A Trip to H-Town

Last Friday, my good friend Laura and I took our second road trip together and made the seven-hour drive to Houston to visit a couple other good friends of ours: Aubrey and her husband, Evan. There was so much fun crammed into a few short days that I don't even know where to start. But start I shall...

Laura and I left at 7:00 Friday morning, after stocking up on donuts and caffeine and loading the CD player with our roadtrip music, which included our song "Don't Let Go" by En Vogue, some Alicia Keys, and a couple Gavin DeGraw greats.

Here we are at our first pit stop, at a super-clean McDonald's in Ardmore:

We only stopped two more times and made it to Houston in record time---at 2:15. We spent Friday catching up with Aubrey until Evan got home. He arrived bearing Fuzzy's pizza, which was excellent. So while we ate, we watched the awesomely bad movie Black Sheep. The line "Violence...of the Lambs" was actually in the trailer, if that gives you any indication of how hilariously bad it was. Let's just say it involved zombie sheep and a dog saying "ba-aa-aa" instead of "woof" at the end and leave it at that.

Saturday we awoke to Shipley's donuts---fresh, warm, and absolutely delicious. Evan had to work, so it was just the girls for the day. Our first stop was the beach. After spending an hour or so there, I now wish I lived closer to a beach. Running or walking along the beach seems so peaceful and beautiful, and there's just something about the sound of rushing water...besides that of water filling up a bathtub, that is.

Here are a few beach shots:

the seawall

That would be Aubrey's left side and an unnamed bird

mine and Aubrey's beach feet

After taking a long walk along the beach (that's romantic, you know), we had lunch at the Black Pearl. I went to a seafood restaurant and, naturally, got a cheeseburger. It was one of the best burgers I've ever had, though, so I don't regret my choice to not introduce my tastebuds to food from the ocean.

Since we stuffed ourselves to the gills (get it? fish have gills...), after lunch it was time to walk and shop along the Strand, a street with oh so many shops, one of my favorites being the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Their Snickers candy apples are sinful.

While on the Strand, I did this:

(rode a dolphin)

and we bought these:

(robot friendship rings)

Sunday was a busy day as well. We woke up to a huge breakfast for Laura's birthday---homemade waffles, turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, fresh strawberries and pineapple, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Then it was off to the Galleria!

Our first stop there was Dylan's Candy Bar, where I spent $17 on cinnamon gummy bears (my fave), Sour Patch watermelons and peaches, and Swedish Fish.

After the Galleria, we went to the water wall. It was just gorgeous. These pictures don't do it justice, but here they are:

Right across from the water wall is Williams Tower, the tallest building in Houston:

Next up was Maggiano's for dinner. I ordered baked ziti and got lasagna to go for free! Yep, that place is one of my favorites. I've still got Italian food in my fridge.

We then went back to Aubrey and Evan's place for birthday cake, ice cream, and The Wedding Date. It was a wonderful ending to a wonderful trip.

The last picture I will leave you with is one that still haunts my dreams---a monolithic statue of Sam Houston that terrified Laura and me on our way to Houston but which I was ready for on the way back.

That's not a great picture (I was in a moving car, remember), but picture that thing in your peripheral vision when you're not ready for it. I'm telling you, it's scary.

But the trip was a blast, and Laura and I are already planning our next visit, to be held sometime this summer. Let's just say Schlitterbahn is on the agenda.