(Apologies in advance if my side-by-side photos aren’t displaying accurately. Looks like
some bug got introduced that is causing issues with my posts. It has impacted my past
postings as well, which frustrates me no end, but no time to fix them now. Sigh!)
Thursday, 24 March 2016
Advanced RV Resort — Houston, Texas
Temps: Hi 72F (22C) / Lo 57F (14C)
Have just one day left of our 7-night stay at Advanced RV Resort in Houston, Texas. Time to get caught up before we leave.
Taking advantage of unusually cool temps, we actually ventured out to do some sightseeing this time, and even managed to squeeze in lunch with a fellow-RVing couple, so I do have stuff to write about.
Let’s get started without further ado.
18 March … Onward to Houston: Day 1
We left Monahans Sandhills SP on a foggy Thursday morning … sans our uninvited guest, I might add. The battery-operated trap did its job overnight and dispatched the critter to ‘mouse heaven’ while we were at the Holiday Inn. More on that and our MSSP stay here.
The 530+ miles (~850 km) to Houston was more than we wanted to bite off in one day. So we split the drive into two days. All started and ended well, but we did have some excitement just after we veered off from TX-18 onto FM-11. Turns out there was a bridge out ahead! Luckily we had gone less than a mile when a sign alerted us to the detour. Mui found a slightly-wider stretch of the road and managed to turn us around without having to unhook the toad. Soon we were back on TX-18, which also connects to I-10 … but a bit further west than FM-11. Had the sign been at the junction of the two roads, we would have simply stayed on TX-18. Oh well, all’s well that ends well.
Our overnight stay was at a rest area off I-10. This is not your run-of-the-mill parking in the truck area. Rather, there is a picnic area at the back that is referred to as the RV loop … no hookups, but much quieter. On this night we were the only ones in the loop … although we did wake up the next morning to see RVs snuggled up to the big rigs in the front parking area. Not sure if they simply did not know that RV parking is OK in the picnic area, or if they felt more secure being up front.
The RV Loop at this I-10 rest area near Kerrville is back in the picnic area.
19 March … We Wake Up to a Bit of Excitement
This time the excitement happened before we even got on the road. I woke up at 7:00a to Mui wandering around with a flashlight. When he said the generator was not powering the coach, I immediately harkened back to our Roughing It Not So Smoothly episode at Pohick Bay Regional Park back before we began fulltiming. Turns out it was nowhere near as bad this time … we apparently just tripped a breaker after Mui started up the generator this morning. Once he reset it, all was well … but that didn’t happen until later in the morning since it was too cold and too dark outside to try and diagnose the problem while we were still at the rest area. Again, all’s well that ends well.
We pulled into Advanced shortly before 2:00p. We’d been assigned one of our favorite sites — 802 for its easy in-and-out location. Since the site was available, we were able to go right in and get settled.
20 March … A Menagerie and an Old Market
When we first arrived in Texas in December 2013, I glimpsed a roadside attraction on our way to Advanced. It was a collection of sculptures that we’ve been meaning to check out ever since. Well, today was the day … even though it was downright chilly when winds gusting to 30 mph (48 kph) reduced the warming effect of the sun shining brightly in the blue sky. The GPS had a bit of difficulty finding where we wanted to go, but we eventually got there.
The Eclectic Menagerie Park might be described as a museum of whimsical creatures. The collection started with a concrete hippo and grew from there after Snoopy was added. You can read more about it at the link I provided above. It’s a fun place that made us smile and is worth a quickie stop.
Our next stop took us to Market Square Park in the historic district of Houston. I didn’t know much about the park … except what Marsha and Paul (of Where’s Weaver fame) had written. Mui lucked out with free on-street parking across the park. Of course the first thing that caught my eye was a very colorful mural.
A colorful mural signed “Gonzo247.”
Beautiful ceramic murals decorate the bench seating and the fountain face.
I know he’s cute, Mui, but you can’t take that doggie home with you.
One of the highlights of Market Square Park is Lauren’s Garden, which is named for a Houstonian who was a passenger on United 93 on that fateful day of 11 September 2001. I don’t think there is a single person in the world who is unfamiliar with the significance of the date, but some may not remember that United 93 was the flight that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania … as a result of the efforts of the passengers and crew to fight off the terrorists. More on the story is here.
The garden is dedicated to all of the victims of 9/11, and elements of the design are inherently symbolic … as described in the sign that stands to one side …
… The three granite walls represent the three crash sites, New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania.
Each smooth stone in the fountain represents a life lost. Water gently flows around 40 large stones for those on United Flight 93. 2,753 small pebbles line the front of the fountain for those who died at the World Trade Center, along with 184 larger pebbles for those who died at the Pentagon. …
There’s more … which you can read at this link, if you are moved to do so.
