Houston: Space Center and Minute Maid Field

We took an Uber out to Space Center Houston. We enjoyed the exhibits. We got to see a lecture by astronaut Mark Pololansky about his mission to the space station 15 years ago. He also led a great question and answer. 

In the evening, we walked a few blocks from our hotel to Minute Maid Park. It's always fun to explore a new ballpark. The people were so friendly. The Club Level was really comfortable. 

Houston: Breweries and the Princess Bride

Yesterday we had fun touring around downtown Houston. We started at a couple of breweries. The first was 8th Wonder where we had the Montrose sour and the Hawaiian Relief, an IPA.

 Both pretty good although the Montrose wasn't a traditional sour. They also had a food truck there and we tried a smoked chicken taco along with a "Texas" version of chicken shawarma. Both were excellent. The shawarma was really just a very large burrito filled with smoked chicken and all the traditional gyro toppings of lettuce, tomato and onion along with a garlicky sauce - but not quite Tzatziki. There was also some time for a game of Jenga!! 

 Next was True Anomaly where we tried one of their beers called Mae which was an excellent cherry/blackberry sour. They also had several guest taps and we tried one called Fruity Pellets from Great Heights Brewing. This was a very refreshing hazy ipa - and a bit fruity as the name would imply. 

 After this it was time for a mandatory rest period.  

We rested at the hotel until 5:30 when we headed to dinner. The Magnolia hotel is close to both the historic and theater district so there are quite a lot of bars and restaurants to choose from. I found one that I thought was called District7 Market. And it kind of was. But that was just the "market" section which was more like a grab and go Cafe. The restaurant was called Cellar 7. They had a very interesting menu with a bit of a nod towards Italian food. For starters we had the Eggplant Balls and the Roasted Brussels Sprouts.

 Both really excellent and a huge portion for a starter. The eggplant balls were essentially all the goodness you'd find in eggplant parmesan, but wrapped up in a big ball and then fried!! Gives me some ideas to try at home with the air fryer. The Brussels were some of the best I've had. Well roasted, glazed with a slightly sweet balsamic and dusted with toasted slivered almonds for crunch. For mains, Angie had a half rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes and brocollini. The chicken had a delicious rosemary dry rub and was perfectly cooked. I had the panko chicken and fettuccine with pesto. The pesto was delicious!! Nutty and just enough basil. The chicken was okay but since the breast had been pounded to the same thickness, the frying made it dry. If I had been planning the menu, the dish would have been much more successful with the rotisserie chicken instead of the panko crusted. I think the rosemary would have complimented the pesto. No dessert.  

Next we were headed to the theater!! I had been running some errands on Thursday morning. Things you do when you've been travelling for three weeks. Some sunscreen and water at CVS. Picking up a couple of packages at an Amazon locker. On the way back to the hotel, I noticed we were so close to the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts!! Maybe they had a show that evening? Once I got back to the room, I started looking online. I found they were having a special screening of "The Princess Bride" followed by a Q&A with Cary Elwes who played Westley in the movie. We had done similar screenings over the years for Blazing Saddles with Mel Brooks and The Karate Kid with Ralph Macchio. So I bought some tickets.  

It had been many years since I had seen this 1987 film. It's really a great movie and holds up really well. Simple premise of "true love" defeating evil. Some wonderful comic performances from Billy Crystal and Carol Kane. And Andre The Giant is quite the scene stealer. Definitely check it out if you've never seen it. Or see it again and share with the younger generation.  

There was about an hour of Q&A after the movie. Cary shared many stories about the film production and many of the mishaps including breaking his toe or being knocked unconscious by a real sword. The latter incident was actually the take they used in the movie. He was very genuinely moved by how the movie has become legendary, especially since it was a box office failure. Its release on VHS was what made it successful.   

Today we will be heading to the Johnson Space Center for a few hours. Then once we return downtown, we have tickets to see the Astros. One more stadium!!! Only five to go. Tomorrow we'll head to Galveston to board the new Carnival Jubilee.

Margaritaville Flamingo Beach Day 2 & 3

We needed an excursion outside of the resort!! Angie found this brewery which was close to the resort. We got a taxi and had some excellent beers at Potrero Brewing. 

Black Ale was my favorite closely followed by the Sandia Sour. Angie also liked the Black Ale as well as the Tropical Ale. Right next to the brewery were three food stands. Two had names but we chose the one without a name. A delicious Argentinian Sausage sandwich, a dish of chifrijo and some honey mustard wings. All so tasty. The Argentinian Sausage was my favorite. Served on crusty French bread like you'd get on a Po Boy in New Orleans. 

