Tag Archives: National Food Day Tours

Keith’s Blog – February 2019

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors,

Keith Rosen

Hi. February is Black History Month, the month of Presidents, and of course, a sweethearts month with the holiday of Valentine’s Day. All of these designations and events make good excuses to go exploring. In our subtropical climate and with the temperatures becoming both more erratic, but consistently hotter, one now sees spring beginning in winter. By the end of the month, you will see new leaves on trees and some flowering plants beginning to bud.

Weather in Houston

February is Houston’s third coldest month after December and January. These are the only months where the average high temperature is in the 60s Fahrenheit/Teens Centigrade. However, cold is a relative term. We see snow in Houston about once every three years and then it is usually a light dusting that will melt by the following day. Be prepared to wear a light jacket. The monthly average high temperature is 67 degrees Fahrenheit/19 degrees Centigrade. The monthly average low temperature is 48 degrees Fahrenheit/9 degrees Centigrade, and the mean is 58 degrees Fahrenheit/14 degrees Centigrade. The average rainfall is 3.01 inches/7.65 centimeters. It is the driest month of the year. The next four months will all experience progressively more rain.

Tours Below

Mention that you read about any of the tours below (other than the monthly specials) from the blog and you will receive a 10% discount in the month of December.  What a deal!

African American themed Tours

February is Black History Month. Celebrate it with an African-American historical tour. We offer 7 different African-American tours, including two that go out of town. These are normally six-hours each with a stop to eat at a traditional soul food, barbecue, fried chicken, Creole, or Jamaican restaurant for lunch. These tours can be shortened with fewer stops or sites and or two different tours can be combined to equal six-hours. The tours are divided by geographic locations. With a population of over 500,000 African Americans, Houston has the second largest Black population of any United States city. We will have maps to show you the original wards, as well as historic photographs and articles. Did you know that the first African Americans served on the Houston city council in the 1870s? Yes, that is correct!

Valentine’s Day Themed Tours

Are you or someone special to you feeling romantic? Does your special person like chocolates, flowers, and or wine? Do you like domestic or imported chocolates, chocolates with or without nuts and or fruit, sweet or semi-sweet, white, dark, or milk? How do you want to be remembered? If receiving affection important to you? We have tours starting from 3 hours to 5 hours for you to make a good impression and have an amorous day. We can also include stopping at a wine bar or flower shops to add to the occasion. You choose.

Presidential Tours

Presidents Day is in February because both the 1st and 16th Presidents of the United States under the Constitution were born in February: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Historians regularly rank Washington and Lincoln as two of the three greatest presidents in US history. The other member of this triad is Franklin Roosevelt, who missed being born in February by 2 days; he was born on January 30th. Take one of our 3-hour local Presidential tours and learn about the city’s connection to Texas Presidents Sam Houston, Mirabeau Lamar, and Anson Jones as well as US Presidents John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and George Herbert Walker Bush, and Presidential Conventions of 1928 and 1992.

National Food Day Tours

Did you know that:

  • February 2 is National Tater Tot Day?
  • The second Tuesday of February is National Frozen Yogurt Day?
  • February 9 is both National Pizza Day and National Bagel Day?
  • February 22 is National Margarita Day?
  • February 23 is National Banana Bread Day?

We will create a customized 3-hour themed tour for your enjoyment anytime in this month for the above gastronomical sensations.  We can combine two or more of the above holidays.  Who does not like comfort food and drink?

Think About Late February and March

Two major Houston events occur almost exclusively in March:

  1. The Houston Rodeo begins on Monday, February 25th and continues through Sunday, March 17th. This covers a three-week period. Will you need or want rides to and or from the rodeo or other surrounding areas?
  2. The Azalea Trail on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 1, 2, and 3. Let us know if you want to plan such a tour so we can buy Azalea Trail home tour tickets in advance. This will include touring inside six homes, seeing beautiful gardens, and a tour of River Oaks.

The time to plan is now.

Monthly Special – Discounted by 17 to 43% Based on the Number of People

The monthly special for February is a 2.5-hour walking tour through the Rice Village and Rice University. The Rice Village is a cute shopping area that gets its name as it is next to Rice University and it is like a village of mostly mom and pop small stores. Many of the shops are locally owned and operated which means you will generally get better service from knowledgeable and concerned workers. It has over two-dozen cafes, restaurants, and specialty food stores and hundreds of retail stores. Most of the stores cater primarily to women. You may want to go to one of them for lunch after a tour.

