Made it to Houston

Wednesday we did a very easy drive of 365 miles from Tallahassee to Slidell, LA.  It was leisurely and enjoyable.

Today we drove about the same amount from Slidell to Houston.  Along the way we stopped at two excellent Welcome Centers.  The first was the Atchafalaya River Basin Welcome Center.  The 18 mile long bridge through the swamp and over several big rivers was very impressive.  We stopped for the bathrooms and free coffee, but we enjoyed the four minute video and exhibits as well. It was also a National Wildlife Refuge, so I got another stamp for my National Park Passport book.  I always enjoy that.

We also stopped there because my "oil change required" light came on.  Since I had just had an oil change and check up last week, I was surprised.  I called All Cars, my service station, and the tech said that he did indeed reset that light.  Hm....so we decided to stop and check the oil and reset it ourself.  The oil was full and very clean and new looking, so we just reset that light and went on our way.

When we crossed the Sabine River into Texas, we stopped at the Welcome Center.  It is inside Blue Elbow Swamp, and there was a really nice long boardwalk to walk out over the swamp with exhibits along the way.  We walked all the way out and back.

Once we were checked into our hotel, we went to Genesis Steakhouse, the kosher upscale restaurant just a few miles from our hotel. Mark was super excited to eat a steak in Texas.  I had the chicken and sausage gumbo for an appetizer and the Cornish hen for my main dish.  We shared a side of Brussels sprouts with crispy pastrami, and I took a dessert back to the hotel to save for Saturday afternoon.  I also had a glass of wine.  All in all, I ate about three days worth of calories today.  Not my best day.  I will weigh in on Monday morning before we check out of here.  I hope it's not too terrible.

Tomorrow we are spending the morning and early afternoon touring through the NASA Space Center here.  Then in the evening we are going to Minute Maid Stadium to see the Houston Astros play the Los Angeles Angels.  We will be able to buy dinner in the stadium before Shabbat starts, so it will all work out well.  I doubt if I will write a blog tomorrow, but I hope to have time to write again on Saturday.