Our Trip to Big Hat Country

Brandon and I decided that we were bored so we decided to take a trip down to Texas and see what this whole Hurricane Ike thing was all about. Ok it probably wasn't the best idea to take a vacation to Houston during a hurricane warning, but we had been planning on visiting our friends Coley and Jason down there for months. We didn't have any other time to go, and we figured 'How bad could a hurricane be...?" It was a very interesting vacation. For another side to this adventure please check out Nicole and Jason's blog that is linked to mine. Anyway here is our version. We had a slow start last Wednesday. We planned on leaving around noon, but we didn't get on our way until 9:30pm. Ugh! Anyway we drove down there straight without stopping. We made one stop to eat lunch. We made it to there by 10 pm Houston time. I had a deja vu feeling of being in an alien movie, everyone was on the other side of the freeway evacuating the coastal cities. I felt like a storm chaser. But we arrived safe and sound, a little sleep deprived, but nothing that we couldn't catch up from.

Houston Temple

Playing at the Park

Preparing for Ike

Downtown Houston

So after catching up with our friends we went to bed. When we woke up the next morning they drove us around to see Houston. Turns out everything was closed, but we went to see the Houston Temple and the nice houses around there. Then we went downtown and played in what I think was Memorial Park. Then it started raining and got really windy. So we went back to their apartment and played The Wii and watched the news about the hurricane. Wii Fit is pretty fun, Brandon really enjoyed it, I have a feeling we will be owning that game at some point in time. It was really funny on the news, they had evacuated Galveston Bay, but there were still some people hanging around, trying to surf and stuff, the idiots. But they ended upinterviewing this guy they asked "Why are you still here?" and his response "I am here to feel the elemental energy. Can't you just feel that in the air?" Yeah, I can feel that its called wind and rain and your impending death if you stay there much longer. Dumb, anyway we went to sleep that night and listened to the wind and rain. The power flickered on and off a few times and finally went out around 3 in the morning. We woke up with no electricity and no water. All in all where we were the storm was no worse than a bad Utah wind storm. So we ended up playing card and board games most of the day. Eventually the heat and mugginess got the best of us with no AC so we left to find real food. We had to drive about 30 miles West to find stuff that was open, but we finally did. We had fun spending time with our friends, but that night was one of the worst I have had. It was hot and muggy and gross. Luckily during the middle of the night there was a huge thunder storm.

Be glad you were parked in any of those spots

Flooding of the Bayou

This was what I was expecting from the hurricane, bright lightning, loud thunder, and massive amounts of rain. The best part was the slight breeze that was coming through the open window. I finally fell asleep. The next day we decided it was time to leave Houston. Jason's work sent him to San Antonio so that he could continue working during the clean up efforts of the storm, so we all packed up and went to see San Antonio. Jason's work put him up in a nice extended stay hotel for the week, and so we had AC and a mall across the street.

The Riverwalk

The Alamo

More Riverwalk

The first day we were there we went to see the Alamo and walk the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk was really nice there are nice hotels, shops and restaurants all around. Jason and Coley decided to go a a tour boat ride while Brandon and I decided to walk the river. We stopped to rest on a island which turned out to be Lover's Island. It is a naturally formed heart-shaped island where there is at least one marriage performed a day. We were just sitting there chatting, when he gave me a kiss on the cheek and people on the bridge across from the island started clapping. Um..thanks. Anyway we went back to the hotel for more card games and a good night sleep. Jason had to go to work the next day so Coley came with us to the mall. We got a few new clothes and had some ice cream. Then we were on our way home. Nonstop we made it in 18 hours. Then we crashed on the bed for a couple of hours. But that is our adventure with Ike. He actually had a very small appearance in the whole thing. I'll keep you posted on life happenings.