 The chifrijo was also tasty with some grilled pork sausage on top of flavorful rice and beans. And the chicken wings were well fried and had a great honey mustard for dipping! All great snacks with beer. And only 20170 CRC (~$40 USD). Beers were 4100 CRC each (~$8 USD). 

Back at the resort, we enjoyed time at the swim up pool watching the iguanas terrorize the guests trying to eat in their lounge chairs. They are sneaky. 

For dinner,  we made it to Capriccios! And it was a delicious meal. We each had a salad. Angie had the caprese and I had a more typical green salad with a homemade vinaigrette. Then we shared the signature Cappricio pizza. 

It had a great sauce, thinly sliced prosciutto (is there any other kind?), capers, basil and more freshly grated parmesan! A very good pie!! We also shared some ziti with Bolognese. Some of best Bolognese I've had over well cooked pasta. No dessert.  

Our last day at the resort, Angie worked in the morning. We took the Endeavor yacht sunset cruise. It was great. It was 13 people. We sailed around the coast with a stop for snorkeling or a tender ride to the beach. Dinner was at 5 O'Clock Somewhere again. 

Margaritaville Flamingo Beach Day 1

We made it to Margaritaville!! Made the drive in just over an hour. Easy check-in process and our room was ready!!

 Had a nice lunch at the Five O'clock Somewhere Bar and Grill. Chicken quesadilla, fish tacos and a grilled fish sandwich. The fish was a little dry but the sauces helped. And loved the batter-dipped fries! Spent the rest of the afternoon staying cool at the pool.  

Last night we headed to Capriccios for dinner.  It's located on the second floor above the lobby level. We approached the restaurant with confidence and smiles. The host must have sensed our arrival since he immediately came outside of the restaurant into the hallway to greet us. Was there a table available?  The look on his face was all we needed to know. Even though the restaurant looked only about a quarter filled, there was no table for us this evening.  So we headed out to the pool for dinner at Five O'clock Somewhere.  We both had very good Caesar salads with a lot of grilled shrimp.  

Also ordered nachos which were closer to a meat dip and an order of very crispy chicken tenders.  All were tasty. Will definitely try the Caesar again. After our travel day we were tired so we headed back to the room. 

Planet Hollywood Day 4

It's our last morning at Planet Hollywood. We'll check out at noon, have lunch and then get our transfer at 1 PM. We'll have a drive of a little more than an hour to Playa Flamingo where we'll stay at Margaritaville for three nights.  

Yesterday Angie worked in the morning while I stayed cool in the pool. She joined me later and we had some lunch at Guy's Burger. We did finally try a burger and it was very tasty. Close to the original. In the afternoon the entertainment staff had their Purple Vibe party in the main pool. There were dancers and several of the entertainment staff had dressed up as famous movie characters such as The Joker, Batman, Harry Potter and Woody from Toy Story. And then of course there was foam!! Lots and lots of foam. I'm not a "fan of the foam" so we stayed in the smaller pool and observed.  

We headed back to the room after the party and got ready for dinner. We decided to try the steakhouse. We had some tasty food. A very good Caesar salad along with French onion soup with lots of cheese. And the beef sliders were some of the best I've had. 

 The pork ribs were well cooked but I didn't care for the BBQ sauce. It just had an odd flavor. Kind of like stale coffee. 

After dinner we watched the resorts show called Stravaganza. They had a few different acts representing different movies including Pirates of the Caribbean and Alice In Wonderland. And some amazing aerialists!! The woman has an amazing routine and the only safety equipment was a harness/ring that was attached to her hair!!

 Amazing to watch. Even without hair, I still remember what it must have felt like.

Planet Hollywood Day 3

Yesterday after breakfast at SoCal (buffet) we checked in for our Eco Walk at 9:30. There was only one other couple who was doing it. It was nice to be in a small group. We met Meiner who was from the entertainment staff. He'd be our guide for the tour. The walking tour took us out past the confines of the resort property and out into along a rural road that divided a farm and some government land. Meiner pointed out some of the common trees in this area including the guanacoste which is Costa Rica's national tree and pochotes which are small scraggly trees that have woody branches littered with thorns. Definitely had to watch out for any low hanging branches.  

