I’m leaving for the US (Houston, Texas) with my father next week for cancer treatment (I am the patient). Don’t know how long the stay is going to be. To keep optimistic I like thinking about doing fun things - motivates me to think I have to be well in order to do them.
Space Center Houston is a really enjoyable attraction for history and spaceflight. Stand next to a full sized Saturn V rocket (on its side so you can walk it end to end). Go inside the Shuttle Carrier 747 plane! Much more to see too. Spaceflight is inspiring!
Definitely Texas BBQ. Houston is also regarded as having the best and most diverse food in the state. So try whatever you can that won’t interfere with your treatment. As others said, NASA Space Center.
A joint in Spring just got a Michelin star!
You should be asking for Houston things, not American. Though you can fly to other cities, but the US is big. Texas is 695,660 km2, France is 543,941. Different states do have very different cultures - even in Texas you will find several different cultures. You cannot do it all, and I suspect your treatment will limit how far you can travel. Fortunately Houston is a big city with plenty to do and the public transit isn’t impossible to use. search for your city and tour and you will find plenty of interesting things - https://www.visithoustontexas.com/ is what I came up with though I don’t know if it is good.
Fun free and quick unique thing at the airport to have fun with while you’re already there:
When you are at the airport in Terminal C. There are two places where four walkways cross. I guess the architects thought it would be fun if they created an echo chamber. So if you stop in the dead center and speak it echoes and scares everyone around you. It’s a lot of fun so try it when you are passing through the airport. They are located near C14 and C45. If you don’t know they are there, you will walk right past them.
Open: As long as the airport is open. Location: Intersection near gates C14 and C45
My colleagues from Europe are always fascinated by Wal-Mart. They walk the aisles and usually buy an insane printed t-shirt or blanket as a souvenir. They also like to stock up on “American snacks,” so that accomplishes a few things with one trip. Pop tarts, corn chips, maple syrup - just things with a different flavor profile or philosophy of what counts as “food.” And Pork Rinds (aka chicharrones) are fried pig skins. Somehow I can never quite persuade them to get those.
Tex-Mex and BBQ are the two biggest food recommendations for Texas. BBQ may include beef brisket or chicken. If you’re keeping a halal diet, just be aware that these restaurants may incorporate pork into seemingly vegetarian choices, like collard greens or beans.
One tip: you can usually ask a restaurant to make a substitution to a meal and they will be happy to oblige unless it’s integral to the cooking process. For example, you can ask for a bacon cheeseburger with no bacon, but you can’t ask for beans without pork because it’s more like a soup. (Sorry if this seems obvious, but my coworkers from EU are super reluctant or shy to ask for modifications. In the US it’s considered perfectly normal to make this type of request.)
Since Houston is reasonably close to Louisiana, you may be able to find a decent Cajun style restaurant. Very regional and very delicious.
I’ve heard that you can find shark teeth on some of the local beaches, but they also just sell them at Murdoch’s, which is a gift shop in/near Galveston.
If you want to outdo Walmart, there is also Buc-ee’s.
Texas bbq is pretty damn good. Not sure if you keep halal but many places will have beef bbq in addition to the more common pork
Texas barbeque is beef based on the count of all that cattle.
Halal is more than just the content of the food, you can have beef that isn’t halal.
The animal has to be fed and given water before killing, has to have a prayer given, and has to be killed by cutting through the neck outside of the view of other animals.
I agree that the beef likely isn’t halal, but pork definitely won’t be halal.
Choosing to eat non-halal meat in a part of the world where Islam isn’t a significant minority and options for halal meat are limited is a personal decision. Halal options for food may be available in Houston, but they are likely going to be rare.
I’ve dined with Muslims who are ok with eating at non-halal establishments but will not eat pork at all since eating pork is obviously haram.
Eat Tex-Mex food. And Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown is in that area.
I hope your treatment goes well!
Go to Meow Wolf in Houston!!! It’s immersive art- so think art museum that you can touch the walls and interact with the artwork. Their experience in Houston is called Radio Tave. Give yourself a good amount of time to explore an wear comfortable clothing/shoes. Meow Wolf does attempt to make their art installations accessible for all sizes, ages, and abilities- so if you visit while on crutches, on a walker, or in a wheelchair, both you and your dad should still have an enjoyable time! Hope it all goes well!
She’s being worked on still so I’m not sure of her state but USS Texas is in Galveston. A WWI dreadnought battleship that is pretty awesome to go see. Only one left in the world.
Luckily for you, barbeque in Texas is beef based. So I’d recommend eating some good barbeque.
