I Heart Houston

I'm back. I spent a few days visiting friends in Houston last week and thus no blog updates. It was a great trip and I have become very fond of Houston. Texas gets a bad rap here in California, but I like it. Houston has a lot of cultural attractions, unique shops and restaurants, and it's so green. I'm smitten with it.

I knew I wanted to make this trip shortly before Michael passed away. My dear friend, Kristina, lives there with her husband, and I knew that they would take good care of me. We had such a great visit. So much to talk about and so many shared opinions about faith and other things. It's a blessing to be with kindred spirits and just be oneself. I think we talked from the time we got up in the morning until we went to bed each night. That's the way it is when you only get to visit once in a great while.

We had some good laughs. Scott (Kristina's husband) is a good storyteller, and he nearly made me hysterical with laughter as he told me a funny anecdote from a trip of theirs to Eastern Europe a few years ago. Oh, my word! It still cracks me up just thinking about it. Another funny moment was when Kristina took me to see the Rothko Chapel and The Menil Collection. I just don't get stuff like that and the obsurdity of it makes me giggle. I have been to the Louvre, the Orsay, the Prado, and the Reina Sofia, and I guess I'm spoiled after seeing art of that caliber. I'm sorry, but tell me this is not outrageous:

That gave me a fit of the giggles! If you like that and consider it to be art, we are just not on the same page.

Traveling there and back was a little stressful. Of course I had traveled on my own before, but in the last few years I had become accustomed to traveling with Michael. He was such a seasoned traveler that I just followed his lead. I miss that, and I missed sitting next to him instead of strangers. Both of the in-flight movies there and back were about the death of the husband character (Young Victoria and Hachi). Sheesh! What are the chances of that? I mostly read a book instead. Who wants to cry in front of strangers?

Anyway, it was a good trip and I'm so glad I got out of my comfort zone here at home and made the effort to go.