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Camp meetings were a phenomenon of frontier Christianity. The concept was brought west by thousands of settlers of Scot-Irish roots. These settlers were moving into new territories without towns or churches or ordained ministers. Itinerant preachers filled the void, finding an open patch of ground for a pulpit. Word would then spread to isolated settlers who traveled miles and days to get a religious experience and some feeling of community. [Read more…]
If you are headed to or from the Rio Grande Valley for any holiday, here is a tip you will thank me for. Always make sure that you are not are traveling on either Sunday or Monday for one leg of that trip. If you follow this advice, you’ll be able to eat at least one meal on the road at the King’s Inn near Rivera on Baffin Bay. I promise that this stop will become part of your regular vacation routine. [Read more…]
If you’re visiting NRG stadium for the rodeo or other conventions or sporting events, you may want to leave the NRG complex and see more of nearby Houston. I worked with my friends at Trip Chandler to make a guide to the best bars and restaurants in Houston for visiting sports fans!
Houston is a sports town, hosting the 2017 Super Bowl, the 2016 NCAA Men’s Final Four, plus eight professional sports teams of their own. Plus we put on one of the richest professional rodeos in the country. Our guide concentrates on areas around the major sports venues – NRG, Minute Maid Park, Toyota Center, BBVA Compass Stadium and the light rail that connects them. Others are a quick cab or uber ride away.
It’s can be hot in Houston no matter what the season so we suggest you chill out as much as possible during your visit. Trade in the pub for the icehouse – our open air beer joints usually come with a selection of locally made ice cold craft beers, a nearby food truck, big screen TVs, a grumpy regular, picnic tables, some shade, misting fans, and dogs but all are laid-back and welcoming.
For old school, head to the West Alabama Ice House where Tacos Tierra Caliente is conveniently parked across the street (cash only) for a taste of local cuisine – the taco. Use caution with their red salsa!
For a new spin on the icehouse scene, check out D & T Drive Inn and their menu of Texas standards like Frito pie & pimento cheese served with Ritz crackers. If your crew craves more beverages than just beer, 8 Row Flint in the historic Heights neighborhood offers whisky, wine, cocktails, and tacos too.
If you’re staying downtown, let the rail line serve as your guide.
Highlights along Main Street include Honeymoon Café for a dose of southern hospitality, the Nightingale Room featuring both live music and LPs, The Pastry War for tequila and tamales, and Flying Saucer for wall to wall beer.
Other options just a block away from the rail line include OKRA Charity Saloon where you can legally vote in the US … for a local non-profit with every drink you purchase! Hit historic Market Square Park for classic bars with the best jukeboxes in town: La Carafe (wine & beer/cash only) and Warren’s Inn for no fuss cocktails. To score late night eats, head straight for a slice at Frank’s Pizza (open until 1 am on Thurs; 3 am Fri-Sat).
Further along the rail line towards NRG Arena is the Mid-Main neighborhood anchored by the Continental Club. See how Beetle, “Houston’s Best Beatle Band,” measures up Thursday for happy hour which starts at 7. Friday night, Von Hindenburg, a Led Zeppelin tribute band takes the stage followed by the Fistful of Soul dance party.
Double Trouble next door offers caffeine and cocktails, Natchee’s for American classics and Tacos A Go for more tacos of course!
Come back to shop the next day for music at Sig’s Lagoon where the walls are covered with Texas music history and My Flaming Heart for rockabilly wear and souvenirs with a soul.
For those with a car or uber/lyft users, Rice Village offers walkable stretches of retail, restaurants, and bars not far from the NRG Arena. Cool off with the far out ice cream confections at Cloud 10 Creamery or a scoop at the cocoa-centric Chocolate Bar. The Ginger Man has an easy-drinking vibe with a menu of beer-friendly snacks (pretzels!) and for late night eats, get in line for YoYo’s Hot Dogs – a hot dog meets crunchy roll creation crafted by a former sushi chef. (Thurs-Sun approximately 8 pm – 3 am). Listen to live music from blues to zydeco at the Big Easy Social and Pleasure Club.
