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#11
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Two Houston questions - Referring to the Astros and NASA
"MC" wrote in message ... Firstly, thanks to those who answered my previous post, re. Finding a hotel in Houston. I went on priceline.com and got 7 nights at the 4* Inn at the Ballpark for $60 pn. Anyway a couple of quick questions. 1. Is it easy to get to NASA via public transport. If we were to get a taxi rather than a bus (or whatever) what would the fare be, approximately. Don't know. Texas is the land of cheap gasoline/petrol (slightly more expensive than Iraq), so everyone drives. 2. We are thinking about going to see the Astros at the Minute Maid (when in Rome...). Now we have never seen a baseball game and had no idea of the rules (sorry, but I am British ) until I read a brief rundown of the rules this evening. My question is this: Approximately, how long does a game last and will it be easy to pick up what's going on? The game can be mind numbingly long, or mercifully short. I would say count on 3 hours. But it's ok to walk out early. Think of it as criket where the players are allowed to spit. Thanks in advance for any feedback to my questions. MC |
#12
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Two Houston questions - Referring to the Astros and NASA
"MTV" wrote in message ... MC wrote: Firstly, thanks to those who answered my previous post, re. Finding a hotel in Houston. I went on priceline.com and got 7 nights at the 4* Inn at the Ballpark for $60 pn. That's a great deal. The hotel is new and probably offering introductory rates. Summer time in Houstong. That explains it. Anyway a couple of quick questions. 1. Is it easy to get to NASA via public transport. If we were to get a taxi rather than a bus (or whatever) what would the fare be, approximately. On a previous web site I mentioned there's info on bus tours to the Space Center and Galveston. The Metro bus to NASA would be ok since they're express down the freeway. It's definitely worth seeing: where the astrounauts live and train, Mission Control, IMAX, etc. If you go to Galveston there're guided trolley tours, Moody Gardens with three large areas (rain forest, aquarium, and Discovery for kids), plus IMAX movies, plus shopping "On The Strand" next to the waterfront cruise ship terminals. Also harbor tours morning and afternoon, the old Elissa tall ship, movie on the 1900 hurricane that swept the island. Beaches are not much - no boardwalks like on the East Coast. 2. We are thinking about going to see the Astros at the Minute Maid (when in Rome...). Astros will be town except July 21st and 22nd. http://houston.astros.mlb.com/ Thanks in advance for any feedback to my questions. MC |
#13
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Two Houston questions - Referring to the Astros and NASA
Peter L wrote:
My son lives in Houston and we visited a couple of times. I agree with everything you said except the end. Houston has probably the worst dining scene for any major city we've experienced. LA, NY, and Chicago all beat Houston hands down. Even many medium sized cities (notably SF) has much more to offer in terms of restaurants. Excuse me! That's absolutely false! Huge variety, Most "dining out" city in the country, etc. etc. Unless your son doesn't live "in the city" and is out in one of the Ex-urbs. You can check out "Houston.Eats" newsgroup for discussions and answers to questions. Marvin |
#14
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Two Houston questions - Referring to the Astros and NASA
There are bus tours nut they will charge you about 4 times the Metro
price to dump you at NASA. If you keep to the Metro schedule referenced previously it should work just as well. A taxi would be out of sight. Patty Winter wrote: In article , MC wrote: 1. Is it easy to get to NASA via public transport. If we were to get a taxi rather than a bus (or whatever) what would the fare be, approximately. Given the pretty unencouraging answers that the Houston locals have provided, perhaps you might want to consider a bus tour? You might be able to find one that would pick you up at or near your hotel, take you to JSC for a tour, and then bring you back. I don't know how the price would compare to a taxi, but it might be worth investigating. My question is this: Approximately, how long does a game last and will it be easy to pick up what's going on? As someone else mentioned, as long as no one hits any infield fly balls, you'll be okay. ;-) (There was even a scene about this on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine once, proving that people will still be confused by the rule hundreds of years from now. ;-) ) Yes, it's a slow-moving game, but that gives you time to chat and look around and take in the atmosphere. Give it a try! Patty |
#15
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Two Houston questions - Referring to the Astros and NASA
Peter L wrote:
