We kicked off the weekend early, waking up to get ready for the road trip to Houston. Spirits were high and the car was packed—but of course, no road trip is complete without some kind of obstacle. Ours came in the form of three solid hours of traffic. We whined, complained, and watched the clock tick painfully slow. Just when we thought we couldn’t take another minute of crawling on the freeway, we hit 4:00Pm… and what do we see? Construction workers calling it a day and heading home. The traffic suddenly started to break up, as if the highway was just messing with us the whole time. We finally made it to our Airbnb around 6:00Pm. Honestly, not bad. The place was pretty nice—even if the bathtub was so slick that Nonnie said she had to cling to the wall as if she were Spider-Man just to avoid wiping out. The ice cubes in the freezer trays? Absolutely massive—like frozen bricks. And the backyard, while advertised as a charming hangout spot, turned out to be so boring the family agreed there wasn’t a single reason to step foot out there. Saturday morning, we fueled up at a tiny coffee shop that screamed “aesthetic vibes only.” The drinks and food were pricey, definitely aimed at the Instagram crowd more than the hungry traveler. From there, we embarked on a mini journey—about a mile hike through a park to reach the parade route. It sounded easy enough until we were halfway through and realized we had to drag our wagon up the stairs of a bridge. By the time we got to the stairs, Nonnie and Ed Dees were practically crawling, clinging to the wagon and each other for dear life. We made it, though—because we had to. The Houston Art Car Parade? Absolutely epic. Words can barely capture the creativity on display. There were cars with animatronic creatures that somehow all moved in perfect sync. One guy drove a cardboard robot car that looked straight out of a sci-fi film—and even cooler, when he talked from inside the vehicle, the robot’s mouth moved with him! We also got some unintentional entertainment: one car featured a live band that was so offbeat, none of the other musicians bothered to perform with the drummer. Right behind them was an attempted karaoke bus—emphasis on attempted—with singers so tone-deaf we were all trying not to laugh. After the parade, we decided to take a detour down to Galveston to feel the sand beneath our toes. But by that point, Nonnie and I were so drained that we stayed behind in the car while Mom and Ed Dees wandered down to the sand. When it was time to find dinner, we quickly realized that everyone in the area had the same idea. Every restaurant had an insane wait time. We finally came across one where the line practically spilled out the door—and to top it off, the air vents inside were so powerful that napkins were flying off the tables. We had to pin them down with our glasses just to keep them from being blown away. On the drive back, Ed Dees made it his personal mission to cook us a homemade breakfast. Unfortunately, the nearest “grocery store” was a gas station, where he managed to find only eggs and plain white bread. He was determined, though—until the next morning when we all realized that without butter, seasoning, or literally anything else, the eggs and bread were basically pointless. So, we ditched the breakfast plan and headed out instead. We made a quick stop at another gas station that looked a little sketchy (cue the jokes about the nearby Huntsville prison museum), then finally found a Tex-Mex restaurant down the road. On the way, we passed two houses with a boot and cowboy hat on the roof. Classic Texas. All in all, it was an unforgettable trip. From the chaotic traffic to the hilarious car displays, the over-the-top iced coffee to the questionable band performances, I loved every second of it. Even if I’m going home a slightly burned lobster, I honestly don’t want this trip to end.
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