APRIL 2: AUSTIN TO HOUSTON – DAY 9

As much as we enjoyed Austin, it was time to move on.  Today was Cara’s and my 20^th Dating Anniversary.  Not a lot of fanfare but we were enjoying the trip.  After a slow start we packed up and hit the road northeast to College Station, home of the Aggies.  We took scenic rural highways through rolling plains of greenery and livestock... lots of livestock.  Our first stop in College Station was for lunch at Jason’s Deli, Cara and the kids were craving salads and baked potatoes, unfortunately BBQ was not going to be on the menu.  We parked on campus and walked around Texas A&M.  Kyle Field, their football stadium, is located in the heart of campus, directly across from the student union, and is quite impressive.  The grounds have lots of landscaped areas and sculpture art.  We all agreed it was a nice campus, impeccably kept with a great master plan.... yet we didn’t really care for it.  The buildings were large and had lots of open space between them.  This probably is comfortable to students who grew up on a Texas ranch but I felt like it was out of scale to be comfortable.  The campus is surrounded by retail and residential development, yet they felt detached from the campus.

When we were done with our walking tour, we jumped in the car and made our last stop at the George Bush (#41) Presidential Library.  Presidential libraries we came to find are less libraries and more museums.  Throughout most of the country we have found just about every state tries to claim Lincoln in one form or fashion but in Texas it is all about Lyndon Johnson with a growing presence of the Bush Presidencies.

After another 90 minute drive we arrived back in Houston where it all started.  We checked into our hotel near the airport and unloaded the car just to repack everything for tomorrow’s flight home.

By pure coincidence, we happened to be in Houston where the NCAA Final Four is being held and tonight Villanova beat Oklahoma and UNC defeated Syracuse.  We were rooting for Nova (Cara grew up north of Philly) and UNC (living in NC).  I tried to make arrangements for us to stay till Tuesday so we could go the championship game but the flights were booked from Houston to Charlotte because of UNC.  We decided to head down to NRG Stadium and get in the fray.  We weaved through the crowds, took in some of the atmosphere, and took a few pictures.

From there we drove into the heart of Houston’s downtown to look around.  The city was bustling on a Saturday night with all the Final Four activities.  On the way back it was late and no one was in the mood for a full dinner.  We tried to stop at a grocery store but ended up at Wal-Mart in what might not have been the best area of town.  It was your typical Wal-Mart experience – an especially flamboyant transgender, an inappropriately dressed large women, a guy juggling heads of lettuce, and the usual 10 deep at 4 open and 20 closed cashier lanes.

Texas A&M

 

George Bush Presidential Library

NCAA Final Four