'Texas Confidential' Travel Resources

Many of the subjects covered in my latest book, Texas Confidential: Sex, Scandal, Murder, and Mayhem in the Lone Star State have sites that can be visited and this can be a fun way to experience them in a deeper way. Some places have a P.O. Box listed rather than a physical address but in all such cases provide detailed directions on their websites. Some sites do not have an official website and in such cases the best available unofficial site has been provided. Be sure to also keep your eye on this site and Texas Confidential Online for more detailed writeups on many of these sites, related articles, additional photos, and information about events like festivals and annual gatherings associated with them.

The Alamo
300 Alamo Plaza
San Antonio, Texas 78205
(210) 225-1391
http://thealamo.org

“People worldwide continue to remember the Alamo as a heroic struggle against impossible odds — a place where men made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. For this reason, the Alamo remains hallowed ground and the Shrine of Texas Liberty.”

Aurora Cemetery
Cemetery Road (about a half mile south of FM 114)
Aurora, TX 76078
http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/shell-county.htm

“This site is also well known because of the legend that a spaceship crashed nearby in 1897 and the pilot, killed in the crash, was buried here.” (For more photos, see The Aurora UFO Incident on Michael O. Varhola's TravelBlogue.)

Eastland County Law Enforcement Museum
210 West White Street
Eastland, TX 76448
(254) 629-1774
http://www.eastlandfoundation.com/lawEnforcement.html
ecofc@eastland.net

“Built in 1897, the old Eastland County Jail, contains many artifacts and memorabilia of Eastland County and Law Enforcement history.”

Enron “Old” Headquarters Building
1400 Smith Street
Houston, TX 77002-7311

Enron “New” Headquarters Building
1500 Louisiana Street
Houston, TX 77002-7311

Neither of these buildings, which are connected by a skywalk, is currently owned by what remains of Enron, and the “new” 40-story headquarters was sold off before the company could move into it.

International UFO Museum and Research Center
114 North Main Street
Roswell, NM 88203
1-800-822-3545
http://www.roswellufomuseum.com
info@roswellufomuseum.com

In the summer of 1947, a UFO crashed near Roswell, New Mexico, and its remains were subsequently packed up and flown to Fort Worth Army Air Field in Texas. A good first place for anyone interested in delving into this incident is the UFO Museum and Research Center in downtown Roswell; the museum is fun and enlightening and the associated research library is a bona fide public service to anyone interested in doing any sort of in-depth study into the subject.

Jean Lafitte Home
1417 Avenue A
Galveston, TX 77550
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5W4B_Pirate_home_of_Jean_Lafitte_1817_Galveston_Texas

All that remains of Lafitte’s home, Maison Rouge, is the foundation, located near the Galveston wharf.

Johnson Space Center
Space Center Houston
1601 NASA Parkway
Houston, TX 77058
(281) 244-2105
http://www.spacecenter.org

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center is NASA's center for human spaceflight training, research, and flight control and is a complex of 100 buildings located on 1,620 acres in Houston, Texas. It is home to the United States astronaut corps and responsible for training both U.S. and foreign spacefarers. It is often popularly referred to during missions as "Mission Control".

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park
P.O. Box 329
Johnson City, TX 78636
(830) 868-7128
http://www.nps.gov/lyjo/index.htm

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park tells the story of the 36th U.S. president, from his ancestors to his final resting place on his beloved LBJ Ranch.

Marfa Ghost Lights "View Park"
For as long as anyone around the west Texas town of Marfa can remember, they have seen strange lights burning at night on the Mitchell Flat, an otherwise unexceptional stretch of desert that runs along U.S. Highway 90. Today, a convenient viewing area has been established nine miles east of town.

Miss Hatties Bordello Museum

18 ½ East Concho Avenue
San Angelo, TX 76903
(325) 653-0112
www.misshatties.com
mrksalot@wtxcoxmail.com

From 1902 until 1952, one of the best-known and most successful businesses in the Concho district of San Angelo, Texas, was Miss Hattie’s Bordello. Today, it has been reopened to visitors as a charming and informative historic museum.

