Houston, We Have a Problem

Hello!

On our road trip around the United States, my French Partner in Crime (FPIC) and I made a stop in Houston, TX to visit some friends.

Upon first glance, Houston does not really seem to have a lot to offer to a passing visitor. The city is very industrial with few places to walk around. Out of Google's "Top Ten Places to Visit in Houston", seven were shopping malls/plazas. Not too exciting for people who have a week to kill. Lucky for us, our friends and friends of friends had better advice than Google.

The best tip came from a night of trivia at the Front Porch, where your hamburger is barbecued for you on a grill out front. In between trying to guess order of Texas cities according to size and remembering the actors from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, our teammate brought up Brazos...and we are glad she did.

Brazos Bend State Park is know for being home to alligators. We went expecting to read some signs and pamphlets, chat with a park ranger, and walk around. What we found out is that the park is know for alligators because it is FULL of alligators. It is hard not to spot them. And there is the thing...they are not barrier-ed off, or behind a fence or anything. They are just there living, and crazy people like us go and visit them. There are signs everywhere that say things like...
-Don't let your dog wander off or swim
-Stay away from tall grass
-Don't throw anything in the water
-Remember, alligators are fast
-Stay at least 30 feet away from the alligators

This last recommendation proved hard to follow. We were walking back on a trail when we came across an alligator right on the path, just waiting with it's mouth wide open. We were like, uh oh Houston...we have a problem. We couldn't get by without going past and we couldn't do past without coming within 4 feet of the open mouthed alligator. All we could do was wait and look at him looking at us.

Look at him! He is ready...

I am writing this blog now...so I have not been eaten, but I won't lie by saying I wasn't worried for a moment there. It certainly made for an interesting afternoon and a +1 for Houston. 

Until next time, Laura