Beloved fast food chains, art installations, and dinosaurs: it’s just another day in the Lone Star State.
Day 27 – August 5
The drive across Louisiana was as I always remember it: fairly unmemorable and boring, apart from the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, which I still have nightmares about getting stranded on. There’s a memorable chapter from Max Brooks’ “World War Z” that takes place there; it’s worth a read if you’ve ever driven through this section of I-10.
I counted down the mile markers, counting down until I would reach Exit 1 for the Sabine River Turnaround, cross the Sabine River itself and see the three essential sights of driving into Texas on I-10 West:
- the large Texas star and the six flags over Texas at the Orange Travel Information Center
- the Whataburger at Orange, TX
- a road sign that reads like a death threat: “El Paso 857” miles
While unsettling, it’s a sign that never fails to make me chuckle. I absolutely stop at the welcome center because I didn’t feel much like stopping in Louisiana after leaving NOLA.
For the uninitiated, Whataburger is a Texas fast food staple known for their fairly large sized burgers, solid fries, and 11 p.m. – 11 a.m. breakfast. It’s not the greatest food on the planet, but it’s pure Texas and I can’t get enough spicy ketchup to satisfy my needs. The point really is: I stop at this specific Whataburger location every time I pass through the area. There’s nothing special about the restaurant per se, but it’s one of the most Texan things you can ingest when coming into the state. It’s a tradition I’m never able to shake.
Now satiated from my Whataburger Jr. with jalapenos, I fueled up Pleiades and continued on my way to Houston. The largest city in Texas was my home for 10 years of my youth and ever since, it’s left a bad taste in my mouth, especially once I started driving through the city en route to SCAD and back. The traffic is horrendous. In terms of the city’s landmarks, I couldn’t name you one, apart from a museum or two. It’s crowded, it makes me think of pollution, and yet I somehow don’t despise it as much as Dallas (that rant will be written perhaps never).
Regardless of how I feel about the city, I was excited to be heading there to see the wondrous artist and human being that is former SCAD Radio colleague Liz.
Liz, always knowing where to find the best local art, drove us downtown to the Contemporary Arts Museum for an exhibition of the works of Mark Flood entitled Mark Flood: Gratest Hits. Irreverent. Harsh. Hilarious. Bleak. The work was engaging and upsetting. I could not have asked for a better exhibit to check out.
Once we took in the exhibit and the nearby Cullen Sculpture Garden, we shrugged a lot while figuring out what to do next. We finally made an executive decision to check out the Houston Zoo. Adventure is out there.
I likely went to the Houston Zoo when I was much younger, but I have much fonder memories of my parents and grandparents taking me to the San Antonio Zoo, honestly. Knowing this, our foray into Houston’s animalpalooza felt like a first-time experience and I truly enjoyed my time there.
Do you know what sets this zoo apart from so many others that I’ve visited? Dinos. Yes, folks. This zoo has dinosaurs. Now, they may look like animatronic facsimiles, but I assure you, these are rare dinos from a time before humans. This was so much more majestic than anything I’ve seen in any Hollywood production.
I seem to have forgotten to mention that this is August. In Texas. We’re dying. The heat is intense and the humidity is killer. We spend most of our time indoors at the aquarium and reptile house. When outdoors, I find myself wishing that I could hang out in shallow ponds with the capybaras. Cute and comfy is clearly the best way to survive the summer.
We stayed at the zoo until the early evening and, now sweat coated, we retreated back to Liz’s apartment. My non-stop travel had made me weary, as had the heat of the summer sun, and I was so far behind on blogging that I was more than happy to blog, order pizza, and watch cartoons. Liz, bold and wanting to not let the evening be stale, attempted to get me out to a concert that evening, but I was just too tired and comfortable. If you’re reading this Liz, I’m sorry; next time I’m in town, we’ll check out a show. I really enjoyed that pizza and “We Bare Bears,” though.
I was also resting up because I had a three hour drive ahead of me and an exciting day trip ahead of me the next day. Houston: you’re not so bad. I’ll re-examine our relationship going forward in the future.
Day 27 Stats:
Miles traveled: — 353
Miles traveled so far: 5,812
States visited:
- Louisiana
- Texas
Two Month Weekend 