Turns out the $81 million Bayport Cruise Terminal in Houston will actually get some use--and all it took was a Category 2 hurricane steamrolling Galveston! In the wake of Hurricane Ike, Carnival Cruise Lines decided to bypass the island, instead operating its ships Conquest and Ecstasy out of the brand new-but-unused passenger terminal closer to downtown.
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by pbb
Calling all boardheads! Houston is the latest city to open up a public park specifically for skateboarding. Crowds braved the scorching heat this weekend to inaugurate the Lee & Joe Jamail Skatepark in downtown's Tinsley Park, which will be open seven days a week all summer long.
The venue came to life thanks to Public Use Skateparks for Houston (PUSH), a local organization which lobbied hard for the city to follow others like Nashville, Philadelphia and Black River Falls, Wisconsin.
Houston's new skate center is named for a local Lebanese-American lawyer and his wife who made a major donation to the park, so maybe that's why--despite what you see in this photo--helmets are mandatory. The park closes at 10 pm, but check out those awesome views of the skyline!
Related Stories:
· Lee & Joe Jamail Skatepark [Official Site]
· The Opening of the Lee & Joe Jamail Skatepark [Houstonist]
· Skateboarder to Jump at Hard Rock [HC]
· Get on Ya Board, Dave [Jaunted]
[Photo: cpm1]
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by egw
Houston is the latest city to adopt the generic and unoriginal "My (Fill in the blank of your city)" tourism campaign.
The New York Times reports that the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau has put together the "My Houston" television and print campaign where local celebrities talk about what they love about Houston:
Clay Walker, the country singer, promoted the zoo and Texas's biggest rodeo; Hilary Duff, the actress and singer, Mexican food; Oscar de la Rosa, lead vocalist of the Latino group La Mafia, cultural diversity; and the Bushes, the city's big heart and neighborliness.
Also Yao Ming, the Houston Rockets gigantic center says he likes Yao Restaurant and Bar because, well, he knows the owner. Cue monumental eye roll.
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by juliana
It's always sunny in Houston -- except in the winter, when it's occasionally flash flooded. But locals prefer its steamy environs, and you might, too, if you met one of them in these sweet spots:
House of Pies -- What's better than a piecentric restaurant? A 24-hour piecentric restaurant! If you're not a fan of baked goodies, you can also get food here -- but you won't able to resist pulling a Kyle-McLachlan-in-"Twin Peaks" and ordering a slice of rhubarb, cherry or apple with some damn fine coffee. It's the cute cop's answer to Dunkin' Donuts. 6142 Westheimer Rd.
The Lobby Lounge at the Four Seasons Hotel -- Bring your "executive friends" to this couch-stuffed corner featuring "around the world tapas." (Mmm, tapas.) While the World Series is still going on, you can even use the pretext of "watching the ballgame" to watch the watchers. 1300 Lamar St.
Pub Fiction -- Despite its pun-tastic name, we would totally take our male friends there for $6 pitchers till 8 pm and perhaps a friendly game of pool. 2303 Smith St.
Related Stories:
· House of Pies [Official Site]
· The Lobby Lounge [Official Site]
· Pub Fiction [Official Site]
· Missed Connections coverage [Jaunted]
· Houston Hotels [HotelChatter]
[Photo: thegeoff]
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Crazed astronaut Lisa Nowak is charged with attempted murder of her romantic space rival--Colleen Shipman, who she allegedly attacked with pepper spray at Orlando International Airport earlier this week.
Reportedly, Nowak and Shipman were both in a relationship with Navy Commander Bill Oefelein.
All three of these reported love triangle participants have spent time at Houston's main tourist attraction: Johnson Space Center.
The center encompasses 72,000 square feet of exhibition space, with several interactive participatory displays for visitors. Aside from the requisite zero gravity experience you can also check out hte Astronaut Gallery, a collection of every Nasa spacesuit since the program's inception, as well as photos of each American who has gone into space--see if you can find Norwak's photo.
However, when where do the seeds of such a sordid astronaut love triangle get planted? Surely not at the polished Space Center, nope. If you want to see where the astronauts go to get their drink on, head over to the Outpost Tavern, the best astronaut bar in Houston, during happy hour. Patrons of this fine drinking establishment claim you aren't a real astronaut until your photo is on the tavern wall, not hanging in the Space Center gallery.
Furthermore, rumor has it many an astronaut open a tab here after they finish their training, and then return to have a final beer (and close the tab) when they return from space.
The walls are covered with space memorabilia, autographed head shots, and plenty of spacesuits hang above the pool table. Plus they have a shuffleboard table! Sweet. We bet spending an afternoon here might give you some incite into what went on behind the scenes with Oefelein, Shipman and Norwak.
[Photo: sikeri]
Related Stories:
· Astronaut flies back to troubled Houston home [CNN]
· Travel Stories in Houston [Jaunted]
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by markj
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by djk
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