"MC" wrote in message ... Firstly, thanks to those who answered my previous post, re. Finding a snip Don't know. Texas is the land of cheap gasoline/petrol (slightly more expensive than Iraq), so everyone drives. snip Actually gasoline in Houston isn't cheap despite the large number of refineries. It's almost always less in Atlanta or South Carolina. Everyone drives because there isn't any other way to get around except for special cases. Fortunately for the OP Downtown to NASA is one of the special cases. |
#16
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Two Houston questions - Referring to the Astros and NASA
"MTV" wrote in message ... Peter L wrote: My son lives in Houston and we visited a couple of times. I agree with everything you said except the end. Houston has probably the worst dining scene for any major city we've experienced. LA, NY, and Chicago all beat Houston hands down. Even many medium sized cities (notably SF) has much more to offer in terms of restaurants. Excuse me! That's absolutely false! Huge variety, Most "dining out" city in the country, etc. etc. Unless your son doesn't live "in the city" and is out in one of the Ex-urbs. My son lives right in downtown. You can disagree all you want. I don't know where that "most dining out city" moniker comes from. But for being the 4th largest city in the US, it's dining scene is extremely poor. You can check out "Houston.Eats" newsgroup for discussions and answers to questions. I don't have any questions. I was there and my son being single, eats out a lot. It's our impression and his impression also. Marvin |
#17
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Two Houston questions - Referring to the Astros and NASA
Peter L wrote:
My son lives in Houston and we visited a couple of times. I agree with everything you said except the end. Houston has probably the worst dining scene for any major city we've experienced. LA, NY, and Chicago all beat Houston hands down. Even many medium sized cities (notably SF) has much more to offer in terms of restaurants. You gotta understand; I grew up in Pontiac, Illinois. THE ethnic restaurant was a Pizza Pan that only opened about a year before I graduated from High School. As to the women, I'll leave the judgement to others. I am married, what do I know about beautiful women? Hmmmm - What is your wife's email address. I smell a chance for blackmail - ha ha |
#18
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Two Houston questions - Referring to the Astros and NASA
"Paul E. Lehmann" wrote in message ... MC wrote: Firstly, thanks to those who answered my previous post, re. Finding a hotel in Houston. I went on priceline.com and got 7 nights at the 4* Inn at the Ballpark for $60 pn. Anyway a couple of quick questions. 1. Is it easy to get to NASA via public transport. If we were to get a taxi rather than a bus (or whatever) what would the fare be, approximately. No, at least not that I am aware of. I Left Houston 10 years ago but I still visit there a couple times a year to see family and friends. Houston is HORRIBLE when it comes to public transport. Most Houstonians perfer to drive a car - even if they are the only occupant. The Gulf Freeway which you will need to travel on to get to NASA can get VERY congested so be prepared for slow traffic and traffic jams. In my opinion Houston is a TERRIBLE city built on mosquito infested swamp land and was part of a land deal rip off by the Allen Brothers years ago. Why on earth would you want to visit there? It is hot and EXTREMELY HUMID and summer is NOT the best time to visit there. There are only two saving graces about Houston. Houston has some of the best food and the most beautiful women to be found anywhere. 2. We are thinking about going to see the Astros at the Minute Maid (when in Rome...). Now we have never seen a baseball game and had no idea of the rules (sorry, but I am British ) until I read a brief rundown of the rules this evening. My question is this: Approximately, how long does a game last and will it be easy to pick up what's going on? Games depend on how many innings are played. Most games end in 9 innings so it should last several hours. To me it is extremely boring - sort of like watching grass grow. Since you are in the area, I would suggest you visit Galveston. The Boardwalk in Kemah (near Galveston) is also sort of nice with arcade games and other amusements and a very good selection of restaurants. It too, can get quite crowded. If you really want to get a flavour of Texas, visit the hill country around and near Austin - especially the Fredricksburg, San Saba and Llano area. Thanks in advance for any feedback to my questions. MC I have to agree with everything Paul has said. We visited our son and daughter-in-law in Houston for a week or so in April, 2003. It certainly isn't the place to visit for a holiday. We went solely to see our family. Very hard to get around with out a car - but for us Aussies who drive on the other side of the road - I wouldn't attempt to drive on your freeways. We used a small company with a minibus a couple of times to take us to see NASA one day and to see City of Houston and then on to San Jacinto. Sorry can't remember the name but there must be many of them to choose from. Julie Melbourne, Australia |
#19
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Two Houston questions - Referring to the Astros and NASA
"Paul E. Lehmann" wrote in message ...