If you like Museums:
- Museum of Fine Arts (1001 Bissonnet St)
- Houston Museum of Natural Science (5555 Hermann Park Dr)
- The Menil (1533 Sul Ross St)
Space Center Houston (the tourist wing of NASA’s Johnson Space Center) is a great place to visit.
If you like big spectacle places, see if you can take a tour of Minute Maid Park (Astros baseball stadium) or NRG Stadium (Texans football stadium).
If you enjoy live theater, options include:
- The Hobby Center (800 Bagby St)
- The Alley Theater (615 Texas Ave)
- Stages (800 Rosine St)
If you think you’ll have the appetite for it, there are lots of good dining options at every price point from a wide variety of culinary traditions. Try some bbq (if you’re from Saudi there are at least some halal bbq options, we have a pretty sizeable halal crowd). Try some Texmex restaurants. Try a pho restaurant. Try a taco truck.
Take a tour of the Hermann Park Zoo (6200 Hermann Park Dr). It’s a big damn zoo with a lot to see. You could also head down to Galveston and visit the Moody Gardens (1 Hope Blvd in Galveston). They have a giant rainforest pyramid and a giant aquarium pyramid. There are a lot of good dining options in Galveston but I don’t know offhand whether any of them are explicitly halal.
Good luck with your visit. The Texas Medical Center has some of the best medical care in the world. I hope you kick cancer’s ass.
Where are you coming from? Nasa in Houston is cool. Galveston is close- it’s not the prettiest beach, but it’s fun. San Antonio - i think it’s the best Texas city - Alamo, tacos, etc. New Orleans for music and beignets - if you stay overnight, I’d get off bourbon Street before midnight - last time i was there the late night crowds had increased leading to more fights.
ETA - Austin is ok, but If you go a little west of Austin, you’ll be in Hill country which is pretty. There’s a little german town called Fredericksburg. It’s kind of fun and may have their Christmas decorations out. Near Fredericksburg there’s Alstadt Brewery and Garrison Brothers whiskey distillery. Garrison is really nice with rocking chairs around fire pits and you may see deer and burros. Free to visit, you can buy whiskey samples by the flight, they have food there now too, I think the tour is about 20 bucks.
Nobody’s mentioned the sensory overload that is Buc-ee’s yet?
It’s overrated. The beef jerky is crap.
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Depending on where you’re from, go shoot some guns. Nothing more American than shooting guns in Texas. Maybe get some cowboy hats and rent a big truck to go off roading.
Do it in a school for the real authentic experience.
Hope your treatment has been defined, and if not, you’ll be in the best place to do it. This is no longer a death sentence but a manageable illness when detected early.
Now do this:
Breakfast at Dennis or an American food chain like IHOP. Personally, the grand slam is a ton of “freedom food” and gives you insight into how the median people look like where you go.
Get barbecue, I’m not sure it aligns with your treatment, but BBQ and Mexican food are engraved in the Texas way of life. Get shocked with how good Mexican food is as cooked by real mexicans. Tacos al pastor has a lot of Middle Eastern heritage try at least once.
Go get groceries at Walmart. Then, the next time, do HEB, then go to the Whole Foods. See the difference and identify the typical customer check where’s is best for you to get groceries.
Get to the register anywhere and see how tax that is not listed anywhere is part of the total price instead of the label on the product is, that is rarely the final price.
Now that you’re doing treatment, ask others what insurance they have and how they’re sorting the bills and what’s covered. That is a fucking rabbit hole that people ignore until they have to use medical care.
Car centric society: Sit in traffic for endless miles as walking and public transport is not an option. If you’re daring enough, try to walk somewhere outside “downtown.” It is likely more complex than anywhere in the world. The rest of the world wouldn’t know why until they try.
Museums and entertainment: go anywhere where’s art and culture. We’re not Vienna or Paris, but there are a lot of beautiful places to see and get these beautiful things carried over with you. I’m sure you’ll have time in between treatments to do this, and it is certainly great to get acquainted on this slow learning. Also, it will make interesting conversations that are neither political nor religious.
Yeah, there are shooting ranges and stuff with guns, strip clubs whre you can’t touch or fuck the girls as its illegal in almost all places but in NV I think. Sincerely, I think they’re overrated, but if that gets you going go for it.
Based there if your budget allows go places for a weekend: Chicago, NYC, LAX, MIA, Washington DC and Denver are short flights from the Houston Dallas megalopolis.
Hope you get healthy, live long and prosper.
Are IHOP and Denny’s still good in Texas? Where I’m at, you’re better off with a box of your own pancake mix. I tend to find local dinners offer much better food.
I don’t think “good” was the point. I think the point GP was making was that they are uniquely American chains.
I suppose, but if you’re going for the American diner experience, you might as well go with a good one. Or just try all of them.
