Houston, Texas

Houston is the city that I love to visit but hate to drive through. It never fails, but every time that I head toward Galveston or Santa Fe, I have to go through a thunderstorm or icy roads in Houston. You would think that the people that frequent the highways in Houston would slow down when there is no visibility on the interstate, but they don't. And, for this small town girl, that makes Houston a very scary place to be at 70 miles an hour. If I go any slower, then I'll be rear-ended. Our trip through Houston last week was not any different.

DJ and I were relieved to reach the Houston area because it meant that our long trip was almost over. It had been raining off and on just south of Sommerville, but it was not until we reached the Hempstead area that the rain gushed from the sky. The higher on the interstate we traveled, the less visibility we had. I was thankful that this trip I was not driving, for back in November last, I was travelling through on icy roads. And, like then, people flew down the road as if the weather was bright and sunny and the roads were clear. My anxiety rose, and I tried my best to not act frightened, but nevertheless, I was terrified. By the time we made our way past Houston, we had outrun the storm.

Unfortunately, our plans to go into Houston on Sunday to photograph the beautiful city were quashed as there was, once again, a storm looming over the massive city. My photography opportunities would have to wait for another day. We were very busy throughout the week, excluding Tuesday. However, by Tuesday, we were too tired to make the trip.

On Thursday, we prepared to leave toward home. I did not want to miss the opportunity to photograph the city, but I did not want to delay our return home, so I opted to photograph the city from the car. I dialed up my shutter speed, as the day, though cloudy, was bright. I snapped more pictures than I thought I would ever use or need hoping that I could catch at least a few good ones before we were out of the city. The faster shutter speed seemed to work, as the below pictures are the best shots I was able to get of the colorful skyscrapers that make up the city scape that is Houston. I hope our next trip will result in much better photos.

Houston is named for Sam Houston, the president of the Republic of Texas in 1836 when the city was founded. Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States of America and is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. There are more than 2.1 million residents of the City of Houston and more than 5.36 million residents in the Houston Metroplex. Just south of Houston is the Johnson Space Center, which is Mission Control for NASA.