Houston-Gone Hogg Wild

We made our base in the Heights and I have to tell you this is the perfect place to get just about anywhere in the city. Our bed and Breakfast was on Heights Blvd and this is a neighborhood that is convenient to everything.

There are so many fun and interesting things to do in Houston that even though we had three days we couldn’t do everything we would have liked to do. Keep in mind that on Mondays many of the museums will be closed.

We began Monday morning by heading to LaPorte to see the San Jacinto Monument and Museum. This is an excellent place to get a good overview of the events that led to the independence of Texas from Mexico. The Alamo is perhaps the most famous of the battle sites in Texas but San Jacinto is the most significant. It was here that the Texans (who by the way were of both American and Spanish decent) beat the Mexicans under their President General Santa Ana. He was taken prisoner and forced to write a document leading to a cease fire and eventually to independence. The monument is over 500 feet tall and offers a very nice view of the surrounding countryside.

After leaving here we headed into Houston to Glenwood Cemetery where some of the significant former residents of Houston are buried. Among the graves that we were in particular looking for were that of the screen actress Gene Tierney and also the billionaire Howard Hughes. Stop by the cemetery office to get a map because it is a large cemetery and without the map you will have a very hard time finding Howard Hughes, he is as reclusive in the after life and he was during his lifetime.

Houston is the home to two very fine collection of decorative arts. Bayou Bend the former home of Ima Hogg has an absolutely astonishing collection of mostly American furniture, porcelain, silver and pewter and of course art. Some of the earliest porcelain and pottery are European because her goal was to exactly replicate what the times dictated. The people of these particular times would have used European objects to decorate so she does also. Her gardens are also worthy of a visit.

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Quick Tips:

Rienzi, the former home of Harris and Carroll Masterson has been converted into a museum of European Decorative arts. They have a collection that’s covers Medieval to early 20th century object d’art and wonderful works of art by artist such as Romney, Gainsborough and Wright of Derby. They also have fine furniture, sculpture and a fantastic collection of Worcester porcelain. They even have a piece of Catherine the Greats Sevres service.
Both of these houses are part of theFine Arts Museum,Houston and of course no visit would be complete without a stop at the mother ship. We entered through the Wiess Building and then went through the Tunnel (which is a piece of art) to the Beck Building. The store and the Café are both in the Beck Building. We thoroughly enjoyed the collection that was on display however, they are getting ready for an Impressionist Exhibit and have taken down all their old masters. Why you would want to leave your Impressionists up and take down the old masters when you have an Impressionist Exhibit coming in is beyond us, it makes them a one pony show but anyway no Rembrandt for us.
The Heritage Society has a museum on the history of Houston that was also closed while they change exhibits but they were still giving tours of their houses in Sam Houston park. These run the gamut from a rustic 1820's cabin to an oil barons’s mansion. We took the guided tour and actually went inside four of the houses.


Menil Collectionoffers an extensive collection of modern art supplemented by Antiquities from Greece, Asia Minor and Africa. There are also Medieval and Renaissance artifacts from Europe. Other rooms contain items from Polynesia and Alaska. The Rothko Chapel at another location is alos part of their collection and can be visited everyday.

I did a lot of research before I went to Houston. Here is a list of the sites I used.

Houston CVB
www.visithoustontexas.com

Houston guide
www.houston-guide.com

Houston City Tourist
www.houstoncitytourist.com

We go places
www.wegoplaces.com

houston world web
www.houstonwebworld.com

metro
www.houstonmetro.harris.tx.us
A day pass is .

Best Way To Get Around:

Houston is served by two international airports, George Bush Field and Hobby International. Since we use Southwest airlines whenever possible we flew into Hobby. Hobby is located to the south of the city. There is a ring road that surrounds the city and it makes it relatively easy to circle around.

There are also freeways that cut across the city from north to south #45 and east to west . We used the freeway to get from the airport to Laporte where the San Jacinto Monument is and then to get back into Houston so we could visit Glenwood Cemetery. After that we didn’t ever use the Freeway again until we were heading up to Dallas. Local streets are easy to maneuver if you have a basic map and as I previously stated we never had any problem with traffic.

Parking was never an issue for us either and we drove our rental minivan right downtown. For the Heritage Society we parked for free in their own parking lot. For the Houston Art Museum we used the parking lot across the street from the Weisse building. Rienzi and Bayou Bend have their own parking as does the Menil.

