Saturday 17th January
We spent the whole day at Houston Zoo where the focus is on educating people about animals and providing sensory stimulation for the creatures in the zoo.
http://www.houstonzoo.org/
We were able to talk to the keepers on a couple of occasions and get really close, as in the case of the skink below.


All the animals looked in good condition and had decent sized enclosures. For the first time ever we saw a tiger swimming in a pool.


It was good to see animals sharing enclosures with other species and here the okapi is with tortoises, cranes and a small deer.

The meerkats were entertaining as usual.

We saw lots of other animals, including these below.

Friday 16th January
We took a cab to The Museum of Fine Arts which was very impressive but fairly quiet so we were able to take our time looking around the many rooms.
www.mfah.org


Opposite the gallery was its lovely open air sculpture park with works by Rodin and Giacometti. We enjoyed the sound sculptures and the warm sunshine.


We strolled up Main Street to the Contemporary Crafts Museum where there were workshops and a stunning exhibition of glass.
www.crafthouston.org

Thursday 15th January
This morning we spent most of our time to changing one of our flights.
Later we walked down the road to The Galleria Mall to look around some of the smart shops. On our way we passed this building which is the tallest building in the world that is not in a downtown district.


The mall is huge and has a full sized ice rink in the bottom level. We were not tempted to give it a go.

When we got back we enjoyed watching the sunset from our room.

Wednesday 14th January
Our first proper day in Houston, blue skies and a relaxed morning by the pools.


We took a taxi for the few miles to the Houston Arboretum and Nature Centre.
www.houstonarboretum.org
We walked around the different trails, enjoying the peace and quiet of this park which is just beside an Interstate Highway.


There are plenty of boardwalks on the wet areas. We saw birds, squirrels and lots of pond life in the swamp.

It was so warm that the terrapins were out of the water sunning themselves.

Tuesday 13th January
We set off from Heathrow and had a good 8 hour flight to Washington, passing lots of snow and ice on the way. Next leg was 3 hour flight into Houston. Half hour taxi ride to very comfortable hotel.

This afternoon the 4 of us went to the National Railway Museum in York. There was lots to see including this newly built steam train

Sunday 28th December

Everyone at Wetherby for Christmas - Russell, Rachael, Christine and Mike as well as the two of us.