Avery, his friend, and I all took an Uber to the Houston Airport where his friend parted ways from us to catch his flight home. Avery and I then rented a car for our last day so we would be able to do all of the excursions we wanted to. Our first order of business was to check into our hotel and settle in. We stayed at Hyatt Place Houston Downtown which was very nice and gave off an industrial modern feel. From our hotel we drove to get food at Pappas Bar-B-Q. I ordered a chopped beef sandwich with fries and a jumbo soda (house made juice). The food was good, Texas Bar-B-Q/Brisket was on my trip bucket list. The restaurant itself was enjoyable, Pappas Bar-B-Q is a chain restaurant. With that being said there are definitely better places to go, but we were in a time crunch, and it satisfied our needs.
Our next stop of the day was horseback riding at Cypress Trails Ranch. We did a one-hour adventure trail ride with two of Avery’s friends, costing $65 per rider. We were given helmets for protection and then assigned a horse. My horse was massive and had a mind of its own. Avery’s horse was aggressive and at one point during our ride his horse decided to charge at one of the horses that our friend was on. Aside from that, the trail was enjoyable with pretty views. It was a mild trail that had some muddy spots and a few declines/inclines. I was only slightly terrified the whole time, mainly because my horse was so tall and did not follow my direction. We added on a carrot feeding to our experience, but we never ended up doing it. I was fine with this since Avery and I’s horses did not behave well during the ride. The ranch itself was laid back and it seemed that the people in charge cared a lot about the animals. Horseback riding was another one of my trip bucket list items and I was just so happy that no one got injured in the process. While I did have fun, I think I might need some time before getting back in the saddle, maybe my next ride will be on the beach.
Avery and I went our separate way from his friends after our horseback riding experience. We went to return his suit at Men’s Warehouse, checked out Boot Barn, and stopped at a thrift store. We had a fun time shopping around before we headed back to our hotel. At our hotel, we got ready for the evening by changing and then heading up to the hotel bar for a pre-dinner cocktail. Once we finished our pre-dinner drink, we walked over to the Downtown Aquarium. We met Avery’s friends here to have dinner. This was an awesome restaurant that featured a floor to ceiling 150,000-gallon aquarium which held over 100 aquatic species from all around the world. A few of the featured species included giant groupers, moray eels, reticulated rays, shovel-nosed guitarfish, and sharks. I ordered fried gator (Cajun style breaded alligator, parmesan-panko, fried onions) for $16.99 and sauteed redfish (lump crabmeat, avocado Pico de Gallo, seasonal vegetables, rice) for $26.99. My food was delicious! This was my first time eating an alligator and the taste was similar to chicken. We all had an amazing time enjoying each other’s company, the food, and the views.
After our dining experience, Avery, two of his friends, and I went to Cidercade Houston. This was a huge arcade bar that had a mix of classic and modern games as well as house-made hard cider. The admission was $10 per person and included unlimited play on over 275 arcade games. The game categories were classics, driving, fighters and shooters, pinballs, sports, and more! We had a lot of fun here and we spent a few hours playing a wide variety of games. During our time, I had the blackberry seltzer (light, fruity, slightly sweet, 4%) for $7 and I enjoyed it. I am happy that we found Cidercade, it was the perfect atmosphere for us and a unique way to end our trip.
I am very grateful to have been included on this special trip to celebrate the marriage of Kevin and Melanie. This was my first time in Texas, and I left with a very good impression. Our flight home went well, and I look forward to visiting the Lone Star State again.
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