I’m somewhat behind on processing film… I develop fairly quickly, scan as soon as it’s dry enough (or within a day, anyway) but I’m well behind on getting those scans converted to positive and shared.
Oh well. The vacation was still a blessing, we still had a good time, and these pictures are still worth sharing, I guess.
To recap, in mid-August, my darling, adorable wife and I drove to San Antonio, then to Padre Island, then Houston, then home. We stayed a couple of nights in S.A., and a couple in Houston; we ate some delicious food and some not so delicious food; we kept ourselves occupied and still had time to relax.
Padre was beautiful, and would be a nice place to go all on its own, methinks, with nothing to do for a few days but lounge on the beach, occasionally step out into the water, or maybe go for a swim…
InshaAllah we can get back there one day.
One big thing on my list of fun things to do was to visit the Houston Center for Photography, the Rothko Chapel, and the Cy Twombly Gallery. They’re all closed Mondays and Tuesdays (the day we arrived in Houston and the only full day we had in Houston), and don’t open till 11, so on Wednesday morning, we had some time to visit the Houston Arboretum and Nature Preserve.
My darling wife looks so classy and elegant strolling down the outer loop. MashaAllah.
Late August in the Buffalo Bayou was humid, and we poured sweat. This too was a blessing, since our dinner the night before had been horribly salty, salty enough that I woke up feeling it, and after an hour walk through the nature preserve, we both felt clean and invigorated. Allahu Akbar.
We found some breakfast at Dish Society, and then, finally, to the museums…
I didn’t shoot much. The HCP didn’t mind, but the others had security people walking around constantly and clear No Photography signs (that I didn’t particularly attend to). Outside is another story… can’t stop me there!
And the nice little neighborhood next to the museums? No security there either. Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah.
After the galleries and museums, we headed north, to the Champion’s Masjid in Louetta, a beautiful newish mosque with some nice tile work inside featuring the 99 Names and a family tree of the Prophets, peace be upon them all. From my time at the Rothko Chapel and Cy Twombly Gallery, it didn’t cross my mind to photograph them, but I did get a nice exterior shot with the Sprocket Rocket.
I love the Sprocket Rocket, and I really need to shoot more with it… I don’t have the framing down at all.
After praying our Dhuhr and Asr prayers, we had a nice lunch at a Halal Guys around the corner (the spicy sauce is spicy, and if you want good meat-over-rice things, try Arabian Bites in Irving: after a taste test one day apart, Arabian Bites meat, white sauce, and brown rice are all superior to Halal Guys, the one in Louetta, anyway), and then drove home. It rained a bit on the way, but was otherwise uneventful.
Back at home, my wife started the last semester of her BSW degree and we got back to the usual, with some nice memories of a nice time, and hopes and plans for future vacations percolating in our minds.
Rabbana hab lana min azwajina wa dhurriyatina qurrata a`yunin wa’j`alna li’l muttaqina imama, Ameen.
