Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors,

Hi. October is one of our busiest months. The reasons for this are two-fold:

October has arguably the best weather of any month in the year. It is moderate. The temperatures are generally in the 70s and 80s Fahrenheit/20s Centigrade. The humidity starts to fall in autumn. The most active hurricane period ends in September. We now have safe and pleasant weather. It is a relief after 5 months, May through September, of oppressive heat and humidity.

We have Halloween on October 31st. Houston Historical Tours offers nine different haunted tours. This includes 6 driving tours of 3.5- hours and 3 downtown walking tours of 2, 3, and 4 hours. We conduct on average of about 2 haunted tours per month from November to September. However, in October, associated with Halloween’s folklore of spooks, ghosts, orbs, and apparitions, we conduct 10 to 15 such tours. Most such tours start at 7:00 PM, but we are flexible and can star the tours at almost any time as long as we finish before midnight. You can read more about these haunted tours further in this blog.

Weather in Houston

October is Houston’s sixth warmest month. You probably do not need a jacket unless it is for water resistance. The monthly average high temperature is 82 degrees Fahrenheit/28 degrees Centigrade. The monthly average low temperature is 62 degrees Fahrenheit/17 degrees Centigrade, and the mean is 72 degrees Fahrenheit/22 degrees Centigrade. The average rainfall is 5.26 inches/13.4 centimeters. It is the third wettest month of the year.

Now, for some reminiscing:

Hurricane Harvey – August 25 – 29, 2017

Fourteen months ago, Houston endured the hurricane that resulted in the most property damage, $125 billion, in our history. Many, if not most Houstonians, including me, had some damage. However, we have been pulling through and getting on with our lives. According to the Houston Forward Times, Harvey dumped 15 trillion gallons/56,250,000,000,000 liters of water on Houston. We received 51 inches/130 centimeters, almost Houston’s annual amount of rain in less than one week. Yet, Hurricane Harvey resulted in a total of only 107 people dying directly and indirectly, of which 93 were in Texas of which only 14 were in the Houston area. It is notable and a relief to distinguish the disparity between property and human destruction. We have much to celebrate. We all have much to learn and to implement if we want to reduce future destructions from catastrophic storms.

Until August 2017, I thought Harvey was a six foot, three and one-half inch tall invisible rabbit that was Jimmy Stewart’s best friend and meant no harm to anyone in the 1950 comedy.

 

Tours Below

Mention that you read about any of the tours below from the blog and you will receive a 10% discount in the month of October. What a deal! This cannot be used in conjunction with any other discounted tours.

National Food Day Tours
Did you know that October 14 is National Dessert Day, October 18^th is National Cupcake Day, and October 28^th is National Chocolate Day? We will create a customized 3-hour Dessert Tour and a customized 3-hour Cupcake Tour to offer in addition to our 3-hour Chocolate Tour for any day in October. Who does not like comfort food?

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) Tours
Since 1985 October has been NBCAM. Select one or more of our three Women’s History Tours. Perhaps, you will be enlightened. If you select two or three such tours, you will receive a 20% discount off of the second tour and 30% off of the third tour.

Haunted Tours
Our driving tours include going to abandoned cemeteries, bars where people have been murdered or committed suicide, former hotels and hospitals where people were killed and died, drive by the mansion homes of River Oaks where people were murdered, and so much more. Two driving tours go to other cities about 30 miles/48 kilometers from Houston in Katy and Spring. Two tours specialize in only going to abandoned and lost cemeteries that may be hidden in jungle-like areas. Three tours are children friendly with no stops at haunted bars. The three downtown Walking Tours are of 2, 3, and 4 hours with the 4 hour tour having everything that the 2 and 3 hour tours have. This tour goes into the oldest operation building in downtown Houston. It was built in 1860, over 150 years ago and just 24 years after Houston was found. The walking tours focus on the oldest parts of Houston where you will see Allen’s Landing, the site where the Allen family landed in 1836 to become the first settlers of Houston.

Wine Tours
The state of Texas has designated October as Texas Wine Month. Check our website for dozens of wine tour opportunities. We take people to a total of 16 wineries and tasting rooms in 13 different cities. We offer 5 different geographic located wine tours with from 1 to 4 wineries and or tasting rooms on them. The average winery tour includes 4 tastings at each winery. The tours can last from 3 to 12 hours depending on how many wineries you want to visit and how far you want to travel. You must be at least 21 years of age to go on this tour. Salud/La’ chaim/Cin cin.

