Alright folks! For those of you following my KPMG adventures, I’ve just wrapped up my first project as part of my rotation, which was in Houston, Texas!  I’ve been to Dallas once before (also for work), but that is the extent of my travels to the Lone Star State.  I spend four weeks in Houston for this project, staying in an area called Greenway/Upper Kirby, which is just 10-15 minutes southwest of Downtown Houston.  While I went into this trip fully expecting that I wouldn’t have a lot of time to do or see things, I was fortunate enough that I had some evenings free to explore.  I also stayed over one weekend which gave me the opportunity to see (and more importantly, eat!) even more.  I was very pleased with everything that I did and would highly recommend any of the following to anyone planning a visit.

Things to do:

1. Houston Museum of Natural Science – During my first week in Houston, I ventured to the Museum of Natural Sciences on Thursday evening because I found that it was one of the only museums that had later hours (on Thursdays only) and would be open until 9:00 pm.  Upon arriving, I was surprised to find out that they also offered free admission on Thursday evenings during the summer, so I saved myself a $25 admission fee.  What this also meant, though, is that the museum was PACKED – I mean children EVERYWHERE.  This isn’t exactly how I was planning for my museum experience to go, but I made the best of it.  The museum has so many permanent exhibits, I didn’t even know where to start.  I had about three hours, so I focused on the permanent exhibits only and made my way through briskly, as each was pretty busy.  My favorite exhibits were the Fabergé: Royal Gifts, Farish Hall of Texas Wildlife, and Strake Hall of Malacology (the branch of zoology that deals with mollusks – didn’t know that before my visit).
   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   
2. The Galleria – This is a massive mall with every store that you could possibly want to see.  If you’re like me, you can shop in the area for “normal people” and then window shop in the high-end area.  I am always too embarrassed to walk into the designer shops because I know that I can’t afford anything – one day I’ll work up the courage!
3. Houston Holocaust Museum – Over my weekend stay in Houston, I visited the Houston Holocaust Museum on Sunday, which once again had free admission (man, I had good luck with that!).  The museum is in the process of expanding the permanent space, so the museum was being held in a temporary space when I visited.  It was not huge, but the whole main exhibit was still there!  There was also a second exhibit called “The Faces of Syrian Refugees,” which I really enjoyed.
   

   
4. Turtle Racing – I never knew that this was a thing, but one must-do in Houston is to watch Turtle Racing at Little Woodrow’s.  There is also Frog Racing at another bar close by, but I didn’t get a chance to experience that.  It’s exactly what it sounds like – there are turtles that race and some of them are actually really fast!  I think it happens every Thursday, so if you’re in Houston – GO.  Also, the bar is pretty awesome too.
   

   

   

   
5. Wild West – So, while not everyone in Houston will tell you this is a top to-do, I think that going line-dancing or two-stepping is 100% a must-do in Texas.  In Virginia Beach, we have a few line-dancing bars that I go to occasionally and love dancing, so this wasn’t entirely new to me.  I took one of the other girls working with me, who had never experienced anything like it before and she loved it!  She said it was definitely a great “Texas thing” to experience while visiting.  Even if you don’t dance, it’s so much fun to watch everyone else!
   

   

   
6. The Truck Yard – I only stumbled across this gem looking for the Waffle Bus (see below).  It is one of the coolest bars/hang-outs ever.  It’s a large outdoor space with bars and some food, plus space for a few food trucks each night.  There are games (think – corn hole and skee ball) and a ferris wheel (which is promised to be operating soon) and live music.  Definitely the place to be on a Thursday-Sunday night.
   

   

   

   

   

Food to eat:

You’re probably thinking, “wait, isn’t she doing this fitness program and eating healthy? How is she going to give me food recommendations?” Yes, but I can’t go to new cities and not try any of the food that they are known for, so I gave myself some cheat meals (in moderation).

1. Torchy’s Tacos – “damn good tacos” and the best queso that I’ve had. EVER.  It’s a green chile queso with a scoop of guac in the middle.  Mouth. currently. watering.
2. POKÉWORKS – SUSHI BURRITOS SUSHI BURRITOS SUSHI BURRITOS!  This was recommended by a coworker and I would have eaten it every day.  It’s a franchise and I will 1000000% eat it in every single city that has one (looking at you NYC next week).
3. The Waffle Bus – It’s a chicken and waffle food truck. With waffle fries.  And spicy mayo.  Nuff said.
4. Whataburger – I was told that I couldn’t leave Houston without trying the honey butter chicken biscuit from Whataburger.  It was worth it the cheat.
5. Ouisie’s Table – Beginning August 1, it was Houston Restaurant Week (which is really restaurant month), and my mom and I stumbled across this restaurant through the restaurant week app.  I am so glad that we did!  It’s actually a pretty well-known restaurant in Houston and the food was AMAZINGGGG.  Not going to lie, my favorite part of the meal was the bread that was served (three mini muffin size breads – a jalapeno corn bread, a cheddar-bacon biscuit, and gingerbread). I would have eaten 100 of them if I wasn’t trying to be healthy.  I also ordered the calamari and prime rib that came with a 10 pound loaded baked potato (it was probably more like a pound, but it was HUGE).  YUMMMM.
6. Del Frisco’s Grill – We also ended up at Del Frisco’s because of restaurant week and it did not disappoint.  I’ve been to another Del Frisco’s before, as there is one in most big cities, but I don’t remember the food being so delicious.  I had a wedge salad (but without the blue cheese – yuck!), a perfect size filet mignon with hand-mashed potatoes, and the best dessert I’ve had in my lifeee.  Okay, probably not, but it was amazing.  I planned to eat a couple of bites of my salted caramel pudding but I practically licked the bowl clean.

Houston, it was fun, but I’m moving on to other things!  Next stop – Milwaukee, Wisconsin – home of cold brews that I will not be drinking and lake views that you know I’ll take 100 pictures of.