National Border Patrol Museum
4315 Transmountain Drive
El Paso, TX 79924
(915) 759-6060

“One of our Nation's best kept secrets is the National Border Patrol Museum. Here you can journey through the history of the U.S. Border Patrol from the beginning in the Old West, through Prohibition, World War II, into the high-tech Patrol of today. The museum exhibits uniforms, equipment, photographs, guns, vehicles, airplanes, boats and documents depicting historical and current date sector operations throughout the United States.”

Robert E. Howard Museum
Junction of Highway 36 (Fourth St.) and Avenue J
Cross Plains, TX 76443

"The Robert E. Howard Museum, located in the home of Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan the Barbarian. Howard lived in this home from 1919 until his death in 1936. Howard's home, restored by Project Pride, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and attracts hundreds of visitors each year."

Texas Capitol Visitors Center
112 E. 11th Street
P.O. Box 13286
Austin, TX 78711
(512) 463-5495
webmaster@tspb.state.tx.us

The Capitol Visitors Center is located on the southeast corner of the Capitol grounds in the restored 1856-57 General Land Office building. The three-story castle-like structure reflects the mid-19th century mock-medieval revival architectural style and is the oldest state office building in Texas.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre House/“Junction House” Restaurant
1010 King Street (on the grounds of the Antlers Hotel)
Kingsland, TX 78639-5252
(325) 388-3800
http://www.junction-house.com
junctionhouse@verizon.net

“If the outside seems eerily familiar, then you've probably seen "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" because this 1900's Victorian house was featured prominently in the movie before it was moved to this location from Williamson County in the 1990's.”

Texas Prison Museum
491 Highway 75 North
Huntsville, TX 77320
(936) 295-2155

“The Texas Prison Museum offers an intriguing glimpse into the lives of the state's least-loved citizens. The museum features numerous exhibits detailing the history of the Texas prison system, both from the point of view of the inmates as well as the men and women who worked within the prison walls.”

Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum
100 Texas Ranger Trail (Interstate 35 Exit 335-B)
Waco, TX 76706
(254) 750-8631
info@texasranger.org

Treue Der Union Monument
High Street (between 3rd and 4th Streets)
Comfort, TX 78013
830-995-2641

After the conclusion of the Civil War, the remains of many of the Germans killed on the banks of the Nueces and Rio Grande Rivers were relocated to the town of Comfort, where a monument to them was erected. It was dedicated on August 10, 1866, on the four-year anniversary of the Nueces Massacre, and is inscribed with the words Treüe der Union—“Loyalty to the Union.” It is the only German-language monument to the Union in the South where the remains of those killed in battle are buried and one of only a half-dozen burial sites where a U.S flag—an 1866 version with 36 stars—flies at half-staff in perpetuity. Contact information provided here is for the Comfort Heritage Foundation, which helped to restore the monument.

University of Texas Tower
Texas Union Hospitality Center
24th and Guadalupe (2247 Guadalupe)
P.O. Box 7338
Austin, TX 78713-7338
(512) 475-6633 or 1-877-475-6633

There is also a Tower Garden on the site “dedicated to the memory of all those who died and those whose lives were touched by the August 1, 1966 shooting.”

White Sands Missile Range Museum
Just inside the Las Cruces/Alamogordo Main Post Gate of White Sands Missile Range
Off U.S. Highway 70 between Las Cruces and Alamogordo, New Mexico
(575) 678-8824
darren.court@us.army.mil

“At the White Sands Missile Range museum you can trace the origin of America's missile and space activity, find out how the atomic age began and learn about the accomplishments of scientists like Dr. Wernher von Braun.”

A(AA) Mixed Experience

CANYON LAKE, TEXAS -- For more than twenty years, I have maintained a AAA membership, and probably not a year has gone by that I have not been glad that I did. And, as I have only gotten older and commensurately more apprehensive about travel-related mishaps, it is a service that I have continued to appreciate. Recently, however, I had an experience that was, suffice it to say, a little offputting.

One morning last week, my wife woke me up to let me know that her car wouldn't start so that she had to take mine (presumably, none of that would have been different if she had just let wake up on my own an hour or so later). It looked as if the trunk had gotten left open and that the battery had drained overnight and I could have either called AAA for a jump or dragged out my own cables and done it myself. In point of fact I put it off and did not do anything right away, as she was going out of town and I would only need one car for awhile anyway.

Then, three days ago, I came out of a meeting at the local library and my car wouldn't start! Fortunately, my friends Rodney and Regan Smith were just coming out of the same meeting and, being ever-ready, they pulled out their jumper cables and got my car running, whereupon I was able to drive home.

