So way back when, the middle of October, 2005, we took a family trip to Houston, TX to visit all friends and family who live within 4 hours of the 4th largest US city. We had to fly out on Logan's birthday, which was a bit of a bummer, but a necessary evil. I think everything turned out ok since he got his gifts early which included some things to do on the plane.

We were to stay with our dear friends Brandon, Christy, and their new baby Casseia for the first night, then hotel it for our remaining nights. They were leaving for a wedding in CA the next day, so we didn't get very much time with them, which was a bummer. It's always so far and few between short visits that I often wish we were all in the same city again. I got to stay up late and chat with Brandon about pretty much everything. It was good to see my friend again.

In the morning we saw them off to the store before their trip with a little football toss with Logan and the short version of how Kelli and I came to be. We ended up following them to Target since we needed vacation supplies anyway. How I enjoyed beating on the Buick Rendezvous rental. Next time, B, the Pilot's going down! Plenty of straight in TX to drag race on! =)

When we planned the trip, Hurricane Rita hadn't come around yet - our initial plan was to leave for Orange, TX, a couple hours away, to visit grandma and grandpa. Weather struck and Kelli's grandparents were forced to flee their home for about a few weeks. They were at a hotel with other refugees just outside of Houston, about 30 minutes from where we were in The Woodlands (north of Houston). Just before we all left for the store Friday morning, we were getting the run down on how to lock up when we left when Brandon and Christy offered our family their home.

Completely stunned, we graciously accepted. We saved a good deal of money in hotel expense, the boys had plenty of room to spread out, media room, Replay TV, BBQ, and we got to watch the dog while they were gone which saved them a trip to the kennels. I hope to return the favor with an equivalent gesture someday - beyond the large box of Lucky Charms we sent them.

After Target, we came back to the house to unload and decided to look up the aquarium with Ferris wheel we saw from the freeway on the way from the airport. Downtown Aquarium turned out to be pretty sweet! We decided that would be our activity for the day, so we headed out. On the way, we burned the tires off when we saw Lupe Tortilla, a Mexican restaurant we'd been eyeing from I-45. It was very well worth the rental car abuse. We had an amazing queso, quality margaritas, and to die for fajitas, all in the open air cantina area that leads out to the sandy play area full of toys for the boys. I told my amigo that it was Logan's birthday. They brought out flan, sang a little song, got a picture with a sweet sombrero, then dabbled some whipped cream on his nose. Quite funny, quite fun, and overall a very good dining experience.

Off to the aquarium - cool place that guides you along the inside maze of different themed areas. It was so much better than your run of the mill, cement wall, fish tank place. They had a cool open top aquarium that you could touch different rays and other seafood, er, creatures. There was a viewing area for chilluns underneath - a glass bubble allowed them to look up into the habitat. That made for a funny picture. So did the giant white tigers that came to sit next to the glass with Barrett touching the other side. I was out of space on my memory card and it was pretty dark, so I couldn't get the shot I wanted. Oh well - we did get a family shot of us being attacked by a giant white tiger coming out of the wall. Totally corny. We tried out the restaurant, which I don't know was that spectacular. Basically all I want for every meal of every day is Lupe Tortilla. Mmm...

GoDaddy support soaked up the remainder of my evening while Kelli and the boys watched movies at the house. Greg was trying to host .xhtml pages, but GoDaddy had the wrong MIME type associated so it kept breaking. Apparently customers aren't allowed to talk to escalated support directly, so it was very, very frustrating repeating myself to someone who didn't have a technical understanding of what I was trying to accomplish.

Kelli's dad, brother (& Laura), and grandma came over for a bbq dinner. We got to experience a grocery store like it should be - meat displays the whole length of the store, with a center isle of more meat in a frozen form. Awesome. I picked up some Fryin' Cheese - just slice it and toss it in a pan. I love Texas. Then there was a hot sauce isle that about brought me to my knees. I love Texas. While we were there, I did get a very sad message from Brandon. Their rental car was broken into and his laptop, PSP, Christy's Blackberry were all stolen. After I got home I'd learn that their keys were also taken, so they couldn't get into the house. I still feel terrible about not calling, but simply replying to the message. We could have left the garage door opener out for their return. =(

It was nice to cook for family - I think everyone had a good time visiting and eating. The next morning we hooked up with Unca Ian and Laura and headed towards Houston to return some birthday sandals Kelli's dad got everyone. I got a new cowboy hat (new, though Grandma thinks it's funny 'cause it looks used), then we hooked up with Kelli's dad and ate at Whataburger. We then went to the hotel Kelli's grandparents were staying in to visit with Grandma, finally see Grandpa, and visit with Aunt Anna. We watched baseball and talked about the hurricane and the kind of damage it did. It was really comfortable being around family.

On the way back, we stopped at Pappadeaux's Seafood Kitchen for dinner. It always has been my favorite restaurant in Texas, and remains. I want to eat Pappadeaux's for every meal of every day. Sorry Lupe Tortilla. Perhaps I could switch off and do every other meal. They have awesome Cajun flare to their food, and the catfish I had was no exception. We had a seafood gumbo that rocked. We chatted with Jimmy, our server, for quite a while during and after the meal. It was a really good experience. We even bought 4 pint glasses as souvenirs.

The morning felt rushed, getting all of us packed up, fed, and the house back to the way we found it (I hope that was the case!). We really wanted to leave a basket or gift or something for the wonderful hospitality, and resolved in the car we should have taken a couple minutes to leave a note. It was Monday morning, and we had to make it through Houston to get to the airport. It was a little stressful - sorry Brandon & Christy - we really do appreciate what you did for our family trip! I missed the exit to the airport, and we ended up turning around at NASA. "Houston, we have a problem" - duh, that's here! Next time we'll be visiting the space center. I totally didn't think of that before. At the airport, I got some Pappasito's, another of the Pappas restaurants. Of course it was brilliant, just like all their food. Nachos and quesadillas were special there - even at the airport. I miss Texas already.

Or at least the food...

//bikerscum