Possible Houston Road Trip

[Meadbh]

+1 on Caddo Lake. You can go to Uncertain, TX (if you can find it!) and take a paddlewheel type boat sightseeing tour of the lake. There are several local businesses that do the tours. I've spent hundreds of hours fishing on Caddo, & it's a natural beauty. I've also fished & boated miles up the Big Cypress Bayou/River, which is the main tributary feeding Caddo Lake.

Are you sure?

That place name ranks right up there with Intercourse, PA and Dildo, NL.

 

[martyb]

Well if you are into gambling, you could go through Louisiana or Oklahoma and stop at a Casino. Also, recommend staying off Houston's expressways during rush hours

Our weather guy said last night that the humidity streaming from the gulf is about to go way up, so I definitely agree with anti-perspirant comments.

We have six riverboat casinos right here in Bossier City & Shreveport (where I'm typing this from) ready & willing to take all the hard-earned money you're willing to donate! The newest one, Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville is scheduled to open any day now. It sits on the banks of the Red River on the Bossier side of the river, next to Bass Pro Shops & the Louisiana Boardwalk (shopping, dining, large movie theatre etc). Nice place to spend an afternoon.

Also, if you're interested, horse racing (with betting) is going on right now at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City.

 

[REWahoo]

Are you sure?

Reasonably...

 

[martyb]

Are you sure?

That place name ranks right up there with Intercourse, PA and Dildo, NL.

 

[haha]

One more suggestion:

Your route will likely take you through Jefferson, TX a former steamboat port up the Big Cypress River from New Orleans. If so, I highly recommend Kitt's Kornbread Sandwich and Pie Bar located downtown.

The cornbread sandwiches are absolutely delicious. Really.

If you have the chance, be sure to take a peek at nearby Caddo Lake:

My wife and I went over here in the late 70s. Her cousin was a sheriff somewhere near there and we were visiting him. We stayed at a really old hotel, I think named the Jefferson Hotel. Fascinating history, and I agree that Caddo Lake is a very interesting place. Lot of Belle Époque history over there. Great place for Goths.

We were on our way to Louisiana Downs in Bossier City. The whole way from Jefferson to Bossier City was great.

Ha

 

[mickeyd]

Went on this FREE boat tour a few months ago in Htown.

Right price, right time.

Sam Houston Boat Tour | The Port of Houston Authority

Or Beaumont..

​

If one had asked a Beaumonter on January 1, 1901, what big news of recent months had most interested him, he would have said the great Galveston hurricane of September 8, or the dawning of a new century. If one had asked him on January 10, he would have said the great gusher at Spindletop - a salt dome about three miles south of Beaumont. Dubbed "The Lucas Gusher," the oil discovery on Spindletop Hill changed the economy of Texas and helped to usher in the petroleum age. Read more.
http://www.spindletop.org/

 

[Htown Harry]

Wait a minute. I've seen all those warnings about Texas, and they never included gators (for example, here ). I've eaten it, never on the grill, but am very open minded when it comes to food, especially when beer is involved.

There were always plenty of cajun and creole restaurants in Houston, but there seem to be even more since 100,000 or so former New Orleans residents settled here after Katrina. The good ones will serve you all the favorites: alligator, crawfish, shrimp, boudin, jambalaya, etouffee, etc.

If you take the Caddo Lake route, I recommend the real deal in cajun country along I-10 in southwest Louisiana. Food places on every corner in Lake Charles, Lafayette and bunch of tiny towns in between.

I found a couple of Lake Charles food and music festival listings for late July:
26th Annual Cajun Food and Music Festival - Lake Charles Events Calendar & Festivals - Lake Charles Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau
Marshland Festival, Cajun & Zydeco Festival, Lake Charles Louisiana Civic Center

 

[Htown Harry]

Went on this FREE boat tour a few months ago in Htown.

Right price, right time.

Sam Houston Boat Tour | The Port of Houston Authority

+1. It is impressive like any port is, but the close-up views of huge petrochemical plants will probably leave even more of an impression.

If you take the tour before the wedding, you'll have a great conversation starter with the other guests. Most Houstonians don't know the tour exists, and even fewer have been on it.

 

[urn2bfree]

St Louis is a bit out of your way going to Houston, but is worth a visit anytime. It is an easy weekend trip from Chicago,with tons of free and inexpensive attractions. If you end up going that way I would have a lot more recommendations for you.