Next morning I went out to my garage and, as I had feared, now had two vehicles that would not start -- and no third one to jump them with. It appeared, in fact, that the battery for my own car must have been dead and would need to be replaced. One way or another, now I needed to call AAA and get some support.

When I called and explained the situation to the agent, first thing she said was that this would count as two separate service calls because it involved two cars. Really? They did not have to dispatch two trucks, so this would seem to have had a rather thin justification, and it would certainly seem that there would be a better way for them to handle this. But, c'est la vie, I needed the vehicles jumped, so I had little choice but to just accept this.

I was, however, a little mollified when the agent told me that as part of my service the technician responding to the call could actually replace my battery with a new one that I could purchase for a "special price" available to members. This was a nice surprise! I live kind of in the middle of nowhere, so not having to immediately drive 18 miles to AutoZone to get my battery swapped out was kind of a relief and I said this was something I wanted to avail myself of.

My annoyance returned a few minutes later when the phone rang and I discovered it was yet another agent who was calling expressly to tell me that the battery replacement service was not available where I live! Really? The first agent didn't know that? And why the hell not? I certainly don't pay any less in membership premiums than people in other areas! The agent did tell me that AAA was "working on it" and would be providing this service to paying customers like me "soon." How soon? Within an hour when the service truck was scheduled to arrive? Apparently not.

So, an irritating experience with an organization I have patronized for more than two decades. Not enough to make me drop it by any means, but enough to give me some pause.

As a postscript, however, it does bear mentioning that Jim, the driver for contract service company Hill Country Customs Towing, showed up fairly quickly and was very professional, conscientious, and friendly. He also personally recommended a place to pick up a battery that was about six miles closer than where I had been planning on going and said he would drive back to where he was going behind me in case I had any problems on my way. And, when I got to O'Reilly Auto Parts in Sattler, Texas, Wayne sold me the battery I needed and quickly installed it himself, so Jim had indeed given me a good recommendation.

Wine Diary

One of the things I enjoy sampling when I travel is the local wine (along with beer and other beverages, for that matter). And, one of the ways I like to travel vicariously when I am at home is by drinking wines from various faraway places. So, I am probably overdue launching a wine diary on this site that lists what I have been drinking, what it went well with, and other details that might be of interest to readers. I will be striving primarily to provide useful information rather than the often baffling and arbitrary comments that accompany many standard wine reviews. Listed in parentheses are the dates I and/or my wife consumed the vintage being discussed. Questions and comments are welcome!

Laetitia "Brut Cuvee," c. $16. (December 1, 2012). It has become fashionable in recent years to dismiss champenoise-style wines as generally disappointing and consumed only by bourgeois people who don't know any better. Fortunately, I am neither fashionable nor bourgeois, I do know better, and I truly enjoy a nice glass of sparkling wine, so I was glad to discover this particular vintage. This decent cuvee is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Noir that, as its vintner says, is "complex, elegant, and youthful," and which is fairly dry and tart, with hints of citrus. I expect it would pair especially nicely with salmon, trout, or other freshwater fish but, admittedly, enjoyed it only as an aperitif (one bottle serving me in this capacity over the course of three days).

Jumilla "El Campeador," 2011, c. $16 (November 29-30, 2012). I was looking for a nice wine to pair with homemade tapas one evening and made a good choice with this Spanish Syrah/Monastrell/Petit Verdot blend, a complex, semi-dry, medium dry red wine with a somewhat tanniny finish. Its name, "the champion," is according to the vintner a tribute to the hero El Cid (appropriate in that he was noted for striving to drive a teetotaling people off the Iberian peninsula). I think it would go well with just about any sort of Mediterranean style food, and I enjoyed it with some chick peas broiled with sesame oil and red pepper. As much as any red wine, and moreso than many, this vintage benefits from breathing a little while before drinking.

Castello del Poggio "Moscato D'Asti," 2010, c. $16 (September 2012). What is it about certain Italian white wines that they have the effect of putting me in a good mood? Maybe it is the very slight fizziness characteristic of some of them, subtle enough in the case of the vintage I am writing about here that I might not even have consciously noticed if I had not opened the opened the bottle and poured a glass myself. This delicious, full-bodied sweet white wine is superior for its type and is full of fruit flavors with an emphasis on fresh melon and hints of honey. It is wonderful as either an apéritif or a desert wine, and I enjoyed it both alone and with some ripe green grapes and think it would pair very nicely with many other sorts of fresh or dried fruit (although I would not recommend it as an accompaniment for any sort of actual meal, based on my preferences for drier vintages with most food).