Lauren’s Garden is dedicated to the victims of the September 11 attacks.
We wrapped up our time at Market Square with a nice lunch. Several of the restaurants on the neighboring streets offer al fresco dining. We hoped we’d be able to eat at a patio table when we chose to dine at Batanga, but the breeze was too cold … the temp was only 61F (16C) … without the wind chill factored in. Nonetheless, the tapas selection inspired by Latin American dishes was quite good, and we enjoyed our meal.
22 March … San Jacinto Battleground & Battleship Texas
Yesterday was a productive day at home. Mui found a couple of good sized holes to plug behind the control panel in the cockpit. We think the critter that disturbed our peace at Monahans got in that way. Could it be that we finally have all the ingress points sealed? Keeping fingers crossed.
Anyway, today’s outing was a two-fer … by that I mean that we found two interesting places to check out within steps of each other. Our day started out by taking an elevator to the observation deck of the memorial at the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site. The executive summary for the decisive 1836 battle of the Texas Revolution goes something like …. “Led by General Sam Houston, the Texian Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna’s Mexican Army in a fight that lasted just 18 minutes.” You can read more about it at the link provided above.
Built of Texas Cordova shellstone , the 570-foot tall monument sits where Santa
Anna’s army camped before the battle that won Texas its Independence. At the
time of its dedication in 1939, it was the world’s tallest masonry structure.
From the observation deck we enjoy an expansive view of the San Jacinto Battleground
state historic site with the Houston Ship Channel in the background. We also catch
a tiny glimpse of the next place we will be visiting today: BB35 Battleship Texas.
By the time we took the elevator back down, several busloads of the expected school groups had arrived. So we skipped some of attractions and returned to check them out after lunch, which we ate at the Monument Inn … would have enjoyed a packed al fresco meal more. In any event, when we came back, we watched the documentary movie “Texas Forever! The Battle of San Jacinto”, browsed the small (free) museum, and wandered around the display of paintings featuring scenes from the documentary. Admission is charged for the movie, elevator, and special exhibit gallery, but Mui’s military discount gained us free admission today.
The Texas Camp Before the Battle: Shortly before the Texas Army reached the plains of San Jacinto, Erastus "Deaf" Smith forged a stream on horseback and captured a Mexican courier carrying valuable dispatches concerning Santa Anna's troop strength and movements.
BB35 — aka Battleship Texas or USS Texas — is described as the “Last of the World’s Dreadnoughts” … a type of naval vessel introduced in the early 20th century. It was larger and faster than its predecessors, and it was equipped entirely with large-caliber guns. In other words, a force to be “dreaded.” She served in both WWI and WWII, and was retired in Baltimore in 1946. BB35 was to have been used as a target for bombing practice, but escaped that fate when the people of Texas raised sufficient funds to tow her to Houston. Once in place here, the ship was converted into the first permanent memorial battleship of the US.
BB 35 … the last of the world’s dreadnoughts. The ship is painted a color that is referred to as “Measure 21,” which was what she was painted when she served in the Pacific during WWII.
The school buses were still in the parking lot, but the kids were starting to stream off the ship. So we took advantage of Mui’s free military admission to go aboard to explore a bit of history. From the main deck, to below decks, to the foremast, we had free reign to wander around pretty much at will, and even got to climb into one of the forward gun turrets to see what it was like inside … cramped, and I bet very noisy during battle with those big guns booming.
From the big guns, to the crew quarters, to the captain’s suite … we see it all.
I play around with one of the guns before we …
… climb into the cramped space of the #1 gun turret to check it out.
This turret operates the guns seen in the photo on the left.
From the tippy-top of the foremast we enjoy views that include the San Jacinto Monument.
A very good day of sightseeing is the way I would describe this day.
23 March … Diversity in Houston and Meeting the Weavers
My only regret about today is that the sun stayed behind clouds for most of the time … except for a brief showing … which was better than nothing.
Our day started out at an Indian mandir [temple] that the brochure described as a “place of love, peace, and harmony.” Officially named BAPS Shri Swaminarayan, the mandir is the first traditional Hindu temple of its kind in North America. It represents a worldwide religious and civic organization that dates its roots back to 1907. I have to say … my jaw dropped when I glimpsed it for the first time. There were WOW moments in every nook and cranny … and that was before the sun came out for a few minutes and the whole temple glowed. Luckily I happened to be in the right place at the right time to capture a shot or two.
Inaugurated in 2004, it took 16 months to construct the mandir … an equivalent of 1.3 million volunteer hours. Turkish limestone was used on the exterior; Italian Carrara marble inside.
