Houston Trip- Part One

The day started out not so good- Rapid Rover was late, and I was the first of 4 stops. We got to Philly airport at 6.30, and my flight started boarding at 7.30. By the time I cleared security and got to my gate, there was only 20 minutes til boarding! If the security line had been long, I'd have had a real problem.

The flight was good- in fact, I slept the first hour of it! And I was brave enough to look out the window! Manda picked me up at the Houston airport, and we went into the city to go to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. What a menu, it's like a book! We ate, and took 4 slices of cheescake to go. There was a terrible thunderstorm. We went back to her apartment in Clear Lake, and napped for an hour til Ralph called to say he was in at the bus station. Back to Houston (20 miles) to get him, then out to dinner at Frenchie's, which is right next to Johnson Space Center. It's a little place in a strip mall, with fabulous food. Ralph was exhausted after 40+ hours on trains and busses, so back to Manda's so he could shower and we could go to bed early.

Friday morning Manda and Ralph were going off to JSC so he could have (another) tour. I got picked up by Needlecrazy, a friend I've made thru the quilting boards on HGTV website. I've chatted with her for years, and had lunch with her last November at Quilt Fest. We went to a fantastic quilt shop called the Painted Pony, about a half hour from Manda's. There we met up with Texas Wildflower, another HGTV'er. What a store! It's in a strip mall, and they've expanded to the size of several stores. It's huge! We did our best to help the economy. We asked the staff to take our picture, and they were so intrigued by the fact that we had met online. A thunderstorm was coming, so we decided to go to lunch. The staff recommended a tearoom down the street called Jeanieann's, so we headed down there for some home cooking. We ate and visited, the Needlecrazy drove me back to Manda's. I got back 5 minutes before Manda and Ralph.

Manda had class Friday night, so Ralph played with her TV and laptop, and I read. On her way home, she picked up Ben so that we could all go out for gelati. I gave Ben his quilt, and he loved it! (pix to follow when Ralph gets home and helps me download them).

Houston Trip, part two, to follow.

Holly