 

[HFWR]

Whataburger?

Ewww [/valleygirl]

 

[martyb]

Wife's a native Texan & is a fan of Whataburger. I'm not crazy about it, but I do stop in now & then for a honey-buttered chicken biscuit on the way to work sometimes.

 

[ohyes]

If you drive through Little Rock and want company for lunch/ dinner/coffee, give us a holler.

 

[JakeBrake]

I had a Whataburger today and I got my senior discount without asking for it.

 

[Texas Proud]

Whataburger?

Ewww [/valleygirl]

Wife's a native Texan & is a fan of Whataburger. I'm not crazy about it, but I do stop in now & then for a honey-buttered chicken biscuit on the way to work sometimes.

Whataburger is good for fast food.... but I would not put it up there to recommend someone wanting to eat at a nice place...

It IS fast food.... and it IS NOT a gourmet burger....

 

[eytonxav]

If Whataburger is a no go, we do have the renowned In and Out Burger in North Texas, and if your DW does not like COW, there is always Babes Chicken in Roanoke, TX.

 

[martyb]

If you end up driving south on TX Hwy 59 to Houston (through Nacogdoches, Lufkin etc.) I reccommend stopping in at the Angelina County Airport (south of Lufkin). They have the best (voted on) burgers in Angelina County. Just thoght I'd give 'em a plug!

Same offer as JakeBrake. If you pass through Shreveport/Bossier on a weekend, I'll meet ya for lunch. If it's a weekday, same thing but in Lufkin, TX. Lemmee know.

 

[tfudtuckerpucker]

If you go through Austin, looking for the best BBQ, this may be helpful

 

[eytonxav]

If you want to go to Austin, you could stop in West, TX and tour the blast site and grab a Kalache at the Czech stop:

 

[martyb]

Looks like somebody accidentally dropped a 500 pounder (I was an Air Force weapons troop) behind the Sonic!

 

[meierlde]

If going thru Austin, Lockhart is not to far and has 3 top rated BBQ joints. Kreuz, Smitties and Blacks. One needs to go to the web for reviews.

 

[WestLake]

Stay in Big D and take side trips to these "other" places.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

A little off topic but still involves Houston. Three years ago I drove with my son to Houston to pick up a Donzi boat he had purchased. As we approached the place where we were to meet the boat owner, we passed this huge facility which caught my eye. When we stopped and met the boat owner, I asked him "what is that huge complex over there?". He said it was the Johnson Space Center.

I mess around a lot with Google Earth and looked at it yesterday. You wouldn't believe it today. These large parking lots are void of cars. No actiivity. It's sad. Maybe forum members in the Houston area can post what, if anything, goes on there now.

 

[Bestwifeever]

We enjoyed anything Goode Co. in Houston when DD was in school there. Restaurants included Texas Bar-B-Q, Seafood, and Taqueria, and I see there is a Goode's Armadillo Palace too (not familiar with that one, but it looks like fun with music etc.). http://www.goodecompany.com/locations/

We also enjoyed Pappasito's Cantina for Tex-Mex food. And Chuy's.

This thread is making me hungry!

A drive through Rice University is worth the gas. Biased here, but it is a pretty school from an architectural standpoint.

 

[REWahoo]

We also enjoyed Pappasito's Cantina for Tex-Mex food.

Actually Pappasito's is more central Mexico than Tex-Mex (note the 'Mexico City' description on some of their entrees). Good if that's what you like, but for a Tex-Mex purist it doesn't measure up.

As in most ethnic foods, the best is found in independent restaurants - quite often a hole-in-the-wall place you wouldn't set foot in if you didn't know something about the place...

 

[Bestwifeever]

Actually Pappasito's is more central Mexico than Tex-Mex (note the 'Mexico City' description on some of their entrees). Good if that's what you like, but for a Tex-Mex purist it doesn't measure up.

As in most ethnic foods, the best is found in independent restaurants - quite often a hole-in-the-wall place you wouldn't set foot in if you didn't know something about the place...

So true, but we were in full 100 percent tourist mode during our visits so found Goode, Pappas family places, etc. to be mighty fine for us so just passing it on. Never mind, in my best Emily Litella voice.

(DH loves the holes in the wall but we do have stories about some that no one really should have set foot in, not to mention the evil eye from the locals who are not interested in their special place being invaded by tourists like us.)