Initial plan was to ride the bike trails in Austin and San Antonio. Unfortunately, we finally ran into rain. We haven’t seen rain in 14 years so it was a bit of a shock to our systems. We decided to bag those towns and drive directly to The Woodlands (just outside of Houston). We were so happy to visit Mike’s family (Kathy and Peter Adey) in their beautiful home. For the first time in a couple of days, we were back in civilization again. By this time, the car was in serious need of cleaning plus it needed an oil change. We were able to take care of those small things before going on the road again. Plus, after riding in the car for a couple of weeks, we needed a break.
The Woodlands is just beautiful. If you close your eyes, you might think you weren’t in Texas. There are lots of bike paths, shopping and restaurants in walking distance. Because it rained, I took a couple of spinning classes at a great studio called Define Body and Mind. The classes were fun and exhausting. Mike did ride a few times even when it rained. He and I rode a couple of times as well.
With his cousins, we went to some of the local color places. Among the fun places we visited was the National Museum of Funeral History.
You might think it is just creepy but it was really pretty interesting. Their mission is enlighten visitors to man’s oldest rituals and celebrate the history of funerals.
There were antique hearses, a pope-mobile (a real one, don’t understand why that is there except they talk about how Popes are buried), historical information about burials, cremations, and just about anything you ever wanted to know about a funeral or not.
It also started our quest to look for creepy funeral things (cemeteries, etc.) for the rest of our trip.
Among the things we did while we were in Texas, was a side trip to Old Town Spring, Texas. It used to be an old railroad town, now it is an old shopping area filled with stuff like funny boutiques, restaurants, art galleries, antiques and museums. It is very touristy but fun. We ate at a famous old restaurant called Wunsche Brothers.
It was started in 1902. It is allegedly haunted but we didn’t see or hear anyone coming with food we didn’t order. The ghost is supposed to be the original owner Charlie Wunsche. It is a fun place to go for lunch. We heard that part of it burned after we were there.
We didn’t really buy anything there except for some doggie treats for Mac.
The Hyatt Market Street in “downtown The Woodlands” is a fun place for drinks and views of the town. They have a great 2nd floor outdoor area for drinks and appetizers.
The pool is there as well and we saw a very upscale birthday party for a “teenage girl.” The parents rented out the biggest suite for her friends to party and probably have a slumber party. Must be nice. We wondered how their parents would keep topping themselves year after year.
We seriously thought it might be a good place for us to settle down but then we woke up and decided we really had to keep going because our next stop was New Orleans.