Rice University is one of the twenty highest ranked universities in the United States and one of the top two or three universities in all of the South. It has a sprawling campus that goes on for over 1-mile/2-kilometers, yet it only has a few thousand students. Found in 1912 as the William M. Rice Institute for the Advancement of Literature, Science and Art, it became a full-fledged university in 1960. Ralph Adams Cram (1863 – 1912), one of the most renowned architects of American churches, libraries, and universities was the original architect. We will enter a number of the buildings, see several statues, and even view a piece of the Berlin Wall. You will see the statue of William Marsh Rice (1816 – 1900) sitting over where his ashes were buried after he was murdered. Tall oak trees surround and dot the campus. It is a lovely place to spend 4 years as a student or part of a day on a walk.

We begin this tour at The Chocolate Bar at 2521 University Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77005. Free, unrestricted parking on the south side of the 2400 and 2500 block of Shakespeare Road, Houston, Texas 77005. This is one block behind The Chocolate Bar. Free parking is available on the north side of University Boulevard and in front of The Chocolate Bar, but for only two hours. Metered parking is available in the area.

Monthly Special Prices

  • 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

 

Keith’s Blog – January 2019

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors,

Keith Rosen

Hi. January is one of the slower months.  This can be attributed to people saving their money to pay for the presents that they bought and the money that they spent partying for the holidays of December.  Furthermore, any month with a public holiday such as New Year’s Day and Martin Luther King, Jr’s Birthday is a month with generally less days of people touring while they spend the day with family and friends at home or in the backyard cooking.  For the tourist, this can be good as it will be easier for Houston Historical Tours to schedule your personal tour.

Weather in Houston

January is Houston’s coldest month.  Be prepared to wear a coat.  The monthly average high temperature is 63 degrees Fahrenheit/17 degrees Centigrade.  The monthly average low temperature is 45 degrees Fahrenheit/7 degrees Centigrade, and the mean is 54 degrees Fahrenheit/12 degrees Centigrade.  The average rainfall is 4.25 inches/10.7 centimeters.  It is the eighth wettest month of the year.

Tours Below

Mention that you read about any of the tours below (other than the monthly specials) from the blog and you will receive a 10% discount in the month of December.  What a deal!

Space Center Houston (SCH) (NASA) Tours

This is a good tour to take, particularly in the latter half of the month and well into February and March.  You spend most of the time in buildings during this cold, by Houston standards, weather.  Once school is in session again, the crowds are smaller, the queues are shorter, the noise is softer, and the tram rides often stop at three sites rather than just two sites.  We offer a number of options.  The tour is normally eight hours to include all of the sites and activities; this includes about 6.5 hours at NASA and allows for about 1.5 hours in total to drive to NASA in the morning and to return in rush hour traffic in the afternoon.  However, if you want to save time and or money by shortening it to 7 or 6 hours by deleting some of the activities, we can customize it for you.  You can also save money if you only want the transportation with or without the admission ticket.  Transport will drop you off at NASA and then pick you up later.  You are on your own to roam about the facility.  A tour includes having a tour guide to run you around, making sure that you see everything possible, and to provide you narratives on the exhibits and about the history and why Houston has a space center.  Go to the Houston Historical Tours website to read more.

City Tours

We offer city tours of Houston ranging from 2 to 9 hours depending on what you want to see.  You have two options for 2-hour tours, A 1 and A2.  A1 focuses on classical Houston – the theater district, downtown, sports stadiums, River Oaks’s old wealth mansions, the Rice Village, Rice University, Mecom Fountains, the primary Museum District, and Hermann Park, Houston’s most popular park.  A2 focuses on the more offbeat Houston where you will see sites that unique to Houston such as the largest church in the US, the most photographed area in Houston, the 64-foot Waterwall where 11,000 gallons of water pour off of it every minute, the 4th largest shopping mall in the US and the largest in the South, the Galleria, the Beer Can House, the Spear House, the Gargoyle House, the art car studio of Mark Bradford or Art Car Museum, a Orange Crush and Beer Can statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and more.  If you take a 3-hour tour, you can see all of that plus stop for a break in The Chocolate Bar.  A 4-hour tour Monday through Friday will normally include walking through a 3-block section of the underground downtown tunnels and going to an observation deck.  The tunnels and observation deck are only open on weekdays.  On weekends, we substitute driving through the Houston Heights or driving through the second Museum District by the University of St. Thomas. A 5-hour tour includes a stop for lunch of your choice.  Just tell us what food you want to savor.  Six hour and longer tours can easily be customized to either cover more areas of Houston such as the Eado and East End or give time to go into museums, galleries, and parks.  The two- hour tours cover about 20 miles/32 kilometers, and we add about 10 miles/16 kilometers per hour of area covered for each additional hour.  For 4-hour tours and longer, we have about one stop per hour to take photographs, use a bathroom, get refreshments, and or have lunch. See our website for the descriptions.

