0062 13-20th July - Houston

Taking some time out in Houston, staying with good friends Geary and Kathy and their new springer spaniel puppy Sophie (with very sharp baby teeth !), as well as the cat and the rabbit !!

I have been slowly getting laundry done, and getting the car sorted for the next part of my trip – Nothing particularly exciting, but it has been fun, and a good break from being on the road. We have also been out to see Kathy's horse Cutter, who is aggisted out on a neighbouring property.

While we never fail to eat well in this household, we started off with a bang on the day after I arrived, with some other good friends over for an Italian feast of lots of antipasti and some very nice Italian red wine that Geary had brought back from a recent trip to Italy.  I won’t go into detail because it was so good that by the time I went to bed, I couldn’t remember much about it.  But it was good !!

After the weekend, I got my act together and we went down to a local garage (not 5 minutes down the road from the house) and the owner Chuck agreed to do a service on Troopie, even though he said he had never seen one before.  So the next morning I went in early and took full details of what I needed done, where everything was, and I supplied the oil filters etc that I had brought from Australia.  By early afternoon, Troopie was back, all in good shape, and ready for another 10,000 kms.

Next were tyres. I had put 4 new tyres on shortly before leaving Australia, and they were really good – But several thousand kilometres of dirt road up to the Arctic in Alaska and Canada had torn them up quite badly – There was still a fair bit of tread left, but I don’t want to head in to S America with 2/3rds worn tyres, so it was off to check on the same make of tyres locally.  My first stop was Discount Tyres in Katy – and as I got to the desk, I looked down, and there were 4 tyres of the correct size and make on the floor – “second hand - $25 off”.  I checked, and the tyres still had the little mould pimples on them – I asked how many miles they had done and the guy said “Virtually none – They were on a car someone bought and he wanted different tyres, so he swapped them out” !!  They were essentially brand new – So I bought them on the spot.

Now let me explain – these same tyres in Australia are $300 each.  Here, new, they are $165.  I got mine for $140 !!   In fact they were such a bargain I decided to also buy two new ones as well, because I still had two of the original crappy Chinese ones as spares.  So now I have 6 essentially new tyres on Troopie, and they will last for the rest of the trip, easily.

Geary had a gang of tree cutters come in to trim some big branches off a big old pecan tree he had in the garden, and they were amazing. With the help of ropes and spikes on their boots, they were swinging around in the tree like Tarzan, and soon had the tree trimmed - It was amazing to watch them at work. 

Spending most of the time repacking clothes – Getting all the cold weather clothes packed away in the storage boxes, and getting my warm weather clothes out and into the clothing bags which store behind the passenger seats for ease of access.  Doesn’t sound like much work, but finding a place for everything in a space as small as Troopie is always a challenge !  Went to REI (camping type store) with Kathy today and bought some more mosquito coils, and a new thermo-cup as mine split recently, and while I was there, saw a fold-up bag that holds more than my current back pack, and takes up a lot less space.  So splashed out on that, and will leave my bulky back pack here with friends.  This single purchase then provided me with enough space to store Janet’s hiking boots, as well as several additional items, so was worthwhile.  Also bought some spare gas cylinders for my mini-cooker that I use quite a lot, and managed to find room to store them safely.

Fridge all cleaned out and ready to load with food when I set off next week, and all the covers of the cushions have been cleaned (due to “someone” tripping over in the garage and spilling their wine on them !!), plus one cushion needed a new zip, so that is currently being fixed and will hopefully be ready on Saturday. 

Friday 18^th, and tonight I took Kathy and Geary out for dinner, and wanted something “American”, or even “Texan”.  Lots of great restaurants here, but often they are Italian or Mexican, or even just “steak houses”, which while good, one can get anywhere.  We ended up at Rudy’s, which I understand is only in Texas, and is called a “BBQ Country Store” – It even includes a gas station !!  http://www.rudysbbq.com/page/about    They smoke their meat with oak so it has delicious flavour, we had ribs, brisket and some sausage, and then the tables are communal – A bit like a churrascaria in Brazil – And your plate is a piece of paper and you just put everything on your “plate”, and enjoy.   Really was good !!

Saturday 19^th, and had a busy day !  Geary had some stuff to do in the garden, so Kathy was roped in for that, and I helped just a little bit ! (was packing up the car.) Then Kathy and I had to go off and do some things – Pick up something for my daughter Sarah for the baby and get it mailed out to her, and go to pick up one of my car cushions which had needed a new zipper, by which time we were hungry so when we saw a Five Guys hamburger place (kind of up-market burgers), we popped in for one – It filled just the right spot !  Then we did a couple more chores before heading home, by which time it was time to get ready to

head over to Debbie and Ron Matherley’s where we were having a party with a number more of my friends from my ex-company – Kind of my “retirement party” that I never had  years ago when I retired !! And we had a great night – Good friends, good company, great food, and some excellent margaritas and wine – I think it was 2 am when we finally made it to bed !!  Very slow and lazy Sunday morning, and Ron kindly helped me do a couple of things I needed to do to the car.  Ron’s garage is a great “cave”, with all sorts of equipment and tools in there, so it wasn’t long before we had done what I needed. After a delicious omelette for breakfast, we said our farewells and I was on my way.

Next it was down-town to my friend Neale Browne’s place – He is another good friend - we worked together in Australia for a number of years, and I usually drop in to catch up when I come through Houston.  He lives down-town in Houston.  We did a lot of talking. catching up on the last few years, and then went out to shop for a few things, (including a visit to a pet shop where I met with a chameleon). After a very pleasant meal cooked by Neale, we turned in.  In the morning he put me on the right road out of Houston, and I headed north to Arkansas to catch up with a friend I worked with in Dubai, and last saw in about 1979 !

 

I have had a great week in Houston with some very good friends – And recharged my batteries (and did my laundry, got the car serviced, and had some great food and wine !!)  Thank you to everyone – But especially Geary and Kathy, and Ron and Debbie – Very much appreciated, I can assure you. 

More pics are here :- https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0064Houston?authkey=Gv1sRgCICV5puf8-TKxgE#