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Published: February 15th 2012
Houston Museum of Natural History
The huge triceratops skull stares at you. The horns don't look long enough to push themselves into T-Rex's belly though.A friend and I decided to take a weekend trip to Houston. We've taken the habit of him dropping me off at the museums or tourist attractions while he goes to the hotel to check-in and sleep. He prefers going out of town to sleep in nice hotel beds with 1 billion-thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. Me on the other hand, I want to see and do everything.
Our day started early as we left Austin. About 3 hours later we reached Houston. We went to the Houston Zoo where we saw all manner of beasts. Its a nice zoo, well kept and organized. I didn't like the fencing though. Its a dark wire mesh looking thing that sometimes makes it difficult to see the animals. I guess its better than the classic but really outdated prison bars. Still, tigers, giraffes, and funky scorpion fish were fun to watch. It still amazes me how excited I get to see big cats...with their huge big @$$ paws. One kitty swipe and there goes your face.
Afterwards I was dropped off at the Museum of Natural History while Stevie went to enjoy his cotton sheets. It had been forever since I
Houston Museum of Natural History
The Dinosaur Hall was well put together with different kind of dinos interacting with each other. had seen dinosaur fossils. The kid in me was excited seeing all manner of carnivores and herbivores. A huge brontosaurus looking dinosaur presided over the museum hall, its long neck-stretching out into the second floor balcony. My favorite though was seeing a triceratops skull. Triceratops was always my favorite dinosaur when I was a kid, mostly because they always showed it impaling big bad evil T-Rex in the stomach. I wonder if psychologists have anything to say about that?
Dinosaurs were the big thing at the Museum. The other thing that stood out was the huge chunk of gold. Its easy to see why humans have been fascinated by the mineral for ages. Its luster and texture is appealing, tempting and otherworldly.
Afterwards I did a super-quick run through of the art museums in the area. I did it way too fast to do it justice though. I think a weekend trip just to concentrate on the museums would be worth it. I took the rail back downtown to where our hotel was. The streets were deserted and spooky. In a fit of the heebie-jeebies I ran like a scared little boy over to where our hotel was.
Gold!
Ancient Mayans (or was it the Aztecs?) thought that gold was the excrement of the god's that had fossilized. Interesting tidbit right? The hotel was fabulous! The hotel was located right next to a pair of brightly lit towers that looked awesome from our huge hotel windows. I drifted off to sleep keeping my slowly closing eyes on the towers.
(Update: As of 2008 the hotel in front of the towers was sold, and then destroyed to make way for something or other. Poor hotel.)
The next morning we set off to the Houston Downtown Aquarium. It was a nice little place. The decor is a bit on the kitschy side with "underground Aztec ruins" and such but served its purpose well. The most exciting part was taking the train ride through the Shark Tunnel although the train moved a bit too fast for my tastes. There are some carnival rides one can get on if you so wish, including a Ferris Wheel which gives a great view of downtown and the highway. I have a huge fear of heights so I held on tight to the gondola on the Ferris Wheel...just in case it all comes toppling down (Yes, I know it doesn't help at all.)
Afterwards we went to the Holocaust Museum. It was one of
Houston Zoo
Giraffes have really long tongues. the most intense places I had ever been to. It looks small and quaint from the outside but once inside seeing all the relics, pictures, stories and history really hits you hard at what people are sometimes capable of doing. After looking at everything I had to just step aside from the tour group and gather myself. The intensity got to me and I needed a moment alone to take it all in. I shed a few tears in private and said a small prayer. A visit to this place is a must. Highly recommended!
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