Frei Brothers Reserve "Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon," 2008, c. $22 (February 25 and March 1, 2012). My wife and I cracked open this nice bottle of red wine -- which our friend Jon Reichman brought us during his recent visit to Texas -- to accompany a marinated sirloin steak that we grilled one Saturday night and enjoyed with sweet peppers sauteed with goat cheese and some white rice. We only drank about two-thirds of it and I finished up the balance of it five days later with a simple dinner consisting of it and a plate of macaroni-and-cheese.

It is a fairly dry, full-bodied wine with a complex palette of flavors and complemented both meals perfectly. I have been partial to Alexander Valley wines since about 2000, when my friend Chip Cassano and I drove through it during a road trip up the West Coast, and recommend this appelation in general and this product of it in particular.

Tangent Winery "Sauvignon Blanc," 2009, c. $16 (February 29, 2012). My wife selected this wine to accompany spaghetti with a vegetarian sauce made with artichoke hearts, tomato, onion, and garlic, and in that it was tangy and not sweet it paired perfectly. We had some dried pineapple for desert with our second glasses but, while this sort of fruit is a nice accompaniment to many white wines it was a bit too sweet to go well with this one. "This vintage is bright and racy, with flavors of passion fruit, pear, lemon and grapefruit," says Christian Roguenant. "Minerality notes, lively acidity, and green grassy elements balance the wine nicely. It finishes long with a touch of zesty lime. My favorite wine with oysters, it pairs well with most all seafood." I agree on all counts and look forward to trying this one with some fresh oysters!

Carinena "El Bombero Seleccion 15% Especial," 2008, c. $16 (February 24, 2012). This is a fun and particularly potent Spanish red grenache wine, in that it has a 15% alcohol content, as compared with the almost universal 12.5% for other vintages. We enjoyed this with grilled pork shortribs -- a fairly heavy meal -- and this full-bodied, slightly hot-to-the-tongue wine paired very nicely with them.


Tenuta Ca'Bolani "Prosecco," 2010, c. $16 (February 19, 2012). This Italian frizzante wine was, on top of everything else, a fun surprise for us, in that we were not paying particular attention and were expecting it to be a regular white wine. I had actually been feeling a bit down and felt immeasurably more upbeat just one sip into a glass of this nice northeastern Italian "champagne."

While it had a bit of a fruity finish, it was dry enough that it paired nicely with our broiled steelhead salmon (I loathe sweet wine with most food and so was sensitive to how well this would accompany a meal). For desert we had some strawberries and dried pineapple, both of which compliment many white wines in general and a decent sparkling wine in particular. According to the vintner, it is "gently pressed and vinified at low temperature to retain the lively, fresh, aromatic orchard fruit, white blossom, and sweet almond character."

America's Allied Wounded Warriors

The following story does not contain any tips for travel but is inspired by some significant things I learned during my recent trip to the Czech Republic, and will likely resonate with anyone interested in the issue of wounded warriors or the ongoing U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.

As a journalist, I have always been aware that the United States was not alone in the ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Knowing that in theory, however, does not necessarily make one think about the non-American troops that are not just serving alongside U.S. military personnel, but being killed and maimed like them as well. I was exposed to this largely unknown phenomena and gained some insights into it when I visited the Czech Republic in July. Since then, I have been moved to begin writing a book on the subject with the working title Allied Soldier and to begin telling the story of the things I saw and the people I met. (Shown here is a Czech soldier guarding the presidential palace in Prague.)

There are, in fact, currently more than two-dozen nations serving with the United States in Afghanistan, including Great Britain, France, Germany, and the Czech Republic. This is, moreover, the first time the Czech Republic has been involved in hostilities since World War II and it faces many obstacles to providing adequate support for its soldiers severely injured as a result. One of these hurdles is that many of the nation's citizens do not understand the value of supporting either the war in Southwest Asia or the veterans wounded in it. Another is that the Czech government does not have either the resources or the breadth of experience of larger, wealthier nations like the United States, which can draw upon the lessons it has learned in the many conflicts with which it has been involved over the past six decades.

