LADIES AND GENTLEMEN....WELCOME...TO WRESTLEMANIA!!!!!

Yes, what a wonderful time it was at the Astrodome in Houston, TX for Wrestlemania XVII. The WWF set an all-time attendance record and entertained millions and millions of fans across the world.

I flew solo for this trip. First Class on my airline, United! For $3 roundtrip. The rental car and gas were free (paid for with vouchers), as was the suite at the Doubletree Post Oak, close to the Galleria.

What can I say about Houston? I was there for merely two days but thanks to a co-worker and a friend I found that there is more to the town than mudbugs and Wrestlemania. I found the area south and west of downtown over to loop 610 to be a mini-city of its own. Their downtown is VERY accessible, as I experienced first hand to avoid the delays on 59 caused by all of the broken down rednecks on the freeway.

South of downtown on main street there is a nice area with Rice University to the west and the zoo/museums/Tx medical center to the east.

The first order of business was waiting for 30 minutes for a shuttle to take me to the offsite rental car center. I immediately knew I was in the south! After a drive that diverted me through downtown I eventually found my hotel, pictured to the left. I was on the top floor, in a suite. To the right is a picture of downtown from my balcony. I noticed these Texans be lovin' their tall buildings.

The first order of business on Sunday was taking a morning jog around the Galleria. The humidity was a killer. Then onto Johnson space center. It was not 10% as impressive as Kennedy (east of Orlando, FL). These Texans like to point out that they do all of the work. According to them after a vehicle gets one inch off of the ground it is under their command. Sure. Those Space shuttles just build and position themselves for launch on their own last I heard. IF you go when there is no mission they will let you see the real Mission Control. There is much more to see at Kennedy. Johnson is simply a collection of spacesuits and films...not worth the 14 bucks (AAA gets you $1 off) unless you are the guy who paid 20 million to goto the space station. Then grounds are pictured to the left with a disassembled, actual size Saturn V in the mid-ground and close-up on the right.

North of Kemah, which has a nice boardwalk, is this big bridge that used to be a tunnel. The scanner couldn't pick up the suspension fans. This reminds me of the bridge that crosses the James on 295 in Henrico County (Richmond to the non-locals), VA. If you take 225 into town from here to your north you will see a plant for almost every chemical and oil company in existence.
To the right is a picture of the MD Anderson cancer center which as I understand it is the centerpiece of the TX Medical Center. It is known world-wide as the top treatment center. A friend's mother recently went there for a diagnosis and things are turning around for her!

Houston is known for its world class art museums. This is the living embodiment of art in Houston. Possibly more popular than the San Jacinto monument. This true Houstonian landscaped and finished their (see, I don't bias gender...it is possible a woman was responsible) ENTIRE house with beer cans. The siding on the house? Beer cans cut in half and fitted together! How did I find out about this? It is proudly listed in the City Guide, just before their listing of museums, at the Post Oak Doubletree! The concierge knew about it. Despite Houston's size it is a simple town to figure out. What do you expect from people who cover their house with beer cans?

After scouting out the parking situation at the Astrodome I decided to park offsite. Since ~69,000 of us showed up to set an A-dome attendance record it took awhile to get inside. On the right you can see the new convention center in the foreground. They are still waiting for more beer cans before they can finish the outside. You think those Texans would live up to their beer-swillin' reps, huh? In the midground is the Texas medical center. Barely noticeable in the background is downtown. What do you expect from a $59 scanner?!?

In the astrodome there are cheap seats and then there are CHEAP seats. One of the guys I talked to outside paid $150 each for tickets on the floor. What a ripoff. I paid $15 for mine, brought binoculars and otherwise had a pretty good view. The show was INCREDIBLE. It's the second time I've seen the WWF live. After you see it live once you will no longer wonder why they sell out every show they perform for television and ppv. Every one of the performers put their heart and soul into what was nearly four hours of entertainment. The Tables, Ladders, Chairs II match stood out as the best of the night.

The entrances took longer than normal because they had to travel an extra 120+ feet than the length of the ramp. BUT there is a good side to this. The Undertaker, pictured on his Titan bike on the left, got moving at a good clip because of the added length. This native Texan (Houstonian to be specific) raised the roof. The crowd was making more noise for him than the Rock or Stone Cold, in my opinion.

To the right....If ya smellllelelelellelll what the Rock is Cookin. Yes, La Roca was in full and the house was en fuego. Between the Rock and Stone Cold the Texans were confused and didn't know who to cheer for. There were some passionate discussions around my section about who would win in a real fight. Someone insisted this WAS a real fight. God bless Texas. Thanks to them Kansans are now at least four states away from being the butt of everyone's jokes (Arkansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Texas are our buffer).

After the show my strategic parking paid off. While everyone else was fighting to get out of the parking lot I simply walked about a 1/3 mile up the street, got in the rental, and took the side streets back to the hotel. No traffic. No problems. Score one for the good guys.

In the final analysis I think Houston is a nice town to visit between November and March. It appears to have just about anything you could ask for in terms of dining, cultural and recreational experiences. I associate the twang and dialect with Texas but didn't experience much of it in Houston. The key to Houston: work and live within that western half of the 610 loop and avoid the commute. Methinks all of those miles of five lane freeways are there for a reason. If you hate owning a jacket and going through seasons, enjoy high heat indexes, dew points in the mid 70s for 3/4 of the year/humidity along with the occasional tropical storm then this town is for you! I don't think I could ever adjust to the oppressive heat.