We knew the temple would be closing to visitors soon after we arrived, so we made going inside a priority … shoes off before climbing the steps up to the terrace of the mandir. From our guide, we learned murtis [sacred images of deities and gurus] have a daily ritual not unlike ours. They eat, sleep, and so forth. Food is provided in the form of offerings, their clothes are changed throughout the day … and this routine is maintained 7/24/365. Hence, temple visitation revolves around the murtis’ schedules.
The murtis maintain a daily ritual of activities not unlike ours.
[Photos not allowed in the mandir; collage created from photos from the website.]
As he walked us around the temple, our guide regaled us with tidbits of information. We found it fascinating that the stone material used in the construction, Turkish limestone and Italian carrara marble, was shipped from their respective countries to India. Artisans in that country hand-carved this material into over 33,000 pieces. These pieces were then shipped to the US where they were put together like a giant 3-D jigsaw puzzle. And what an amazing puzzle indeed!
The interior of the mandir is a cornucopia of amazing hand-carved marble.
[Photos not allowed in the mandir; collage created from photos from the website.]
Hand-carved stone details continue outside the temple and are quite a WOW factor.
Thanking our guide, we left the temple and resumed our exploration of the grounds. We checked out the elaborately carved gate standing across from the mandir, and went into the museum where there was an overwhelming amount of information about Hinduism and more.
The mandir viewed through the gate.
When the sun peeks out briefly, the limestone mandir shines brilliantly.
I was so enthralled with all the carved details that I could have stayed at the mandir all day. But we had other plans, so I reluctantly gave into Mui when he said it was time to move on to check out the Cao Đài Temple established by the Vietnamese community of Houston.
The Cao Đài Temple of Houston is the largest of its kind outside Vietnam.
From what I understand, Caodaism combines elements of ancient Asian mysticism with other faiths … such as Buddhism and Christianity … and it stresses one creator. Of course that is way oversimplified, so those interested can read more here. A description I read in an online Houston Chronicle article struck me quite strongly … especially nowadays when there is so much strife amongst the believers of various religions:
… The truth can be seen from different beliefs. God is like a river. We all stand in different places on the bank. We all see God in different ways, but it’s still one God. …
I had no expectation of being able to go inside the temple since it is closed on weekdays. But just as we were leaving people dressed in white started arriving in ones and twos. Turns out there was a special prayer meeting for a fellow-worshipper who had been hospitalized with a serious illness. Noticing us taking photographs, one of the women invited me inside before the service started and showed me around, taking me up to an upstairs gallery also for a different perspective. WOW is all I can say … in a very different way from the all-white Indian mandir where the only color came from the brilliantly-attired murtis. The inside of this temple was a riot of colors. Quite dazzling.
A riot of color … best description I can come up with.
A great day of diversity continued with a very special lunch engagement. I started following Marsha and Paul, whose blog I referred to earlier, before we became fulltimers. At the time, they were driving a Phaeton, so that’s what drew me to their blog. Later, I continued reading their RVing adventures because I simply enjoyed their “online friendship.” Our paths had crossed in Houston before, but the timing had not worked out to meet in person. That changed today when we met for lunch at Turquoise Grill and Bar at the Sugar Land Town Square.
Arriving early, we have a chance to chat with Yılmaz Cem, the Turkish owner of Turquoise.
[Collage of photos downloaded from the website.]
Yılmaz, the owner, guided us in making our selections, suggesting a family-style eating experience to share various dishes. As Turkish food was a first for Marsha and Paul, this worked out quite well. It was after peak dining hours on a weekday, so the four of us pretty much had the place to ourselves and stayed long after the food was gone to continue chatting. As others who have met fellow RVers/bloggers well know, the conversation flowed easily as it does when people with common interests get together. We had a grand time with Marsha and Paul … here’s to meeting up again when our paths next cross.
The obligatory “we met” photo op with Marsha and Paul before we go our separate ways.
Back to Today … Visiting a Travel Clinic
We’ve been traveling quite extensively for the past 30+ years without feeling the need to consult a travel clinic. Well, that changed for us today. We have plans for 2017 that will take us to places for which we felt some precautionary measures would not go amiss. So, earlier this year we scheduled an appointment to visit a travel clinic that is operated under the umbrella of the Baylor College of Medicine. The good news … our yellow fever vaccines from 2004 are still good and we just need to repeat the oral typhoid fever vaccine. We also got an Rx for antimalarials, and another one for antibiotics we will carry in case of GI problems.
This appointment was the primary reason for our extended stay in Houston. With that taken care of this morning, we’re ready to head to our home base in Port A where we will sit still for a couple of months. I will be working on plans for this year’s Europe trip, so I don’t anticipate doing anything really exciting while we’re there. But who knows … time will tell.
[If you would like to see more of the photos from our Houston stay, click here for my online gallery.]