Two years ago, a number of concerned Czech citizens founded REGI Base Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing critical resources and support for wounded warriors that goes beyond what either the government or their families are able to do. Its centerpiece will be REGI Base I, a state-of-the-art medical facility currently under construction outside of Prague in the village of Svémyslice that, when it is completed, will be able to house up to 16 veterans undergoing treatment and serve the needs of up to 35 outpatients per day (the facility is shown here as it appeared during my visit). The intent of its founders is that it will include modern diagnostic equipment unavailable anywhere else in the region, be able to provide rehabilitative care onsite, and serve as a clearinghouse of information on physicians and clinics worldwide to which it can send wounded warriors in need of specialized care.

Inspiration for both the name of REGI Base and its mission is Chief Warrant Officer Jiří "Regi" Schams, a Czech special forces soldier who was horribly wounded on March 17, 2008 (shown here shortly before his injury). On that day, he was part of a 13-person multinational team that was conducting outreach operations to the civilian residents of a particularly dangerous province of Afghanistan when it was attacked by a suicide bomber. Four of the other personnel in the squad were killed outright, including two Danish civil affairs soldiers and the group's Afghani interpreter, and nine were wounded, including Schams, who was incapacitated by the blast. It initially appeared as if he had suffered some relatively minor injuries and a concussion. Before long, however, it became apparent that a piece of shrapnel had entered the back of Schams' head and burrowed its way through his brain almost to the front of his skull.

At first, there did not appear to be much chance that Schams would survive. But to the surprise of everyone — including his doctors and his family — the phenomenally tough special operations soldier managed to stabilize and pull through. That brought its own host of problems, however, for the injured veteran, who suffered extreme neurological damage and was thereby confined to a wheelchair, initially unable to speak, and plagued with vision problems that force him to perpetually keep one eye closed.

Following his return to the Czech Republic, Schams received the best medical care that his government could provide, and enjoyed the attention and support of his former comrades-in-arms and family members, particularly his mother. But resources available to him were inadequate for dealing with his condition, and his recovery was slow and very limited; for the first two years after he was injured, Schams believed he was in the middle of a nightmare from which he would eventually awake, something that severely retarded his progress.

In 2010, a Czech entrepreneur named Hynek Čech met Schams through a mutual friend and was horrified to discover that the wounded warrior was living alone in a high-rise apartment building that he could not even exit on his own (Schams is shown here with REGI Base co-founder Hynek Čech, right, and Kent Wills, author of a story about the wounded veteran titled a "A Soldier for Life").). His situation improved a little when friends would visit or take him somewhere, when he would stay with his mother on the other side of town, or when he would go for an annual two-week course of therapy at a nearby military hospital, but was still far from ideal. At both his and his mother's apartments, for example, the elevators are barely large enough to accommodate a wheelchair and can only be accessed via flights of steps — making it difficult for him to come and go even if someone is helping him. He also has trouble using the toilet or bathing without assistance.

Čech began looking into what could be done on behalf of Schams and other wounded warriors and soon came to the conclusion that the only thing that would work is a completely new, private organization that both supplemented the available treatment and services and went beyond them. It was this realization that prompted him to help conceive of and become one of the co-founders of the REGI Base Foundation.

One of the very first thing the fledgling organization did was to take Schams to a special neurologic clinic in the Black Sea city of Odessa, in the Ukraine, so that he could be tested by a top specialist in brain injuries (that doctor had, ironically, served in a Soviet military field hospital in Afghanistan from 1982-84, during that nation's ill-fated occupation of the country). After being examined and receiving additional CAT scans, the medical staff at the facility recommended that Schams be sent to a military rehabilitation center in the Ukrainian city of Saky. He spent six weeks at the facility and, as a result of the treatment he received there, his speech improved significantly.

That was the limit of what could be accomplished for Schams in either the Czech Republic or the Ukraine, however, and the staff of REGI Base realized they needed something better. So, in January 2012, Čech traveled to TIRR Memorial Herman in Houston, Texas (shown here), where a dozen Romanian soldiers had recently received treatment for traumatic brain injuries, and the costs for this had apparently been covered by the U.S. government. The best that hospital representatives were willing to do, however, was to give REGI Base a quote of nearly a half-million dollars to treat Schams — something that closed the door on help for this allied soldier.