I am going to recommend that you get a rental car but I am also going to strongly recommend that you don’t use Dollar. They charged us for an extra driver and tried to talk us into upgrading the car, we had ordered a compact. When I refused they told us we had to choose either a minivan or a full size SUV because that was all they had. Cute hah, they were hoping I would want to upgrade so they could charge me more when they didn’t even have the car I had ordered, it’s a long way from a compact to a minivan. The bill still came out higher than I contracted for and I am very unhappy not to mention the difference in mileage between the car I ordered and what I got. This was the first time I have ever used them and will definitely be the last. We also got a real hard sell on the extra insurance which we didn’t want and didn’t accept.

Sara’a Bed-and-Breakfast is located in the Heights section of Houston. This is a perfect location. We were able to drive from here to everywhere we went in Houston and for the most part we never had to take the freeway and never had any problem with traffic. I had a hard time deciding which bed-and-breakfast to pick in Houston, I so made the right choice. Sara’s is not only easy to find and in a lovely neighborhood it is just simply gorgeous. The exterior of the house is charming. Done in the Queen Anne style it is a 1890s Victorian Cottage that has been converted into a warm and welcoming B&B with 12 rooms and suites. Parking can be a little tight with a minivan but we always managed.
Our room, Dallas was on the first floor and has a beautiful French king size bed with lovely bedding. The bed had a very comfortable mattress and down pillows, we slept so well here. The walls are a very soothing green/blue color and the bathroom is café au lait. Our bathroom was amazing, a huge Jacuzzi tub with a separate double-tiled shower, pedestal sink and two windows, just a really beautiful room. On the back of our door hung a bathrobe. There are lots of outlets in the room of all our electronic gadgets and the 12-foot ceilings are edged with crown molding. There is a lamp on each side of the bed and also a wall lamp next to the French Provincial chair with the footstool in the corner of the room, which I made my spot of laptop work using the available Wi-Fi. There is also overhead lighting. Our TV was tucked into an armoire and with a satellite network we had a lot of channels to choose from.

Joe’s room was every bit as comfortable was ours if a bit smaller. He had a standup shower in his bathroom and his sink was located in an antique wash stand. His walls were a restful taupe.

I asked if could see some of the rooms that had no one staying in and Bob said sure. Every one of them was special, you can’t make a bad choice here, style, size, and price vary but quality remains high. The Austin Room, however, is the hands down winner. A Great bed, wonderful bathroom, and the balcony porch, worth every penny.

The public rooms are also charming, the parlor Victorian and the breakfast room light and bright. We used both for our domino matches.

Monday through Friday breakfast is served 7-9pm and is a self serve deluxe continental. Fresh fruit, juice, coffee, bread, bagels, muffins, sweet breads, cereal, boiled eggs, and yogurt. It doesn’t change much day to day but is more than adequate.

Connie and Bob are friendly and very accommodating hosts, willing to be as helpfully as you need them to be. We had some very entertaining conversations with them.

I went in search of an Italian Restaurant near our B&B that had reasonable prices and wasn’t part of a chain. Patrenellas fit the bill perfectly. It was less than 2 miles from Sara’s and the house which now is home to the restaurant was built by the grandfather of the current owner in 1938. He had emigrated from Sicily and opened a grocery in the front of the house. The current owner was raised in the house and has beautifully converted it into a restaurant which is still very much a family operation.

There are four dining rooms across the front of the house and a small bar area. We were placed in the third dining room. There wasn't a hostess waiting as we entered so we had a momentary pause but soon one of the waiters saw us standing there and welcomed, leading us to our table. We soon had a bowl of black olives and Parmesan cheese cubes in front of us as well as a basket of really good crusty bread.

The menu was Italian with a more Sicilian slant. The comfort foods like lasagna, eggplant and lots of creative pasta dishes. There are plenty of meat choices as well as chicken and seafood.

Al and I started with a shared appetizer of fried artichokes and ranch dressing for dipping. I wish I could show you a photo but we finished them so fast I forgot to take a picture. They were that good. Joe got the prosciutto and melon, slices of cantaloupe and Italian ham, it was a huge portion. What we passed on were such delicacies as Bresaola which is thin slices of cured beef with oil and spices, fried mozzarella, Frank Dames homemade sausage with bell peppers and onions, fried calamari, mussels in garlic sauce and sauteed clams and more.

All the meals are served with a side salad and it was simple with greens, tomato and black olives, not much else. The dressing was always on and it was a nice vinaigrette.

For our main course I chose the Fettuccine al Pesto Genovese, Fettuccine tossed in a light sauce of fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and Parmesan cheese. It was excellent, just the right combination of pesto and garlic, full of flavor but not enough to keep the vampires away. Additional Parmesan was also sprinkled on the top by our waiter.

Al got penne with a meat sauce. It was a perfect portion and even Al who is Mr. fussy when it comes to sauce was happy with his choice, penne wasn’t offered with the meat sauce but they were very willing to accommodate his wishes.

