Travelog - Day 26, Feb. 26

This morning is spent trying to get the new laptop operational and editing yesterday’s pictures. Too time-consuming for words, but if I don’t do this as a regular daily chore, I make a right hash of trying to remember.

I’m off to have lunch with Kathy, my tie collector friend, in Houston. Al will drop me off at her house and do his own thing while Kathy chauffeurs me around.

We hop into Kathy’s brand new FJ Cruiser. I am given a quick drive through a section of Sugar Land with its new shops, all very carefully planned. It is quite lovely and upscale, but almost unbearably hot area in the summer. I take a picture of city hall with its front courtyard. From there we proceed to The Galeria, a shopping district which we only sample. Kathy takes a picture of me at the entrance to Neiman Marcus or is it Marcus Neiman? You can tell where I don’t shop. We sample perfume from a lovely teardrop shaped bottle. In Tiffany’s Kathy asks about a pocket watch – only $4,000 for 18ct gold; the sterling silver one was sold. In Lalique Crystal , Kathy asks about a cigarette lighter in glass which she received as a wedding present years ago. We are appropriately impressed with today’s price.

My search for a pair of lime green crocs is proving more difficult than anticipated. When I finally see a pair in the right size & colour, I don’t buy them. We leave the salesclerk literally scratching her head when I try to explain that somehow it doesn’t make sense to come all the way to Houston and buy a Canadian branded pair, Holes or Hole-in-One or.. At one more store I finally settle on a pair of bright turquoise crocs.

Back in the car we head for the area where the wealthy live, River Oaks. Wrought iron fencing, some with gates, elaborate hedging, pink saucer magnolias in bloom, some houses barely visible in the distance, nannies out with children, a maid in uniform, pool maintenance crews, gardeners, bronze statuary, Spanish moss hanging from trees ... Lot sizes are very generous allowing multi-wing houses to be set back from the road and well apart from their neighbours. I’ll mention two houses specifically: one with a completely glass door allowing a view straight through the entrance hall to the beautifully landscaped courtyard in the rear. I’m not sure how to describe the architecture of this second one and unfortunately I did not get a picture. However, you might imagine a two-storied castle in large, pale sand-coloured stone, carved ones define the top layer which covers an unseen roof, 3-wings that I could see undoubtedly close to 20,000 sq ft. Finally we do a U-turn in front of the country club, the entrance of which is at the end of a 4-lane treed boulevard. A uniformed man complete with cap ensures only members & invited guests pass through the gateway.

As we have other plans for lunch we move on to Chipotle. I choose a burrito which is ‘built’ to order. The gal behind the counter has to trash her first effort at my request by assuming that I want both rice and beans. I congratulate myself on curtailing the carbs (no rice) only to be outfoxed by the enormous ladle of chicken she lays down onto a monstrous tortilla. Green tomato salsa or red or corn. Ièm told the corn has cilantro, so of course I chose that. Then of course one has to have guacamole… The final result is the size of … well imagine 6 short weiners standing together on end and wrapped in tinfoil! The 'cilantro' turns out to be parlsey – poo!

Our discussion at lunch leads to the decision of visiting not one of Houston's marvellous sights, but to a re-cycle store where clothing is 50% off. Sale does not include menès ties, so no Houston tie for me. However, Kathy finds a resin daschund dog with a clock making his tale wag which will become part of a mosiac some day, perhaps without the clock.

We're back in the Cruiser cruising another section of Houston when Kathy exclaims that she had no intention of showing me 'shotgun' houses in this rather seedy neighbourhood. I'm surprised to see uninhabited, derelict houses leaning dangerously with great gaps in the walls & roofs. We’re on the lookout for a Salvation Army store which we eventually find. Stores of this type close at 3:00pm and it's now well past that.

As we head home I’m treated to a sighting of the downtown skyline, the Astrodome & stadium from the top of a loop-d-loop elevated highway.

Only the dogs greet us back at the trailer. Al returns shortly with new laptop in hand & a scowl on his face. I leave the rest to your imagination.