ is a perfect example. Any vegetarians or animal rights activists should skip the next part, you have been warned [please skip to Section A], but carnivores or those who enjoy being at the top of the food chain can read on with envious eyes. Any doubts we had were overshadowed by the one and a half kilos of meat, BBQ sauce and sweet potato fries we had split between two plates and we took the first available seats to save precious eating time. The pork ribs were the best we have had since arriving in the US and the pulled pork was arguably the best chance we have taken in a while. The flavours and textures were bang on, so much so we went there again two days later and it was even better, and we cannot wait to try and recreate the experience for all of our carnivorous friends back home. The ribs were as thick as two fingers and the meat dropped off the bone with a feather like touch, the pulled pork was seasoned beautifully and required very little chewing while their famous beef brisket was succulent and matched perfectly, better than the ribs at least, with their house made BBQ sauce. Overall these are the sort of days you hope for while traveling. A unique experience with someone you love, good food and memories that will last a long, long time.

SECTION A – Broccoli [irrelevant we know, but we are thinking of you.]

Beer can house.

Another attraction in the Houston area is a labor of love most men can relate all too easily with. A house decorated and adorned with beer. The Beer Can House is testament to one mans undying love of the amber carbonated beverage and his passion for artistic self development. This house has so many cans, pull tabs and tops all over the place it is incredible to see and you just have to wonder if he drank all of these himself. After taking a couple of snap shots and satisfying our curiosity, while James had to contend with the  sudden and overwhelming desire for a beer, it was time to head onwards to Rice Village for a coffee. All we can say is…FAIL. We found our way there easily enough, but because it was a Saturday afternoon it seemed all of Houston was in this small shopping district and parking, traffic and pedestrians were a nightmare. It took us twenty minutes of scouring the side streets and inadequate public parking sections before we cut our losses and got out of there. We were not that phased about missing another shopping area because five weeks in New York will present far more than this 12 block district in Houston.

Sunday was a clean out day and our mums, James’ at least, will be happy to know the RV is spick and span. If we were still getting paid pocket money [no really, feel free to give us some cash ;)] we would get bonus for our efforts. We are both adamant Phoenix will be cleaner when we drop her off than when we received her and we hope missing hubcaps that we lost somewhere between Roswell, New Mexico, and Junction, Texas, will be unnoticed [we are hoping the fact both rear hubcaps are missing will be seen as ‘natural’]. For what seems like the first time in a long time a city has delivered more than what we expected it too and we are both happy to be moving on. Houston really has been great, not our favourite part of Texas, but it definitely has its moments and if we ever come back we will be picking up where we left off [ribs???]. The last couple of evenings have been spent mapping our route from Orlando to Washington and we will be seeing most of North and South Carolina in that time with most of the destinations being small country towns. We are really looking forward to our next couple of stops in Louisiana, which will hopefully deliver more than grilled swamp dwelling animals. Alligator kebab anyone?

‘Till next time,

Antoinette and James.

Howdy Y'all: Texas 1.1

Our first Texan Sunset

We will begin by saying we are both feeling much better after being quite under the weather for a couple of weeks with bad colds and so forth and being in the deep south has definitely lead us to warmer weather. The drive from Roswell to Junction, a small town on the interstate en-route to Austin, was the longest one we have completed yet at just under eight hours. The scenery was spectacular and we passed through a number of old shantytowns on the way through, with some looking more suitable as sets for old western movies, with plenty of abandoned buildings and ruins kicking around. Our first Texan sunset lived up to the reputation we had heard about and even though we saw it through our small rear view mirrors it was still fittingly beautiful. Needless to say we were both very glad to arrive in Junction, hook up the RV and chow down on some dinner before passing out happily in the back under a very stunning Texas night sky.

