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Dan O

Dan O

Conductor
Joined
Feb 21, 2008
Messages
1,168
Location
So Calif
Ugh. My son wants to go there next summer to enjoy Houston's heat and humidity. The train actually might work out fine, leaving So Cal late Friday and arriving in Houston around noon on Sunday. We could get on the Sunset Ltd on Wed and be back in LA Friday AM. I think we could find enough things to do to keep us occupied for the 3 days we'd be there.

Not sure where the station is in Houston in relation to anything else. It doesn't appear to be like Chicago where there are tons of places to see within a short distance of the station. So I would think we'd need to rent a car someplace. Probably need to get a taxi to get to the rental car place unless there is one in the station. If we do rent a car, I would think that we could stay anyplace half way decent in the area and not be confined to staying in the downtown area. Might get a much better deal.

Just looked a bit online for rental car companies and it will take a bit of looking to find one nearby that is open on Sunday when we arrive.

Is the area near the station worth looking at, say like in LA where there is Olvera Street, Phillipes, Chinatown, etc?

I guess the ontime performance of the train could be an issue if we do find a rental car place but they don't stay open as late as the train arrives, should it be say 6 hours late.

Any thoughts on this idea would be appreciated. (I just wish he wanted to go to CHI instead. I know where to stay, what to see, etc and don't need to rent a car to see any of it.)

Dan

PS. Might need to reserve a car at an airport (Hobby?) to make sure we can get the car if the train is very late.
 
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Dan: Im a Native Texan and Even We Don't Go to Houston in the Summer! :eek: (And if we can Help It Not during the Rest of the Year Either! :giggle: )

The Station is Right Downtown under an Interstate (it's an Old SP Station with Interesting Pictures about Train History in Houston) but Really Nothing Around the Station! Houston has a Light Rail Line Downtown but it Only Runs Up and Down Main Street, not close to the Amtrak Station ! (But right Past the Greyhound Station on Main St. ! :blink: )

The Houston Lastros (Baseball) play in the Very Nice Minute Maid Park Downtown, and the Downtown is undergoing a Renisance with Old Buildings being turned into Condos/Lofts etc. etc. The Hip Montrose District South of downtown is Full of Clubs/Resturants/Botigues etc.(it is also the center of Gay Houston!) Rice University on South main has a Beautiful Campus (the harvard of the South)! There a Plenty of Motels along all of the Various Highways and Toll Roads, the downtown Hotels tend to be Pricey! South Main down by where the old Astro Dome and the new Houston Texas Football is Located has some Old but sericeable Motels and Resturants! (But there also are Working Girls and Street Characters in that part of Town and I wouldn;t walk there @ Night!)

Houston does have lots of Live Music Clubs and Venues and Many Hundreds of Restaurants of All Types from Fast Food to World Class White Table Cloth Joints!

I Can't Help with the Rent Car Question, but would Caution you about Driving, I 'd Compare Houston to LA for Traffic , in fact its even Crazier and Easy to Get Lost when you get away from Downtown!

In all Honesty Id say stay on the Sunset Ltd. to New Orleans (you Won't need a Car) or Consider San Antonio , Austin( :p ) or even the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metro Plex if your Son is set on Coming to Texas!! Bring Cool Clothing and Sunscreen!
 
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jimhudson said:
The Station is Right Downtown under an Interstate (it's an Old SP Station with Interesting Pictures about Train History in Houston) but Really Nothing Around the Station! Houston has a Light Rail Line Downtown but it Only Runs Up and Down Main Street, not close to the Amtrak Station ! (But right Past the Greyhound Station on Main St. ! :blink: )
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But they're building new bits and by next summer at least some of these should be operating. But I'm not sure the Red Line's northern extension will go anywhere near anything of interest for tourists. I do like the present Red Line though as it is an interesting ride taking you through a good cross-section of different styles of neighborhoods (and great for people watching), including a very nice park with a miniature fun train. Sorry, I can't remember the name, but you can't really miss it. I take a ride on the Red Line every time I'm in Houston and always discover something new.

Also, just walking around downtown is extremely interesting. Yes, it is much more walkable than at first it looks, and there are lots of architectural gems hidden away. It's also fascinating to see the gentrification in progress, with some streets still very much at heel and in urgent need of investors, other bits being done up and other bits again restored to a very high standard. I never noticed any working girls, but there are some colorful characters on the streets at night but most are harmless and some normal situational awareness should keep you safe.
 
