While we were in the Kemah area, we had a look at a few sailboats. Although we owned and lived on a Raven 26 sailboat in New Zealand, I actually haven't seen too many other types of sailboats, so it was a good opportunity to check out some potential options for our next boat. I was particularly intrigued by the Catalina 36 in terms of its livability. It seems to be one of those Tardis type of boats - more room in the inside than looks like from the outside. The Catalina 36 is a boats I had researched a year or so ago, so it was quite nice to see what they actually look like. (If you want to know more about the Catalina 36 and a guy named Lester, you can read my review here.) An Irish boat broker named James at Sea Lake Yachts showed us around - he has a lovely accent, was super helpful and wasn't one of those "hard sell" type of guys. If you're in the market for a boat, look him up.
If you're a regular blog follower, than you probably know that we're slightly obsessed with Ethiopian food. We've eaten Ethiopian in many cities in Europe and North America, and now we can add Houston to our list! We went to Lucy's and had two of our favorite dishes - doro wat and miser wat. We even had some Ethiopian beer. I had no idea there was such a thing. Now I know better. I'll definitely be ordering one again! If you've never had Ethiopian before and you're in the Houston area, head over to Lucy's. Be sure to eat in the back room with the Ethiopian crowd. (You can read more about the Ethiopian restaurants we've been to in Auckland, New Zealand here and Spokane, Washington here.)
While we've been in the Houston area, we've been doing a little bit of exploring. Not as much as we would have liked to as the weather has really put a damper on our desire to go out and do stuff. We did hit the Kemah boardwalk and checked out Galveston Island. I was of two minds as to whether we should have gone to the NASA Space Center but it seemed like a lot of money and I wasn't sure if it would have been worth it. Have you been? Should we have gone? From what we saw, Houston seems like a nice city. Wish we could have seen more.
We spent some time at an RV park near Kemah enjoying their full hook-ups of water, electricity and sewage. Such bliss to be able to charge your computer and iPad and have unlimited water come out of your faucet. We've also been taking this opportunity to figure out our Scamper systems - like the hot water heater and holding tanks. When we picked up our Scamper in Minnesota we got a whirlwind orientation about how she works. Too much information for my little brain to retain, so we've been working things out as we go. Still lots to learn!
That's what's been happening for us lately. What's going on in your neck of the woods?
If you are looking for warmer weather, don't come to Georgia where I am right now. Yesterday's high was 34 degrees F (and yet I was wearing shorts a few days earlier). Florida might be a nice place to be shopping for boats this time of year. Might want to hold off on Annapolis until the spring. ;-)
ReplyDeleteIf you do find yourself near Brunswick Landing Marina in Georgia, stop by and say hi. I'll have a cold beer...or a hot cup of coffee...waiting for you.
-Mike
ThisRatSailed
Hi Mike - will the cold weather ever end?! We'll definitely take you up on your offer once we make it up that way. Would love to finally meet the man behind the blog :-)
DeleteThere are lots of sailors down where you are now, especially women who belong to Women Who Sail on Facebook. Are you a member? There are so many I can't keep track anymore. If not, I can get you invited to be a member of that group. There are lots of women on that group down in the Kemah area. I'll bet you could get hooked up with some sailing, or at least some more boat viewing. Contact me through LIttleCunningPlan's contact page if you are interested.
ReplyDeleteHi - I do belong to WWS, although I don't check out the FB page too often. I should have thought about asking the ladies in the Kemah area for help. Unfortunately, we've already headed out of the area in search of warmer weather - which we can't seem to find :-) Thanks for the suggestion and offering to hook me up with WWS - it is a great group of women! Cheers - Ellen
DeleteJohnson Space Center is ok, but I don't really think you're missing much. It was really cool back in the 80's and early 90 when it was less interested in entertaining tourists. They lost me when they set up a Sponge Bob exhibit... If you know somebody who will take you around, then it would be worth it. Galveston on the other hand, is definitely worth exploring. Houston is an odd place. There is tons to do if you want to eat and shop, but it is more of a working city than a tourist city. We have a few museums that are ok, and our symphony and ballet are nice, but there aren't very many things to do where you can just stroll and see neat things. All of the quaint unique things are in isolated pockets rather than being in one centralized area. Having your own transportation is an absolute must. They are going to open a big amusement park north of town in the not too distant future. So maybe it will be more fun then? I think in Texas, Austin, San Antonio and Galveston are more fun than Houston unless you want to shop.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and the tips about the Houston area and beyond! Good to know we didn't miss to much by not going to the Johnson Space Center. I can see what you mean about Houston being a driving town. Usually, we like to walk around cities, but the parts we saw didn't really seem conducive to it and it is such a huge place, we really did near our vehicle.
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