The town of Junction is a little further east than the town we intended to visit, Sonora, but we are glad we did. We are both finding it more relaxing and rewarding visiting the country-side and small towns rather than the big cities crammed with freeways and people who, genuinely, do not think of doing any thing for another person. Southern hospitality has a tremendous reputation and we have encountered it in spades in the smaller towns while in the cities we have found people to be less friendly. Anything you hear about these country people being simple is, quite frankly, untrue as there is nothing simple about what they do or how they do it, but rather they disregard all the usual bullshit that burdens so many people and all that is left is genuine. We have had very few unpleasant encounters with American’s on a whole, and we hope this trend continues, and are grateful the stories we heard back home have very little to do with a vast majority of this country’s citizens.

Armadillo: We called him Arnold

Our first outwards expedition in Texas was to a small state park about 20 minutes out of Junction with promises of wild deer and turkey roaming about the grounds. We managed to photograph the deer as they frolicked across the road at sunset, which had James scouring the roadside for any signs of movement to ensure safe passage for Phoenix, and we even tracked down a couple of Armadillos grazing, which was something we did not even think we would see on this trip. After getting off to such a good start in our latest destination we headed the way we came for Sonora and onwards to the Caves.

We do not know about you, but seeing caves is something we did not expect to hear of, let alone see, in Texas but we are very glad we took a punt and drove on down the interstate. The caves were found by a farmer who’s dog chased a raccoon down a small hole in the early 1900s and the farmer set about exploring the spaces below with no more than rope, a candle and a handful of good faith. What he discovered were some of the most decorated caverns and caves in the world and it is something you really have to see with your own eyes to appreciate. 

One of the highly decorated caverns of Sonora

We were there on a very quite afternoon and there were two other people on our tour, who for one reason or another really frustrated us [we cannot explain why; they just did], and we had an excellent guide show us the different sections, formations and history of the Sonora Caverns. There were all the usual formations, pools of water that looked no more than a few centimeters deep, but in reality were deep enough to dive head first into, and some very unique formations found only in a few places all over the world. The Sonora Caverns are frequently visited by geologists from all over the world and it was very easy to see why. This natural wonder speaks of Texas’ diversity and ability to deliver the unexpected to people willing to take a chance and take the road less traveled. This may not have been what we were expecting from Texas, but it was something totally worth seeing.

Our next stop was Ausitn, Texas’ state capitol, and after another taxing drive on America’s bustling and dim witted highways we arrived at what we thought would be our destination for the week. Upon reporting to the office we were informed even though we had made a reservation there were no spaces available. This was ok with us as we are never in any real hurry to get somewhere, but what pissed us off was her attitude. She made out it was our fault for not double checking and she then went on to explain she was having trouble with her email account and she said ‘I’m computer illiterate,’ which made us wonder why she has an online reservation system when she has no f&#$ing idea what she is doing? Apparently calling someone to tell them their reservation has been declined is something she never thought to do and when we combined this incident with a punctured tire, empty stomachs and post American highway tension we really did start to feel a little dejected. We ended up checking in at a close by RV community, and they only had one space left so it was meant to be [take that discourteous host @ Austin Mid Town RV Park]. The rest of the afternoon was spent at Walmart [a classy place were all your troubles can be forgotten or drowned in responsive consumerism] waiting for our tire to be fixed and picking up a few essentials for Antoinette’s birthday.

Antoinette's birthday invention complete
with multicoloured candles.

Even after a bad first impression we quickly fell in love with Austin. There is something about this city that just seems so right and after spending a day wandering through Austin’s downtown shopping district and speeding through Antoinette’s Texas shopping list [hat, boots and a belt buckle] in less than a few caffeine fueled hours it was time to head back to the RV park and re-coup for the next day. Antoinette’s birthday started with a champagne breakfast served with a weird and wonderful birthday breakfast cake consisting of French toast with peanut butter, chocolate marshmallows and dark chocolate sauce. The results were delicious and we both felt the buzz from ingesting so much sugar so early in the day, but we needed our energy as more shopping waited around the corner of South Congress Avenue. Before hitting the stores we made our way to Austin’s capitol building and learned a lot about ‘the six flags of Texas,’ Austin and the south in General. We were amazed to hear Texas has been ‘owned’ by six countries during it’s history and was even an independent nation for short time after the revolutionaries seized the state from Mexican authorities.