MC wrote: Firstly, thanks to those who answered my previous post, re. Finding a hotel in Houston. I went on priceline.com and got 7 nights at the 4* Inn at the Ballpark for $60 pn. Anyway a couple of quick questions. 1. Is it easy to get to NASA via public transport. If we were to get a taxi rather than a bus (or whatever) what would the fare be, approximately. No, at least not that I am aware of. I Left Houston 10 years ago but I still visit there a couple times a year to see family and friends. Houston is HORRIBLE when it comes to public transport. Most Houstonians perfer to drive a car - even if they are the only occupant. As do citizens of just about every other city in the US outside of NYC, Boston and perhaps Chicago and San Francisco proper. The Gulf Freeway which you will need to travel on to get to NASA can get VERY congested so be prepared for slow traffic and traffic jams. Compared to traffic on the Capital Beltway, Houston's traffic is a piece of cake. America's Worst Traffic http://money.cnn.com/2003/10/01/pf/traffic_worse/ 1 Los Angeles, CA 2 San Francisco, CA 3 Denver, CO 4 Miami, FL 5 Phoenix, AZ 6 Chicago, IL 7 San Jose, CA 8 Washington, DC 9 Portland, OR 10 Boston, MA In my opinion Houston is a TERRIBLE city built on mosquito infested swamp land and was part of a land deal rip off by the Allen Brothers years ago. Why on earth would you want to visit there? It is hot and EXTREMELY HUMID and summer is NOT the best time to visit there. As we all know, Washington DC is an absolute paradise in the summertime. And wasn't Washington DC also built on a swamp? There are only two saving graces about Houston. Houston has some of the best food and the most beautiful women to be found anywhere. That's odd. I wonder why the Places Rated Almanac ranked Houston #8 out of 354 metropolitan areas for good places to live? Seems to me that if Houston was as horrible as you claim, its population would be shrinking, like it is in Washington, DC. Yet Houston added 20% to its population between 1990-2000. Your claims about Houston being a horrible place appear to be at odds with the 640,000 or so who moved here recently. San Antonio, Corpus Cristi and Fredricksburg are the good tourist destinations in Texas. Houston is not a tourist town, doesn't pretend to be one, and I doubt it ever will be. But Houston is a great place to work, start a business and raise a family. |
#20
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Two Houston questions - Referring to the Astros and NASA
Lou Minatti wrote:
"Paul E. Lehmann" wrote in message ... MC wrote: Houston is HORRIBLE when it comes to public transport. Most Houstonians perfer to drive a car - even if they are the only occupant. As do citizens of just about every other city in the US outside of NYC, Boston and perhaps Chicago and San Francisco proper. For a City its size Houston probably ranks WORST for public transportation. The Gulf Freeway which you will need to travel on to get to NASA can get VERY congested so be prepared for slow traffic and traffic jams. Compared to traffic on the Capital Beltway, Houston's traffic is a piece of cake. I now live in the DC area. Your statement is NOT true. As we all know, Washington DC is an absolute paradise in the summertime. And wasn't Washington DC also built on a swamp? Yes, it was but - the mass transit it DC is pretty damn good - Houston's is almost non existent. There are only two saving graces about Houston. Houston has some of the best food and the most beautiful women to be found anywhere. That's odd. I wonder why the Places Rated Almanac ranked Houston #8 out of 354 metropolitan areas for good places to live? Beats me. Maybe the raters make money the good ole fashion Houston way - they are easily bribed or bought outright. Seems to me that if Houston was as horrible as you claim, its population would be shrinking, like it is in Washington, DC. Yet Houston added 20% to its population between 1990-2000. Your claims about Houston being a horrible place appear to be at odds with the 640,000 or so who moved here recently. There are suckers born every moment. Some people are attracted because Texas doesn't have a state income tas - YET. It won't belong,however, before they are forced to have one. Houston also APPARENTLY has inexpensive housing - UNTIL one finds out the cost of house insurance because of the so called toxic mold problems AND the very high cost of electricity to cool their homes in a near HELL like environment. Have we talked air quality yet? Houston has some of the WORST in the nation and has even beat Los Angeles for unhealthy air. Of course, the die hard Houston lovers call it "The smell of money". Have we talked about very high cancer incidence rates yet? Look at a incidence map for the United States. I am glad you love Houston so much. STAY THERE. |
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