Along the way we saw about thirty cattle with their young calves. Meiner had us stay back about 100 feet while he made sure they weren't near the path since they are very protective of their young. All was clear and we proceeded with the walk. All during the walk we'd hear the loud unmistakable sound of the howler monkeys. They were so close. We took a smaller path though a wooded area where Meiner showed us some fruit trees. We got to try jocote which is about the size of an olive and even has a pit like an olive. But it's taste when green is somewhere between a granny smith apple and a green bean. When red/orange and ripe they are sweeter. We also saw a star fruit plant. I've eaten star fruit before but never saw the tree. And we also saw the famous Coyol tree. The sap of this tree is tapped, much like sap.from a maple tree. And the liquid is fermented into a local spirit. It's legendary like moonshine is in the United States. And just as strong. Everyone has their own local version. But it's also produced and sold commercially.  

The sound of those monkeys had stopped as we made our way through this part of the forest. That's because they were in a large guanacoste tree above us. Very aware of our presence. Somehow knowing they no longer needed to howl. There was a troop of about five or six including at least one baby. 

Make sure you're following Angie's FB page Trips with Angie since she'll have more pictures from the walk, including the monkeys.  

After our visit with the monkeys, we made our way to the black sand beach. Much of Costa Rica is volcanic and the sand here is evidence of that. A richly colored black sand. And especially hot as you would expect but you're feet are not ready for. We'd be walking to the beach back towards the resort. We walked most of it through the shallow water, keeping our feet cool. There were so many interesting shells and rocks. At one point we had to do the stingray shuffle to avoid a small stingray swimming by. And many more pochotes along the waters edge. If those caught you, they'd probably take some flesh.  

We made it back to the resort after about an hour walk. I was ready for the pool!! And saw some local vendors who had set up a massage tent. She was able to get an hour long massage for only $60 USD. I played some pool volleyball and met you with Angie later at the pool bar 

We were back in the room by 4:30 and all showered and changed for dinner by 5:15. Tonight we'd try Gusto which is an Italian restaurant. This was the first night of our stay here where they weren't taking reservations. We were a little anxious about being able to get a table. The information in the daily program said that the restaurant opened at 5:30. But when we got there, the staff said it didn't open until 6. A bit frustrating. And this restaurant is located by the pool where there is at any lounge area to wait for a table. So Angie took one for the team and stood by the podium so we'd be one off the first to get a table. I went and got us a snack of chicken tenders while she waited. At 6 PM we were the first group to be seated. We had a really delicious dinner. Buratta Caprese salad. Beef Carpaccio.

 Lasagna!! Pappardelle with sausage. Ziti with pesto. And grilled red snapper. All so good. And the lasagna and pappardelle were made with home made pasta. No dessert.

Today is likely another "Rinse and Repeat" day. Except for the Eco Walking tour. A little breakfast followed by some pool time. Maybe some volleyball. And then this afternoon they'll have a Purple Vibe party. More details on that tomorrow. Tonight's our last night at Planet Hollywood. We'll head to Margaritaville tomorrow.

Planet Hollywood Costa Rica Day 2

Yesterday was a pool day.  I played some pool volleyball as Angie read and took care of some emails.  We had lunch at Guy's Burger.  Some of you may know this from Carnival Cruise Line. There must be some kind off partnership with Planet Hollywood because the one in Cancun has one as well.  A different menu than what's in the ship. But of course they have burgers!!  And things that aren't offered on the ship such as chicken tenders, chicken sandwich and a veggie burger.

For dinner we Teppanyaki'd!!   

Unlike others I've attended, this was a fixed menu.  You didn't choose your main.  You started with some fried rice followed by chicken, shrimp and steak along with mixed vegetables.  All very tasty. I especially liked the shrimp which had been cooked in lime juice,  garlic butter and soy sauce. 

After dinner we watch the resorts "Oscar" show. 

 The had a live band with dancers which played songs from popular movies with the clips playing on a background screen. They had some great versions!!   Especially "Iris" from the Goo Goo Dolls.   They played it better than two of the three times I saw that band at a concert. So many costume changes for the dancers!!   And they finished off with a rousing rendition of "Footloose"!  Very fun way to end the night.  

This morning at 9:30 we'll be going on a short Eco Hike around the resort.  Then more pool time. I went at 6 AM to make dinner reservations for Gusto, the Italian restaurant.  The seven of us in line were told that effective today, there are no more reservations being taken except for the Teppanyaki restaurant. It will all be first come, first served.  It will be interesting to see how that works since there are some larger groups here.   And a couple of the restaurants (including Gusto) are down by the pool without a lounge or bar area where you can wait for your table.