My sister and I traveled to Houston in March of 2021 to settle the estate of our younger sister. Most of our time was spent dealing with the damage caused by the deep freeze. We sorted through paperwork, arranged an estate sale and packed a moving pod with her personal effects.
However, we did take a break from our work to explore some of the attractions that Houston and Texas have to offer. It was an eclectic choice of food, nature and odd museums.
Waugh Bridge Bat Colony
I was excited to learn that the Waugh Street Bridge in Houston is home to a colony of Mexican Free-tailed bats. The bridge has the same design as the Congress Avenue bridge in Austin which is home to a larger bat colony. The bridge has concrete supporting girders which have narrow spaces between them which are perfect roosting areas.
We arrived in late afternoon and waited till the sun set. A crowd gathered and at first a few bats appeared, followed by waves. They would drop out and fly in a vortex, presumably to warm up and build up some speed. They then took flight along the waterway under the bridge.
It was too dark to get photos, this nightly event needs to be experienced first-hand.
The nightly bat emergence is a popular tourist attraction. The city has built an observation deck which affords a good place to watch. It is not recommended to be under the bridge at dusk, because the bats evacuate as they leave their roost. I noticed an earthy aroma when I took a look.
Notice the slots between the concrete support girders. They are a perfect size for the bats.
Food
One does not travel to Texas without having a Tex-Mex dinner and at least some kind of Barbeque. We asked the locals for suggestions and had a variety of local spots. I learned that alligator tastes like chewy chicken.
Not all of the of the restaurant suggestions worked out. On the flight I had a conversation with a Houstonian who told me that I simply had to have a burger from Whattaburger, a Texas based fast food franchise.
My impression is “Whatta-Disappointment”. Maybe some people like mustard on a glorified McDonalds burger, but I was underwhelmed.
Beer Can House
John Milkovisch worked through the late 1960s to transform his Houston home into the Beer Can House. It is quite a sight to see and hear. The house is festooned with streamers of beer can tops which rattle in the breeze John drank a six pack of beer a day which provided him with plenty of building material for his masterpiece.
Art Car Museum
The Houston Art Car museum is located less than a mile from the Waugh Street Bat Colony. When we visited there were two “art cars” on display as well as a room of self portraits by the artist Brian Zievert. This description of the museum comes from their website:
The Art Car Museum, or “Garage Mahal” as many know it, opened in February 1998. It was founded as a not-for-profit arts organization by Ann Harithas, artist and long-time supporter of the Art Car movement, and James Harithas, currently Director of the Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston, Texas.
The Museum has its conceptual origins in the 1984 Collision show curated by Ann Harithas at the Lawndale Art Center. Collision unveiled Larry Fuente’s “Mad Cad” art car which has since been featured in museums and cultural institutions across the country. The Collision exhibition provid- ed enthusiastic fuel for the art car movement in Houston and eventually precipitated the Art Car Parade and the international Art Car movement.
The art car movement is influenced by the modern tradition in art emphasizing personal expression and a choice of imagery or subject matter selected from popular culture. The art car artist is a pioneer of a new image of the automobile, an image which in its diversity reflects fundamental changes in popular consciousness, changes based on the desire for greater independence and individual rights. All art cars are subversive and have in common the transformation of the vehicle from a factory-made commodity into a personal statement or expression.
The aesthetic of the Art Car Museum draws from a fusion of the traditions of fine, folk and public art. The Museum features the most imaginative, elaborate and artfully constructed art cars, low riders and mobile contraptions as well as revolving exhibitions of art by local, national and international artists of all media. In addition to curated exhibitions, a unique opportunity is provided through the annual open call show for the artistic community to voice their response, via their artwork, to a topic of importance presented by the Museum
National Museum of Funeral History
The National Museum of Funeral History in Harris County Texas is a 30,500 square-foot exhibit space dedicated to every aspect of what they to refer to as “death care”. There are multiple antique hearses, a collection of odd caskets including one built for two. an exhibit of cremation urns, the history of embalming, death portrait photography and even jewelry made from human hair. Fun fact, the museum can be rented for Non-traditional weddings, birthdays, Lock-ins / overnights, birthdays (especially over-the hill parties), and Halloween events.