Joe got the lasagna and his only comment was that it tasted great but was not as warm as it could have been.

We were too full to eat dessert but they offer the usual cannoli, spumoni, profiteroles, cheesecake, tiramisum, and tartufo.

In April 1836, 900 Texans stood up against the Army of General Santa Anna and changed the course of history forever. The lives lost at the Alamo had not been in vain. Texas had gained its independence from Mexico. The San Jacinto Monument and Museum commemorate this historic battle and the men who made it possible. Located about twenty miles from downtown Houston in the city of Laporte it will remind you of the Washington Monument, right down to the reflecting pond. Of course the Washington Monument doesn’t have a 200 ton star on the top but you get the picture.

Run by the Texas Park Department you pay $1 per person just to go onto the property. If you decide to visit the battleship which across the street you will receive a $1 discount off your ticket ($9 instead of $10). Once you enter the monument you have several choices to make. There is a 35 minute movie "Texas Forever" that is offered on the hour. This is offered in combination with a trip to the observation desk for $7.50.

We decided to go to the observation deck first since we had 45 minutes until the movie began. There is an elevator operator and you are whisked to the top (over 500 feet) in a matter of seconds. When you arrive at the top you can listen to a short video about the battlefield and then you can view it from every angle. You have some unique vistas before you. On one side is the bayou and the Bay of Galveston on the other you have the oil refineries with the skyline of Houston in the distance. Quite a dramatic difference.

The monument itself is built on the knoll that stood between the forces of Generals Santa Anna and Sam Houston. While the Texans were hidden among the heavy tress on one side the Mexicans were up against the Bayou on the other side of the field of high grass. The battle began at 4:30 in the afternoon and the carnage continued for about 2 hours. When all was said and done over 600 Mexicans were dead and 20 Texans. Santa Anna was captured the following day and the war was over. I find it hard to believe that he wasn’t dealt with in the same manner as the prisoners at Goliad had been but he wasn’t taken out and shot.

The movie ‘Texas Forever" is very good and really gave an excellent build up to what the history of Texas is all about. It makes everything that happened in 1836 make sense. After watching the movie you can walk through the museum and look at the cases full of memorabilia relating to the important people in the history of Texas. Steven and Moses Austin, Sam Houston, Gen. Santa Ana, Simon Sherman and many others. What I found really interesting is that all the Texans were not Americans, some were of Spanish decent.

Cemeteries hold a certain fascination for me and when I found out that Howard Hughes was buried in Glenwood Cemetery along with some of Houston’s other interesting historical figures I had to stop by for a visit. Founded in 1871 and landscaped by horticulturist Alfred Whitaker it has been compared to Laurel Hill in Philadelphia as one of the countries most Romantic Cemetery. There is something about all the Spanish Moss that also adds a touch of suspense.

As you enter the cemetery follow the signs for the office. You will see a very pretty little shed that almost looks like a lighthouse. We also were distracted by a beautiful sculpture in a small grotto on the right hand side. So fascinated that we actually stopped. It belongs to the Sharp family and is an amazing area. The office is a wonderful craftsman house and you can stop in and pick up a map.

Now I have to admit I did some research before I came to find out who was buried in this particular cemetery. Now this is not Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond which has so many famous people but it does indeed have its fair share of Houston’s former elite.

The first grave we went in search of, we parked the car at this point and took off on foot, was the actress Gene Tierney whose married name was Lee. Her grave is located just a little south of the Office. What was particularly interesting was that her stone had an old fashioned movie camera carved into it.

Having found this we just went off looking at what ever interested us weather they were famous or not. This is a truly amazing cemetery. I have never seen anything like it. The sculptures are unique and absolutely stunning. There are also touches that I have never seen anywhere else, at one resent grave wind chimes were hung in the tree above it and there was a photo left on the site of a party obviously with the deceased in happier times. It was very moving.

We were drawn to a huge obelisk which was not on our map but had been placed there by the son of the deceased. It was certainly a wonderful testament to the love his father inspired.

We went back to our map and began to look for some of the historic figures on it. We were distracted by what looked like a Roman legionnaire from the back but was a fireman, it was the fireman’s memorial and some of the graves were over 100 years old.

Charlotte Allen was a little more difficult to find. She is one of the three people who is considered to be a founder of Houston. We also found the grave of former Gov. William Hobby and his two wives. There are fantastic views of the Houston skyline from this area.

The last grave we visited was the one we had really come to see Howard Hughes. As reclusive in death as he was in life his grave is not marked in a way that is easy to see and is surrounded by a fence whose gate was locked. He is buried with his mother and father and hopefully has found some kind of peace.

There are some historic markers placed throughout the cemetery to give you additional information. Allow at least and hour but plan to spend more there is just so much to see here.