So my trip to Houston was off to a slow start. I arrived to the airport with plenty of time and made it through security. I then found out my flight was delayed, and then it was cancelled. Everyone on my flight was rescheduled onto another flight about three hours later. Then that flight was delayed. After waiting more than eight hours in Atlanta airport we finally left and I arrived in Houston at about one in the morning. I caught up with my friend, we got some food and then went back to her place and crashed.
The next day we got up and went to NASA. The weather was a pretty bad, but at least everything was indoors. I found it really cool and interesting to have a look around. We got a tram ride which went past all the buildings they occupy and we got to have a look at mission control and the vehicle testing center. We also watched a few films and got to go inside one of the shuttles which was just really cool!
That night we went to this arcade place which was really cool. I was not very excited about spending $25, but it really was worth it and we managed to fit a lot in. I thought it was good value for money. I played arcade versions of apps like Fruit Ninja and Doodle Jump, and then played more classic ones like throwing a football and Mario Kart. I earned enough tickets to get myself a toy Batman and a few other things.
On Thursday we went to Rodeo Houston. We arrived around noon and went straight for the food. They had lots of carnival style foods like turkey legs, sausages, baked potatoes, and fried everything. They even had pizza on a stick! I went for a sausage in a bun. I also tried deep fried cookie dough, it tasted like it was terrible for you and I don't think I'll have it again! It was very sweet and gooey.
Then we walked through the main showroom. It was similar to the Perth Royal Show, but much bigger. There were cars on show, stuff for sale, and lots of cowboy hats and boots. There was also live stock for sale and for show.
We walked through the carnival part of the show. There was lots of food and games and rides. I liked just looking through it all. There was also this event called Mutton Bustin'. Basically this is where they get 5-year-olds and stick them on the back of a sheep and see how long they can hold on while the sheep races across the paddock. Entrants pay $15 like a ride and most of he kids want to grow up to be bull riders.
We got some dinner and then headed into the stadium for the evening's entertainment. The stadium was huge. It seated over 70, 000 but it seemed much bigger then that. We watched bareback riding, saddle riding, this thing where a guy jumps off a horse to catch a calf, one where a team of two catches a calf with a lasso , these chariot things, some hits obstacle things, bull riding and more mutton Bustin'. It was petty exciting to watch and looked pretty dangerous.
After that there was a performance by country singer Luke Bryan. They have a different deformed each night, some of the other performers include Keith Urban, Pitbull and Kid Rock. The performance was really incredible, I have never seen anyone in an audience so huge. There was a great atmosphere. While country music isn't really my thing, I really did like it. There was one song called Huntin' Fishin' and Lovin' which was both ridiculous and really great. It had an awesome electric banjo solo in it. I really enjoyed the whole performance.
The next day I went to check out the museum district. First I looked through the Contemporary Arts Museum, which was nice to look through and had a few interesting pieces. I also went to the Holocost Museum. You can't really say you enjoy something like that, but I found it very interesting and it was put together in a way that made me interested and take the information in.
We also went to The Galleria, a large shopping mall. It was much bigger than The Galleria back home and it had a hotel and ice skating rink in it! Near that there was a huge water feature called The Waterwall. It was actually spectacular and I felt like you could just sit and stare at it for a while. There were some guys shooting a music video there too.
Then that night we went to get wings for dinner and then went to a bar where we played a few games of pool.
The following day we had a late start and went out for breakfast, although it was after lunch time. I was excited to have a big breakfast with bacon and eggs.
Then we went to Hermann Park. It was very busy there and took us two laps to find parking. It was quite similar to Kings Park back home and it was a lovely sunny day for it. We walked through the park and the Japanese garden and then threw the football around.
On the way back I spotted all these nice cars. Turns out there was a car show on that is done quite regularly. I enjoyed looking at all the nice cars.
On Sunday we drove to Austin. Our first stop was Lake Travis where we stayed a few hours. I was the only one brave enough to swim! It was cold and windy which made the water choppy, but I didn't mind. It was a really nice view. We went to this restaurant which overlooked the lake and provided a view just as spectacular.
Then that night we went into town. We struggled to find a cab or Uber as there was an event on and it was all so busy. Then we went bar hopping for a bit. We played darts and found an arcade bar-Perth really needs one of those!
The next morning we drove back to Houston and I got my flight back to Atlanta. I had a great time and was thoroughly exhausted!
We walked to the movies to see Batman vs Superman the day it came out. It was good, but not great. It was very long too. I think I might have liked it more if it was shorter. We got free movie posters though. I thought Wonder Woman was really cool in the movie, and her appearance made me excited to see her in her own feature movie.