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jimhudson said:
Dan: Im a Native Texan and Even We Don't Go to Houston in the Summer! :eek: (And if we can Help It Not during the Rest of the Year Either! :giggle: )

The Station is Right Downtown under an Interstate (it's an Old SP Station with Interesting Pictures about Train History in Houston) but Really Nothing Around the Station! Houston has a Light Rail Line Downtown but it Only Runs Up and Down Main Street, not close to the Amtrak Station ! (But right Past the Greyhound Station on Main St. ! :blink: )

The Houston Lastros (Baseball) play in the Very Nice Minute Maid Park Downtown, and the Downtown is undergoing a Renisance with Old Buildings being turned into Condos/Lofts etc. etc. The Hip Montrose District South of downtown is Full of Clubs/Resturants/Botigues etc.(it is also the center of Gay Houston!) Rice University on South main has a Beautiful Campus (the harvard of the South)! There a Plenty of Motels along all of the Various Highways and Toll Roads, the downtown Hotels tend to be Pricey! South Main down by where the old Astro Dome and the new Houston Texas Football is Located has some Old but sericeable Motels and Resturants! (But there also are Working Girls and Street Characters in that part of Town and I wouldn;t walk there @ Night!)

Houston does have lots of Live Music Clubs and Venues and Many Hundreds of Restaurants of All Types from Fast Food to World Class White Table Cloth Joints!

I Can't Help with the Rent Car Question, but would Caution you about Driving, I 'd Compare Houston to LA for Traffic , in fact its even Crazier and Easy to Get Lost when you get away from Downtown!

In all Honesty Id say stay on the Sunset Ltd. to New Orleans (you Won't need a Car) or Consider San Antonio , Austin( :p ) or even the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metro Plex if your Son is set on Coming to Texas!! Bring Cool Clothing and Sunscreen!
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I would agree with Jim on this. New Orleans has many things to see and do outside of Bourbon St and transportation via streetcars is easy and fun. :)
 
I have been a tourist in Houston (without a car) and found it a surprisingly good walking city. I liked the city much more than I thought, visiting most of the museums and wandering around. My one adventure outside of downtown and the museum district where I walked mostly (except for the required SubwayNut station-to-station of the light rail) was the free Sam Houston Boat tour around the port. I took the bus out there and walked into the dock where the boat left from. Security let me in but was quite surprised someone would take the boat tour without a car.

In terms of where I stayed, the 2 year old HI Houston is great, clean well air conditioned, a former B & B in a historic house in the walkable Museum District converted to a Hostel. Dorm rooms are $25 per bed per night, with private rooms avalible (can't seem to find availability on line) and your son would have fun meeting the other international travelers staying there.

Here is the post on my blog about my 3 Full Day Visit in Houston.
 
SubwayNut said:
I have been a tourist in Houston (without a car) and found it a surprisingly good walking city. I liked the city much more than I thought, visiting most of the museums and wandering around.
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My own impression entirely.

I've also ridden on several buses in Houston, but mostly I used the light rail line or walked.

I enjoyed reading your blog by the way. Maybe one day I'll get around to writing up my own impressions and posting some of my pictures.
 
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cirdan said:
SubwayNut said:
I have been a tourist in Houston (without a car) and found it a surprisingly good walking city. I liked the city much more than I thought, visiting most of the museums and wandering around.
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My own impression entirely.

I've also ridden on several buses in Houston, but mostly I used the light rail line or walked.

I enjoyed reading your blog by the way. Maybe one day I'll get around to writing up my own impressions and posting some of my pictures.
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My only Real Objection to Houston is that in the Summer the Heat and Humidity is Unbearable and Walking isn't a Pleasure! :help: That and the Traffic! :eek: I still say New Orleans, San Antonio, Austin( :p ) or Dallas/Ft. Worth would be Better Weekend "Get-a-Way" Cities for a Train Trip!!! ;)
 
I really don't understand putting "heat and humidity" in the same sentence as "enjoy". ;)
 
There are lots of things to do in Houston. Hanging around the train station isn't one of them. You can find it on Google earth. It's a little one room station building the SP built to serve their one remaining train a day, the Sunset Ltd. This after they sold the beautiful Grand Central Station to the post office and it was torn down to make way for the new central post office which is still there. The station is located under a freeway bridge on a dead end street. It's a crappy little station for a city the size of Houston. There is absolutely NOTHING to do there. Get a cab and go to your hotel and get away from the station.

After that, take a ride on the light rail out to the museum district. Rent a car and drive toward Galveston. Go to the NASA Space Center. If you like baseball, the stadium uses part of the old Union RR station as the entrance way and the SP 982 2-10-2 locomotive is located outside. The Metro headquarters is located on the light rail line. There you can get a transit map of Houston and a day pass or something like that. Downtown is probably going to be mostly closed up on a Sunday. It's hot here in the summer, but downtown Houston has tunnels leading everywhere and there is a map of the tunnel system. Everything is AC'd. Out from downtown there is the Galleria Shopping mall. You can drive there or take a bus. The Post Oak complex out there is huge. Houston has some of the best eating places in the country so you won't starve. Those are just some thoughts, I am sure there are many more suggestions coming. Here is a good web site.

http://www.visithoustontexas.com/
 
If you are arriving on a Sunday, you might check on downtown hotels that offer a good rate for Sunday night then rent a car from a downtown location the next morning. Airport car prices are much higher and they add big surcharges.
 