Despite this frustrating setback, REGI Base has continued to move ahead in its attempts to provide help for both Schams and other critically-injured soldiers.

“Our fundamental idea is to create a unique complex that will combine rehabilitation, accommodation, and 24-hour assistance for soldiers who have returned from overseas missions but who cannot be adequately cared for by their families or friends," said Čech (shown here at his office in Prague). "Our first priority is to provide 365-day-a-year service to soldiers who cannot be fully treated at home or by the government. The Czech Republic currently has more than 500 soldiers deployed in Afghanistan and, as something tragic can happen at any time, we need to be ready to provide special care when it is needed.”

Čech also emphasized that, once it is established, it is his intent that the facility will serve as a regional rehabilitation center that serves the needs not just of military personnel from the Czech Republic but other nations as well, including the United States and other NATO nations. Ultimately, he said he would like REGI Base to have branches worldwide and to established reciprocal agreements that would allow military personnel to receive the treatment most appropriate to them at facilities in any of the participating nations. And going beyond medical care, Čech is also actively lobbying in his country for legislation that would help provide jobs for discharged Czech veterans and working on a project to provide special insurance benefits to them.

During my visit to the Czech Republic, I met with Schams and his mother; Čech and his staff; Schams former commander, Major Pavel Ruzicka, currently second-in-command of the Czech military police corps; Special Operations Group members who served with Schams (most of whom cannot be mentioned by name or photographed because they are still on active duty and involved in classified operations), and Deputy Minister of Defense Michael Hrbata (who appears with me here in his office at the Ministry of Defense). Hrbata in particular has been a champion of REGI Base, as has his boss, Defense Minister Alexandr Vondra — who gave the initial "green light" for the veterans organization — and the two of them have done everything in their power to garner support for it from the government and amongst the Czech people.

What really struck me during my visit, in fact, was how everyone concerned was doing everything in their power to help Jiří Schams and soldiers in a similar situation, but how so much more was needed (Schams is shown below as he appears today). REGI Base has got a handle on what those additional measures are, and when I visited the site of the clinic under construction and heard about all the great things the foundation wants to do, my response was, "Let's get this done! What do you need?"

As with almost anything big and complicated in the modern world, of course, what REGI Base needs is funding. It has thus far raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for its facility outside of Prague and, in the course of moving ahead with it, has just added a third level to the main building. It needs millions more, however, to complete construction, purchase expensive diagnostic equipment, and get treatment for Schams at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston. In the meantime, the war continues, billions of dollars go every day toward its prosecution, and, every week, more soldiers, allied and U.S. alike, join Schams among those who will need a lifetime of care as the price for their sacrifices.

Space City Con (Houston, August 10-12)

If you have not got any plans this weekend, or are going to be in the Houston area anyway, then you are not going to find anything more fun and exciting to do then go to Space City Con! I will be a there as an "author guest" of the convention and giving talks on various things related to fantasy literature in general and his books in particular, and my Skirmisher Publishing LLC and d-Infinity game magazine will also be exhibiting and running events.

Being held at the Westin Galleria hotel and convention center August 10-12, this event is an all-ages fan festival of comics, sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, literature, and art. According to its organizers, it is a "geek festival with free parking" for which they have attempted to "put on the best convention possible for current generations of fans and instill a love of comics, sci-fi, and fantasy in the next generation."

Space City Con is the Gulf Coast’s newest fan culture convention, offering a robust mix of authors, artists, sci-fi, fantasy, comics, gaming, fan group networking, literature, writing workshops and more, and has specifically been designed to be family-friendly.

Venue for this event, being held for the first time this year, is the fourth largest mall in America, in the fourth largest city in America. Galleria Mall boasts 375 stores, a large food court, ice rink, and a wide variety of restaurants.

Just as Houston has a broad economic mix in aerospace, energy, manufacturing, transportation, it also boasts the world’s largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions. It also has the top-ranked port in the United States, has always been home to a large international community, and is home to famous NASA Johnson Space Center and Mission Control.

"Space City Con will be a gathering of fans of all ages, with an exchange of pop culture passions," said founder George Comits. "More than entertainment, a place to escape for a while, forge lasting friendships, and connect with talented creators across a spectrum of genres."