Brewery Tours
October is the month for Oktoberfest. It was called Wurstfest in earlier years. Although this is supposed to be a celebration of sausage, it makes for a good excuse for drinking beer. In the greater Houston area, we now have over 25 craft or micro-breweries. Check our website for dozens of brewery tour opportunities. These can range from 2 to 10 hours with one to six breweries in one day. A couple of breweries have their own restaurants on the properties. You must be at least 21 years of age to go on this tour. Prost/Cheers/Ariba/Sante, Skal/Slainte.

October Monthly Special – Downtown Walking Tour F
Discounted by 17% to 29% Based on the Number of People

The monthly special for October is Downtown Walking Tour F. This is a great month to be outside walking. The focus of this tour is Buffalo Bayou, 6 performance halls, statues, parks, and historic sites and buildings. This tour starts in the rotunda located on the first floor of the City Hall building at 901 Bagby Street, Houston, Texas 77002. This includes:

• The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts,
• The Wortham Theatre Center,
• Houston Ballet Center for Dance,
• Bayou Place with the Bayou Music Center, numerous restaurants, and a memorial to former US Congressman Albert Thomas,
• The Alley Theatre,
• Jones Hall,
• Hogg Palace,
• Buffalo Bayou Beast (our own pretend creation of a Loch Ness monster),
• Buffalo Bayou Park,
• Tranquility Park,
• Sesquicentennial Park,
• Market Square Park,
• Fish Plaza,
• Jones Plaza,
• Statue of “In Minds” by Tony Cragg,
• Statue of George Herbert Walker Bush,
• Statue of James Baker, III, and
• Statue of Virtuoso.

The downtown walking tours in May, June, September, and October all begin in the rotunda on the first floor of the City Hall building at 901 Bagby Street, Houston, Texas 77002. You can enter from either the east or west side of the building.

Warnings:

• Use a bathroom before the tour begins. Only one public bathroom MAY be accessible during this tour.
• We will be walking on uneven pavement, over curbs, and up and down stairs. Thus, you should NOT select this special tour if you use a walker, a wheelchair, or any other device that you need to enable you to move.
• If you use a cane, we will be moving at such a slow pace that we will not be able to complete the whole walking tour. Thus, we will have to omit some sites.

 

Monthly Special Prices
(along with the totals including sales tax and gratuity for 6 or more people):

• 1 person – $40.00.  This is a 43% discount off of the regular price of $70.00

$40.00 + $3.30 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $43.30 Total.

• 2 people – $30.00 each.  This is a 25% discount off of the regular price of $40.00 per person.

$30.00 + $2.48 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $32.48 per person x 2 people = $64.96 Total.

• 3 or 4 people – $25.00 each.  This is a 17% discount off the regular price of $30.00 per person.

$25.00 + $2.07 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $27.07 per person.
$27.07 per person x 3 people = $81.21 Total.
$27.07 per person x 4 people = $108.28 Total.

• 5 to 9 people – $20.00 each.  This is a 20% discount off the regular price of $25.00 per person.

$20.00 + $1.65 (Sales tax of 8.25%) = $21.65 per person.  $21.65 x 5 people = $108.25.
$20.00 + $1.65 (Sales tax of 8.25%) + $3.00 (15% gratuity for parties of 6 or more people) = $24.65 per person x 6, 7, 8, or 9 people.

• 10 to 19 people – $15.00 each.  This is a 25% discount off the regular price of $20.00 per person.
  $15.00 + $1.24 (Sales tax of 8.25%) + $2.25 per person (15% gratuity for parties of 6 or more people) = $18.49 per person x the number of people.

 

Invite Your Friends

If you know anyone who would be interested in receiving our blogs, please let us know at houstonhistory@aol.com. Provide a clear name and email address for the person or group and we will sign them up. Thanks.

See you on a tour.

Sincerely,

Keith Rosen
Houston Historical Tours
P. O. Box 262404
Houston, Texas 77207-2404
(713) 392-0867
(713) 643-4086 Fax
houstonhistory@aol.com
www.houstonhistoricaltours.com

---