Travel Diary: How I Spent Four Days in Houston

I’m not a huge planner when it comes to travel, I usually plan a few places of interest or restaurants to try, but mostly fly by the seat of my pants. So when my travel plans changed at the last minute from an all girls trip to Malta to a less exotic jaunt with my bestie Shay, to Houston, the fly by the seat of my pants traveler was how I approached the trip. I’ll take you through each of my travel days so you can see how that worked out for me.

Day 1

Food was the order of the day for my first outing in Houston so we headed to The Breakfast Klub for a truly southern breakfast of catfish, cheesy grits and potatoes. Probably not the best option for the heat and humidity but it was DELICIOUS. The fish was perfectly seasoned and the grits had just the right amount of cheesiness. I also loved how laid back the restaurant was and all of the local art that aligned the walls. When Shay told one of the servers that we were visiting from California they even brought us out a complimentary and equally tasty plate of fried chicken!

After eating at The Breakfast Klub I convinced Shay (who is not a huge art fan) to walk off our breakfast at the Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston to see their Stonewall 50 exhibit . In honor of pride the exhibit uses photography, video and interactive performance art to tell the stories of the LGBTQ+ community.

Shay had all she could take of the museum and I was even more pumped to keep the day going. We agreed upon a happy medium and she went back home to put in a couple hours at work, while I headed off to beer garden/ cafe Axelrad to do some reading and day drinking. Possibly the cutest spot on the trip, I people watched, read and felt tinges of jealousy as I watched other patrons eating delicious mouth watering pizzas (damn you keto diet) on hammocks in their outdoor garden.

After Axelrad I knew I needed to head back to the townhouse we were staying at for the week to prepare for our first night out on the town. so I walked back to take a quick nap, but what was supposed to be a quick nap actually turned into hours of sleep (day drinking and humidity don’t mix well kids) so imagine my surprise when I was awakened to Shay’s knock on my door ready to head out. I quickly got dressed and we went off to dinner at Pappasito’s Cantina for some Houston style Mexican food.

The native Californian in me was mildly impressed and sufficiently full so we headed to a dive bar that I don’t remember the name of and can only report that the smell of hookah was thick and the drinks cheap and strong, as evidenced by my superb dance moves below…

Can you believe that was only day 1? There are 4 more days to go and I’m already exhausted!

Day 2

I’m paying for an eventful day one, on day two in Houston. I wake up with what I initially thought were allergies, but is now a full blown head cold. After stuffing myself with over the counter cold meds the day before, I am congested, dehydrated and have a stomach ache that keeps me close to the bathroom all day. Why hast thou forsaken me God? Is the chant that runs through my mind all day. Shay comes over and saves the day with holistic medications from Whole Foods, that while having me smell like an herb garden, eventually bring me back to life. Oil of oregano, I hate how you burn down the back of my throat but I love how you quickly heal my hurt’n body.

Feeling better and not wanting to put anything heavy on my stomach, I suggest we grab Sushi for dinner. So off we go to the The Fish in midtown Houston, where we do some pretty legit people watching as we eat at the bar. I don’t know if it’s the holistic meds that Shay has pumped me full of, but I gain my second wind and we walk over to Oakmont – a nightclub, beer garden and event space with great views of Downtown Houston. It’s super humid out but that doesn’t stop us from swinging on their outdoor bar swings and playing a few games of corn hole.

Day 3

I wake up refreshed and ready to gain back the time I lost on Day 2. My first stop: The Houston Museum of African American Culture. Shay isn’t interested so I leave her at home at home, grab a Starbucks and venture out on my own.

“Close to Home: LatinX Art Identity 2.0”, and “3 The Hard Way: America’s Current Problem of Toxic Masculinity” are the exhibits for the month and they do not disappoint. I’m loving the use of color and how the messages in the art are subtle yet thought provoking.

After an inspiring morning I was left completely uninspired as we headed out to The Houston Brunch Festival, The festival promised to be a celebration of some of Houston’s best brunch spots but ended up being a lesson in how to get scammed by a food festival. We were promised 3 food tickets and unlimited mimosa’s but what we got was a litany of long lines, stifling heat, food trucks that wouldn’t honor our food tickets and apologies for running out of champagne halfway through the event. The only saving grace was that we paid half price for a V.I.P ticket at the door because the event organizer was trying to bring in more bodies. I felt so badly for the other festival attendees who had spent upwards of $65.00 and didn’t get half of what they were promised. This article on how to avoid being scammed by a food festival would have definitely come in handy had I read it before going to the event.

After having enjoyed my visit to the The Bishop Arts District in Dallas this past March, I was looking to replicate the experience in Houston. Unfortunately, I quickly learned that Houston isn’t known for its “walk- ability” factor. The one outdoor shopping experience at Highland Village while lovely, wasn’t in my budget. I did however get to walk around with a glass of frosé and pretend that I was actually on the market for a Hermès bag.

Disappointing food festivals and lackluster outdoor shopping with frosé, is exhausting and appetite inducing, so we headed over to The Turkey Leg Hut: Home of the Stuffed Turkey Leg , to satisfy our hunger. The line was wrapped around the corner so I was weary about whether we would get a seat. I headed inside to see how long the wait would be and was pleasenatly surprised to find an opening at the bar that we immediately scooped up. I’m convinced the bar is the perfect place to sit when dining in Houston. It’s got a view to some of the best people watching, the bartender has a bit more of a heavy a pour (especially if you’re engaging and kind) and the servers are way more hospitable(although everyone in Houston so far has been hospitable). As we drank and devoured what can only be described as the best damn turkey leg I have ever had in my life, I realize that I have not had a bad meal in Houston yet!

The proof of old age has to be the day naps you need to recover from a day of being out, so I went back home to do just that. What was initially supposed to be just a couple hours rest turned into a full nights sleep. I was happy as a clam curled up on the couch watching Netflix for the rest of the evening.

Day 4

On our last and final day we had big plans to head out to Austin to catch our flight and experience what has been described to me as the epitome of the Texas hipster movement. Well you know what they say about the best laid plans.

Shay had fallen ill the night before so we weren’t able to make it out early enough to experience Austin and catch our flight. WOMP WOMP. Guess that just means I have another trip to take in the near future.

Houston, I really enjoyed myself. You really have a lot to offer in terms of your art scene, amazing food and up and coming bars and cafes. I would however come back when it’s a lot less hot.

while our last and final day was a bit of a bust, being picked up by this guy at the airport made it all the better.

So guys, do you have any summer travel plans? Any places I should check out next? Let me know in the comments below.