Tootsie on Tour: Houston, TX

[taz_39]

**Disclaimer: The content of this post reflects my own personal views, opinions, and experiences.
This post does NOT express the views or opinions of my employer.**

Note:
Due to an ongoing family emergency, there are times where I may post less regularly or with less content.
Thank you for your understanding.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The venue: Hobby Center


(stock photos)

Covid Tests to Date: 19

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TL;DR: Here's a TikTok summary.

TikTok by @tromboneontour

Monday, I woke up around 6:45am to have breakfast before packing up and boarding the charter bus.

We had a nice relaxing ride with an hour break in the middle for lunch, and arrived in Houston around 4pm.
This hotel is a bit unusual, it's a smaller chain so we weren't sure what to expect. Our route sheet had specified that there were no refrigerators or microwaves in the rooms. I was prepared with a list of nonperishables just in case: canned tuna and chicken, peanut butter, no-refrigeration-needed fruits and vegetables, soup, bread, pre-cooked rice. Stuff like that.

As it turned out, some of us did have mini fridges in our rooms, and I was one of the lucky ones.
After finding this out I wasted no time in hustling to the nearest grocery...or rather, groceries!

First I stopped at a specialty grocery only a few blocks away called Phoenicia Specialty Foods.
It's a family-owned chain that has mostly Mediterranian foods, a lot of which they make on-site.
The baklava...the authentic hummus...and the BREADS.

Most of the breads are made right there in the store. There were so many options, it was a hard choice!
I chose a bag of three "simit" breads. Simit is a circular, somewhat flat bread encrusted with sesame seeds. It's not too different from a bagel, only it's not parboiled to get the chewy exterior and it's much more flat. In Turkey and Greece it's an extremely cheap bread that's traditionally eaten for breakfast or lunch. I've always wanted to try it!


It's softer than a bagel and with more flavor from the sesame. Looking forward to including it in my meals here in Houston :)

In addition to the simit I also picked up some small pieces of turron (a nougat made of egg whites, sugar, and nuts) and some duck jerky of all things! I love to try new and exotic foods! I suspect I'll be back to Phoenicia again before the week is out.

Then I walked to a more "normal" grocery called Randalls, which is a chain I've never heard of before.
Here I got my standards for the week like egg whites, Greek yogurt, lunch meat, veggies and fruit. In the fruit section I was excited to find white sapote! A relative of citrus fruits but with a texture similar to an avocado, it looks like a quince and has a white custard-like pulp that tastes like vanilla or banana or peach, depending on who you ask. I've always wanted to try one! I picked one out and also two persimmions since they're in season. The rest of my groceries were pretty standard.

On the way home I stopped at Common Bonds cafe for a spiced pear and Earl Grey scone.
This cafe was originally going to be my source of local bread, but as it was the end of the day they didn't have much left and they also did not sell half-loaves. The scone was amazing (no picture because it looked quite boring despite the amazing taste!)

Back at the hotel I put my groceries away and unpacked. It's a very satisfying feeling once you've completed your setup for the week. A full fridge, a bowl full of fruit, fresh bread waiting to be enjoyed...NOW it feels like home!


Since the laundry at this hotel is FREE (wow!) I did a load, then got a lovely hot shower and decompressed for the rest of the night.
Jameson and his Dad were in Chicago for a Genesis concert, he sent me some photos (I was originally supposed to go with). It looked like an AWESOME time!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday. I woke up a little later than usual, must have been extra tired!
I made myself some spiced persimmon oatmeal using my skillet. Yum!


I had no particular plans so decided to chill for most of the day, with one outing to mail Jane's New Orleans magnet to her.
Our sound check went well in the new space. This is another theatre with a "starry" ceiling, though the stars here are enclosed in a ring of lights and feature a Milky Way sort of pattern (see TikTok video).

After the cramped and aging Saenger Theatre in NOLA, the Hobby Center here in Houston is a relief.
Plenty of room to set up and move around. I even broke out my trombone stand for the first time!
The opening night show went well, lots of applause and the band sounding very good together.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday, I woke up early to take myself to the Houston Zoo!
I rode the lightrail and walked through a park to reach the zoo right as it opened at 9am.
The earlier you get there the better the experience, I've been told. The animals are more active because it's not hot out yet, and there aren't hordes of screaming children to fight through.

First stop was the elephant barn. The elephants were still inside, having just finished a bath.
The zoo has two new baby elephants, a boy and a girl. They were adorable! Here is a trainer/handler interacting with the little girl. He is offering her bread pieces, and having her stretch her trunk and body to get them. Baby elephants don't have the greatest muscle control, and this helps her not only to control her body movements but also to prepare for the motions she'll need to do for veterinary exams. Having animals that are willing to lie down or lift a foot when asked saves a lot of stress for the animal, and can eliminate the need for tranquilizers for simple procedures.

All of that said, it was just CUTE.

I visited the big cats and found the lions and tigers still sleeping, and the smaller cats like clouded leopards and servals and such pacing while waiting for breakfast. But the cheetahs were relaxing in plain view, very close to their fence.

The reptile house was dark and cool. I love looking at reptiles, they are just so beautiful, so many colors and patterns and the way their scales lie in perfect geometric harmony. And those cute little booplesnoot faces! Can't get enough.


Two of the snakes were very active, a constrictor of some sort and the king cobra.

I circled back to the primate house, where lots of the monkeys and apes were having breakfast. That was fun to watch.
Near the exit was the chimpanzee area. It was almost 10am and still fairly quiet, but I could hear more and more voices in the distance and the pitter-patter of little annoying child-feet coming closer. I sat with my back to the glass of the chimp enclosure to see if any would come over (they don't like it when you stare at them and will avoid eye contact). Sure enough one came and sat near me. When I turned around though he quickly looked away. I snapped a quick photo just as a mob of ten or so children came pelting around the corner, screaming "MONKEY!" and making obnoxious chimp noises.
I said, "Good luck, buddy," and got myself out of there.