During this inaugural year, Space City Con is embracing the Kids Need to Read foundation, as its founders say they consider "these elements as fuel for creative thinking, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and most of all, expanding the boundaries of what is known, into dreams and a yearning for what is unknown, what is unseen … but can be painted by the incredible human mind and spirit."

Space City Con wants to pass on the torch from one generation to the next, echoing the cry for “Inspiring Imagination!”

Eating and Drinking in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS -- One of the reasons my wife and I came to New Orleans was to experience its unique and famous cuisine! We have, in fact, had a number of decent meals here along with a few exceptional ones, and I will provide an overview of them here. And over the course of a week we have actually only had one bad experience that bears mentioning, our wretched breakfast at Montrel's Bistro, bad enough that it warrants its own article and which will hopefully save a few unsuspecting souls from its indolent clutches. We also visited world-famous Café du Monde, an establishment that deserves its own entry for entirely positive reasons.

Pat O'Brien's (718 St. Peter Street)

This local watering hole is known for its mixed drinks, and we repaired to this establishment to sample some of them and sooth our jangled nerves after our irritating experience at Montrel's Bistro. Diane had the specialty of the house, its aptly-named Hurricanes, and I opted for my first-ever Mint Julep; there are, after all, so few things one can do for the first time at the age of 45 that they should not pass up the opportunities to do so. (Shown above is Pat O'Obrien's mascot by its Bourbon Street entrance; I am actually working on a coffee table book depicting nothing but my wife posing with creepy streetside mascots, a project in which she is almost inexplicably uninterested.). We sat in the establishment's pleasant courtyard and, while we were not up for eating anything during that visit, thought the food looked good enough that we came back to try it the next day.

On our second visit we sat in a semi-open dining area and I ordered a glass of red wine and the Shrimp and Grits (shown at left), something I had never tried before but wanted to, and Diane ordered the Cancun Shrimp starter and an Abita strawberry ale. The food was all good --high point for me being the fried cakes of cheesy grits, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside -- and Diane especially enjoyed her beer, vowing to pick up a case of locally-brewed Abita on the way out of town.

GENERAL TIPS
* Wine tends to be less of a good deal than beer in many New Orleans establishments! We were generally seeing prices, for example, of around $4.50 for a local Abita beer in many places, as compared to $7.50 for a small glass of unexceptional house jug wine. The fact that I just prefer wine to beer with many sorts of food was my downfall here ...

Café du Monde

NEW ORLEANS -- One of the world-famous institutions visitors to the city should be sure to partake of is Café du Monde, a coffee shop established a full 150 years ago during the U.S. Civil War (as per the sign my wife Diane is peering at toward the bottom of this page). It is located on Decatur street, just a block from the banks of the Mississippi River and at the west end of the French Market, Café du Monde was established in 1862.

Café du Monde is patronized by tourists and locals alike, who come to enjoy its French-style beignets and New Orleans-style café au lait blended with chicory. A beignet, by the way, is a pillow of fried choux dough, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, covered with powdered sugar, and served fresh to order at the café (they are kind of like a classy version of the fried dough that can be purchased at state and county fairs nationwide). Other than a few other sorts of beverages there is nothing else on the menu, a reminder that some of the best pleasures are also the simplest ones. Interestingly, its beignets have been certified kosher since 2008! That probably makes them halal, too. So, beignets can be enjoyed by everyone.

During our online research ahead of visting Café du Monde we noted that a number of people had complained bitterly about having to wait as much as two hours to obtain a table and their beignets, but a little legwork revealed just how inane this was. Yes, when we walked past the cafe on Saturday afternoon there were what looked like two-hour lines in front of it. But when we went there around midday on Tuesday we sat right down and had our treats and drinks in front of us within minutes.

Café du Monde is, in fact, open 24 hours a day and seven days a week, except for Christmas Day and when the city is getting slammed with hurricanes. So, if you waiting two hours to get your cafe au lait and beignets then you either want to suffer or are too clueless to how to keep from doing so.

Enjoy! I would not have wanted to miss my first beignet during my first trip to New Orleans and recommend that visitors to the city also have their first at the place most famous for them.

Nom, nom, nom! This family sitting near us especially relished their big plates of beignets. But how can you not like something that is deep fried and then buried under a mound of powdered sugar?