There may be busses to Galveston. Check the Dog. There should be car rental places in the downtown area. Check Enterprise for their locations. Generally they will be cheaper than the airport, not to mention cheaper to get to from the Amtrak station. If you go to the airport, that can be done on a bus.
 
I've had Enterprise and Hertz meet me at the station before. They should be able to pick you up! NASA is cool but requires a car to get there. Many things to do inside the loop!
 
"There may be busses to Galveston. Check the Dog."

Amtrak goes to Galveston.
 
JoeBas said:
"There may be busses to Galveston. Check the Dog."

Amtrak goes to Galveston.
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Transport between Houston and Galveston is almost a thing of the past. Greyhound no longer shows any service to Galveston. Amtrak only goes there on 24 hr notice and picks up at the RR museum. Rent a car is the only way. There is limousine service to the airports but it's expensive.
 
 
I have been to Dallas and to Austin in the winter via Amtrak from LA and found both cities to be quite enjoyable.

My only visit to Houston was in the summer and the windshield of my rental car seemed always fogged over with the A/C running full blast.
 
Couch USA bought Kerryville Bus LInes that was the Greyhound Greyhound Interlined Carrier to Galveston merged it into Megabus a year ago, and has since discontinued the local intercity routes Kerryville Bus Lines previously operated including all bus service to Galveston!

Galveston looks like to be the terminus of the charted throughway bus from Longview to Houston, tickets between Houston and Galveston can't be purchased and I tried Galveston to New Orleans and go a Bus to Longview, Texas Eagle to Chicago to the City of New Orleans to NOL!!! Routing (what should be a day trip into two overnights!)

Edit: Played with Arrow some more: You can book the bus Houston to Galveston it appears as an add on to a train trip on another day using the multi-city ticketing option, its one of those book with trains situations.
 
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Thanks for the information and the humor. I am trying to talk him out of Houston and might be able to get New Orleans. He wants to consider living in Houston. Wants to live in Texas where there may be gators.

Many thanks. I will definitely look at the ideas on here if he won't change his mind.

Dan
 
The weather in New Orleans is just as hot and humid as Houston. Plus New Orleans is a crime ridden nasty stinking city compared to Houston. Since Katrina it has really gone down hill. The only plus I can give New Orleans is they still run those 1920's era Perley Thomas streetcars on St. Charles Ave. and the Evans Pralines sold at the 848 Decatur store. Houston has better food and better night life and by far better business environment and more jobs. Plus Houston is in Texas, not a 'foreign country'. ;)
 
henryj said:
The weather in New Orleans is just as hot and humid as Houston. Plus New Orleans is a crime ridden nasty stinking city compared to Houston. Since Katrina it has really gone down hill. The only plus I can give New Orleans is they still run those 1920's era Perley Thomas streetcars on St. Charles Ave. and the Evans Pralines sold at the 848 Decatur store. Houston has better food and better night life and by far better business environment and more jobs. Plus Houston is in Texas, not a 'foreign country'. ;)
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Tell us How you Really Feel Henry! :lol:
 
jimhudson said:
henryj said:
The weather in New Orleans is just as hot and humid as Houston. Plus New Orleans is a crime ridden nasty stinking city compared to Houston. Since Katrina it has really gone down hill. The only plus I can give New Orleans is they still run those 1920's era Perley Thomas streetcars on St. Charles Ave. and the Evans Pralines sold at the 848 Decatur store. Houston has better food and better night life and by far better business environment and more jobs. Plus Houston is in Texas, not a 'foreign country'. ;)
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Tell us How you Really Feel Henry! :lol:
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LOL Jim. Hey, if your idea of a good time is walking through the puke and filth on Bourbon street as you get drunk going from bar to bar then by all means go to New Orleans. There is always the French Quarter and coffee and beignets at Café Du Monde, but you can get beignets in Houston at Crescent City Biegnets at 3620 Westheimer which I understand is just a dirty as the New Orleans one. lol. New Orleans used to be known for it's food, but Houston has better restaurants now days. Over a hundred thousand people fled Katrina and came to Houston. Most are still here. If you go there, I like to ride the streetcar out St Charles Ave through the Garden District past Loyola and Tulane Universities and the Aububon Park. The Canal Street line splits and goes to the Cemetaries and City Park. Try and park in the large French Quarter parking lot to keep your car and stuff from being stolen. You can also park along St Charles Ave around Aubudon Park which is pretty safe. Of course there is gambling and casinos along the river front. Most of New Orleans is below sea level and sinking into the mud which has escalated since Katrina.
 
Pretty much anything along the Texas to Florida corridor is going to be miserably hot and humid. If he wants to live in Houston, then it's probably best to let him explore it and experience the humidity for himself before he makes that jump. ;)
 
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