Antoinette in her new boots outside of the
State Capitol.

The little utopian society of Texas shopping better known as South Congress Avenue has a wicked range of all the things you would expect to find in the south and also plenty of whacky objects and antiques with questionable uses and origins for that matter. Antoinette found an authentic pair of cowgirl boots made right here in Texas, a couple of other items and just in time for her birthday too, while James settled for a hand made pair of cufflinks to use when he actually starts wearing anything other than t-shirts. The afternoon wafted away gently with James getting his hair buzzed at a real barber shop, coffee and dinner before trudging back to the RV park with heavy feet and significantly lighter wallets. Coming to Texas we knew we wanted to see a rodeo and the only one we could find was in Fort Worth, approximately three and a half hours north of Austin, so being no stranger to longer than usual day trips at this stage in our adventure that is where we headed.

Action shot of the Cowtown Coliseum in action.

The Stockyard District of Fort Worth was tactfully laid out and really brings out the cowboy or cowgirl in any one walking through the area. Stuck between the old railway station, souvenir shops and saloons is the Cowtown Coliseum, which was host to the worlds first indoor rodeo. The two hour show was really entertaining and with bull riding, run a way roping, barrel racing and more bull riding we really got a taste of what rodeo is all about. By no means are we experts on the subject after this event, but we definitely have an appreciation for the skill and dedication the cowboys, cowgirls and bull fighters [the clowns that distract the bulls after the rider ‘exits’ the bull] have to their respective crafts. The bulls are absolutely massive with most of them weighing close to, or over, 900kg and how the riders hold on is a feat that defies sense and physics. The day trip was possibly one of the best things we have done recently and we with our rodeo lust satisfied we headed back south for Austin on a Saturday night.

Synth player from
Bright light Social Hour

For this nocturnal escapade we would hopefully employ the lessons learned in Las Vegas [warm clothing, no happy hour and most certainly no more espresso martinis], and were destined for a club just out of the central entertainment district called momos. The night started on a promising note caffeine, ice cream and frangelico [aka affogatos] and it was not long before we were stumbling around trying to find where we thought the club was. In the end we both got half of the location equation right with it being on Sixth street, but in the opposite direction and after poking our heads in to see an empty club we staggered across the road to the beckoning neon lights of a local pub. We sat down to two of our favourite beverages [James had his favourite beer La’Fin Du Monde, which is near impossible to get in Perth and Antoinette tucked into a cider, something that is very uncommon in most American bars]. 

We think this guy looks
like THIS GUY

After this intermission we headed back to Momos and the placed was rammed, which was surprising because it had no more than a few bar staff in it an hour ago, and the 71s were revving up a sizeable crowd. After the 71s a crew called ‘The Bright light Social Hour’ came on and really stepped it up to another level. One of the singers looked like this guy [youtube link], another one rocked out on a keytar and the other looked like the cousin it of Adams Family fame had a musical lovechild with Cher on drums. Both the acts we saw were phenomenal and had such an eclectic energy and stage presence that really drew you into their performance. To top it all off we had a wicked taxi driver who made our cab ride disappear faster than we can come up with a David Copperfield joke. Leaving Austin was very hard after such an amazing night. Nights like this really made us want to stay for longer as the club and music scene here is the best we have experienced so far and it would be lovely to kick back and check out what this fine city has to offer.

Even signs in Texas have a slack jaw.

We are currently in Houston and will be here for a week before heading on through Louisiana for some quality Cajun cookin’ before roaming through the south east and onto Florida, where we will be spending Christmas and New Years. The trip is starting to wear us down a little as the repetition and lack of motivation is overtaking the excitement of entering and exploring a new destination. This week however, we had a nice moment, when we locked down our accommodation in New York. After a couple of tough weeks of research, emails and long distance phone calls a fully furnished apartment in Chelsea will be our home for around $90 a night for both of us and we are both relieved we will have a little space to luxuriously spread out and call our own after living out the back of a van for over two months.

‘Till next time,

Antoinette and James.