Texas Road Trip, Day 2: Houston

Carol | June 30, 2018 | Featured, Texas, United States | No Comments

Day 2: Exploring Houston

We had one full day to explore Houston and we packed a lot in. We had an amazing meal at Velvet Taco, saw some really wonderful exhibits at the art museum, drove around downtown to get a feel for the city, visited the aquarium, an amusement park, and Karl got a new pin for his Hard Rock collection. I particularly enjoyed seeing the strange oil refinery landscapes as we drove in and out of Houston. It was surreal.

Velvet Taco

Velvet Taco is a unique taco chain ‘founded on the idea that tacos don’t have to be associated with Tex-Mex cuisine and can be made with the same care and quality ingredients as fine dining.’ Their unique tacos use gourmet ingredients and will make you rethink what can and can’t taco. We tried the Spicy Tikka Chicken, Picnic Chicken, Cuban Pig, Slow Roasted Angus Brisket, and a breakfast taco. They were amazing! Especially the Brisket and Spicy Tikka Chicken tacos. We also tried the ‘Elote’ corn which was interesting, and the Red Velvet cake. The Red Velvet cake was served with a caramel drizzle. It was moist and delicious.

Karl says it’s a good thing we don’t live in Texas because he’d get fat. 😉

Museum of Arts Houston

The parking deck is housed in this super interesting building.

This giant installation forms a bamboo jungle with pathways you can explore.

Karl making his way across the entry bridge.

The bamboo appears to be held together with nothing but paracord.

Wilson Tunnel: The Light Inside, 1999 by James Turrell

Grey Lines with Black, Blue, and Yellow, 1923; Georgia O’Keeffe

Cagnes sur Mer, 1928; William H. Johnson

Saint Francis Xavier, 17th Century; Unidentified Artist

Rue Ravignan, Paris, 1893; Maximilien Luce

Sunset on the Lagoon, Venice, c. 1903-4; Henri-Edmond Cross

detail — I love the texture this style of painting creates.

Close-up of The Windmill on the Onbekende Gracht, Amsterdam, 1874 by Claude Monet

Portrait of Emile Bernard, 1889 by Emile Schuffenecker — my favorite painting from the MFA H.

Downtown Houston & the Downtown Aquarium

The Downtown Aquarium is very tiny. The small carnival-like rides on the premises seemed just as popular as the aquarium itself. It’s a cute place in the heart of the city, but we were disappointed with how small it was. It was also strange to find a white tiger at the end of the exhibit. I didn’t see any sort of outdoor space for it so I felt bad for the beautiful kitty.

Kemah Boardwalk

We almost didn’t go to Kemah because it’s about a 40-minute drive from downtown but it was a really nice way to wrap up the day. We were only there for a few hours in the evening, long enough to ride a few rides, eat some Dip’n’Dots, and share a drink. It has a boardwalk along the bay so we got to enjoy a bit of a sea breeze. The atmosphere was very romantic with the breeze and all the pretty lights at night.