For a scenic stroll, the nearby public art-filled campus of Rice University will really make you feel smart while drinking at their Graduate Student Pub, Valhalla, with budget-friendly prices. (Mon—Fri 4 pm – 2 am; closed Sat; Sun 7 pm-12 am; cash only)
If you’re staying around the NRG Arena, sample local eats with visits to Shipley’s in the morning for donuts, lunch at Frenchy’s Fried Chicken, and a scoop at Hank’s Ice Cream (try their signature banana pudding flavor!).
The Main Street Corridor is also home to a strip of Filipino dining options: load up on comfort food at Pugon de Manila’s buffet and takeaway desserts, Manila Mini Mart for snacks, Jollibee fast food chain & Red Ribbon Bakery for their ube (purple yam) cakes and sweets.
Hotel Ylem, a new, locally owned boutique hotel hosts happy hour in their Esperanto Bar and is a short walk to the arena (along with the remains of the Astrodome!)
Dana DuTerroil & Joni Fincham are your Trip Chandlers. Dana is a native Texan who grew up in Houston but considers New Orleans a second home. Joni is a Houston transplant via Kansas, North Carolina, Scotland and New Orleans. They have joined forces as Trip Chandler to personalize the city whether you’re here for a short stay or a permanent move. Contact Trip Chandler for your own tailor-made guide to Houston. www.tripchandler.com
Linda Ware is the Funky Texas Traveler. She is a transplanted Texan with a love for the history, people and peculiarities of her adopted state. Her blog, Funky Texas Traveler introduces natives and visitors to all things Texas. Read more about Linda and the Funky Texas Traveler blog here.
It’s Mardi Gras time! Want to score lots of beads at this year’s Galveston Mardi Gras without catching any thrown from floats and too shy to flash anyone? Don’t say impossible. My friends and I did it by creating an on-impulse “tradition” and having the confidence to pull it off. Check out our haul in pictures and then don’t be afraid to try it yourself!
A few years ago, these same friends thought it would be fun to arrive early at the Galveston Mardi Gras and get up close spots for the Krewe of Gambrinus Parade. The Krewe parade covers a three-mile route starting at the Seawall and 57th street.
To hold onto our front row positions, the plan was apparently to lean against the cold barrier rail and wait until the parade got there. To keep warm, we took turns running inside to Mo Betta’ market to get plastic sippy cups of Chardonnay.
Waiting is not something I do well. Like a three-year old, I get restless when I’m bored. Even worse, some people were walking around, showing off the bounty of beads they had caught at earlier parades, festivals, and parties. Now, not only was I bored, I was also beadless. I felt like the only girl at my high school homecoming without a giant,beribboned mum.
[Read more…]
Surprisingly, one of the first giant crawfish events in Houston happened in the mid 1980’s in the middle of Houston’s museum district. What began as a desire to shore up a seemingly weak line-up for the annual Miller Outdoor Theater KIKK Country Concert showed the incredible appetite that Houstonians have for mud bugs.
Texans had been traveling for years to Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, home of the biennial Crawfish Festival. I knew about the festival from friends who told stories of a festival so big and so much fun that the town needed two years between each one to recover.
I joined KIKK about a year after Aaron Latham had written the Esquire Magazine piece that would become the basis for the 1980 movie, Urban Cowboy. KIKK’s twice a year concerts at Miller Theater rode the country popularity wave for over 14 years, bringing in “new” hat acts like George Strait, Alan Jackson and Clint Black and legends like Buck Owens, George Jones and Jon Conlee.
The line-up for 1985 was not coming together. With country music’s on-going popularity, it was getting harder to get the acts we wanted. Brenda Lee was signed as our legend, a newcomer named Jo-El Sonnier represented the emerging performer category and we had an unclassifiable act named Rockin’ Sidney, who was about to release a zydeco song called “My Toot Toot”. Joe Ladd, KIKK’s star picker had never failed to deliver a line-up that mirrored the top of the charts by the time the show came along. I just did not see how he could pull that off with this year’s bill. Since Jo-el Sonnier and Rockin’ Sydney had a Cajun following, KIKK’s promo director, Joan Hayes and I headed to Louisiana to see if we could steal some lightning from the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Fest. 
[Read more…]