I saw many other wonderful animals including zebras, giraffes, meerkats, misc tropical birds, fish, and turtles, and more.
Overall it took about 2.5 hours to walk the whole zoo, and it was a very enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.

I got back to the hotel around lunch time and had a meal of snow peas that I steamed using my skillet, and the simit bread, and half of the white sapote. The fruit has a green skin which you can eat but it's kind of bitter, so I didn't eat it this time. The flesh is yellowish-white and creamy, with a texture somewhere between avocado and pear if you can imagine that. The flavor was mild and sweet, like banana and vanilla and pear/peach. It was a really good fruit and I'm glad I got to try one!



For dinner I treated myself to a cheap pizza slice before heading to the theatre for the evening show.
It went really well once again. I have a feeling that being in a less stress-inducing space is condusive to putting on a good show.

After the show I had a moment that lookfar might describe as "hyper-awareness" or "ecstatic experience". Walking back to the hotel through a dark and silent public park, a cool breeze gently lifting my hair, a full moon overhead making everything seem clean and fresh, the scent of rotting leaves and exhaust and food from distant restaurants...I felt briefly aware of everything around me, of the magic of the here and now. Just being alive in that moment, and being conscious of what a wonder it is to exist. Not to wax philosophical, but that's the kind of moment it was, and I was in a mindset to appreciate it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday, we had a rehearsal scheduled in the afternoon so I had a slow morning, cooking breakfast in the room and researching Kansas City as that's where we are headed next. I used to live in KCMO, so there are lots of areas that I already know about, but also lots more that I never got to discover. Since we're there over Thanksgiving I'm not making any crazy plans, just bookmarking some restaurants and bakeries.

Rehearsal went well, it sounded like the cast accomplished most of what they wanted to workshop.
Walked back to the hotel, had dinner, got dressed for the show, walked back.
The show went without a hitch. Very nice :)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday was a whole day of "nothing", my only plan was to source out some authentic Tex-Mex for lunch.
CAN Tex-Mex be authentic? Isn't it just Americanized Mexican food? Wikipedia says it's slightly more complicated than that, an amalgam of Spanish, Mexican, and American seasonings and ingredients.
Regardless, there seems to be one restaurant that all review sites agree embodies the "original" Tex-Mex, and that is Ninfa's.

It was a 1.5 mile walk to get there, which for me and my stubby legs is a little over 30 minutes.
The weather was very nice and it was an easy walk. I was seated at the bar since I was alone, but there were lots of other solo diners and a lot of folks of Hispanic origins, which was encouraging. Right when you walk in there is a glassed-off area where you can see an honest-to-god woodfire grill going, and tortillas being freshly made, along with grilled meats and veggies as orders come in. I didn't take a picture because there are plenty available online, but it was abundantly clear that Ninfa's takes "made to order" very seriously.

I ordered the "tacos al carbon", which are Ninfa's signature dish: fajita ingredients served in a tortilla like a taco. Ninfa's is credited with the invention of the fajita back in the 1970s, so of course their most popular menu items are either the fajitas or the tacos al carbon.

My lunch: chicken taco al carbon served with black refried beans, Mexican rice, guac, pico, and queso.


It looks simple, right? But it was amazing.
Why was it amazing? The extremely fresh tortilla. I have NEVER had a tortilla like that. It was both crispy and fluffy, not chewy at all like premade tortillas. The chicken, onions and peppers had a distinct flavor of char and wood. It was so delicious with the pico and guac spread on top (I didn't waste a lot of time on the queso, which seemed Velveeta-esque tbh). The bottom line is, the food was all extremely fresh, and as a result it tasted far more amazing than any other Mexican or Tex-Mex I've ever had.

Side of chips, which I barely touched but thoroughly enjoyed:


Just, wow. I wish I could have tried some of the more exciting menu items, such as roasted quail or pulpo tacos.
But with only one meal opportunity, I felt it necessary to try the "standard". If I ever get to eat here again, I will get something more exotic!

After a little time to digest I walked back to the hotel, stopping at Phoenicia grocery again because I hadn't done a good job of planning my groceries for the week. I was short on proteins, mostly. It's hard to plan with a minifridge, but planning ahead means I can come back to the hotel between shows without worrying about what's for dinner over the weekend. I got halal chicken meatballs and a purple potato to incorporate into my weekend.

The evening show went well, though I'm starting to get frustrated with myself when I make mistakes on the same sections over and over. I'll probably go in a little early to practice on Saturday.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday, a chill morning. Breakfast and a load of laundry.
Both shows went well, and in between I ate dinner and started semi-packing.

Sunday, much the same except more packing and also considering scheduling a covid booster in Kansas City since we get Thanksgiving Day off. Let's see...4-star hotel + day off + Thanksgiving dinner provided for us? Sounds like a good time to ride the covid booster side effects to me! I figure I can watch movies all day and eat the provided Turkey Day meal if I feel up to it.

After the Sunday show I packed up all of my gear and made sure to sign the wall space that was painted for us.
What a lovely city scene!


It was definitely a fun week here in Houston. We had great crowds, the weather was nice, I got to see and do and eat a lot!
Couldn't ask for a better week.
Next stop is Kansas City (KCMO). I've lived in this city before plus the circus passed through there frequently, so I know it pretty well.
Although I won't be doing much because of the holiday, I'll still appreciate being there :)