National Food Day Tours

Did you know that:

  • January 1st is National Bloody Mary Day?
  • January 2nd is National Creampuff Day?
  • January 3rd is National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day?
  • January 12th is National Cheesesteak and Cheesecake Day?
  • January 24th is National Peanut Butter Day?
  • January 27th is National Chocolate Cake Day?

We will create a customized 3-hour themed tour for your enjoyment anytime in this month for the above gastronomical sensations.  We can combine two or more of the above holidays.  Who does not like comfort food and drink?

Monthly Special – Discounted by 17 to 43% Based on the Number of People

The monthly special for January is a walking tour through Houston’s lesser known museum district.   If you like high culture, this is a GREAT tour!  You can go inside 5 museums and 3 chapels.  These include:

  • The Dan Flavin Installation,
  • The Cy Twombly Gallery,
  • The Menil Collection,
  • The Watercolor Art Society – Houston (WASH),
  • The Houston Center for Photography (HCP),
  • The Rothko Chapel,
  • The Chapel of Saint Basil, and
  • The former Byzantine Fresco Chapel.
  • Time-permitting, we might go into one or two more galleries.

These sites are all FREE to enter.  The museums are closed on Monday.  Many of these places are world renown.  The Dalai Lama has been to the Rothko Chapel.  Many people consider The Menil Collection as the best free art museum in the United States.  We may run out of time if you are having too much fun while spending a lot of time in any or all of these museums.  You will also discover a number of small cafes and restaurants in the area.<

The tour starts at the free parking lot pathway that leads to Sul Ross Street.  The parking lot has two access points:

  • 1515 West Alabama Street, Houston, Texas 77006
  • 3808 Mulberry Street, Houston, Texas 77006.

Monthly Special Prices

  • 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.

Some Positive Forms of Recognition

Lastly, here are some positive forms of recognition:

  • Houston Historical Tours has been selected to receive the Small Business Excellence Award for 2018 in the Historical Tours category by Small Business Excellence.
  • Houston Historical Tours will be in AAA Texas Travel Books for the 9th consecutive year. AAA Tour Books are the most popular tour books in the nation.

We are proud of these accomplishments.

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

 

Keith’s Blog – December 2018

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors,

Hi.  December is a joyous month.  Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Yule help to provide joy and hope for a better future for most everyone.  Regardless of your religion or lack of, race, ethnicity, gender preference, and gender, it is a time when we often come together to share happiness.

Weather in Houston

December is Houston’s second coldest month.  Be prepared to wear a sweater, coat, or both.  The monthly average high temperature is 65 degrees Fahrenheit/18 degrees Centigrade.  The monthly average low temperature is 47 degrees Fahrenheit/6 degrees Centigrade, and the mean is 56 degrees Fahrenheit/13 degrees Centigrade.  The average rainfall is 3.78 inches/9.6 centimeters.  It is the ninth wettest month of the year.

Tours Below

Mention that you read about any of the tours below {other than the monthly specials) from the blog and you will receive a 10% discount in the month of December. What a deal!

National Food Day Tours
Did you know that:

  • December 2nd is National Fritters Day?
  • December 4th is National Cookie Day?
  • December 9th is National Pastry Day?
  • December 10th is National Lager Day?
  • December 11 is National Bagel Day?
  • December 13th is National Hot Cocoa Day?
  • December 15th is International Tea Day and National Cupcake Day?
  • December 21st is National Hamburger Day?
  • December 22nd is National Date Nut Bread Day?
  • December 24th is National Eggnog Day?
  • December 25th is National Pumpkin Pie Day?
  • December 27th is National Fruitcake Day?
  • December 31st is National Champagne Day?

So much self-indulgent food and drink! So few stomachs! Ah, to be a cow. LOL

We will create a customized 3-hour themed tour for your enjoyment anytime in this month for the above gastronomical sensations. We can combine two or more of the above holidays. Who does not like comfort food?

Holiday Lights Tours
December sees an uptick in our tour business because of the holidays.  We offer 9 different Holiday Lights Tours.  Four tours are 3 hours, three tours are 4-hours, one tour is 5-hours, and one tour is 7-hours.  The 5-hour tour goes to Texas City and Galveston.  The 7-hour tour goes to Santa’s Wonderland in College Station.  This area has over 1 million lights.

Tour A, for 3 hours, is far and away the most popular of the Holiday Lights Tour.  It includes the Galleria, River Oaks, Tanglewood, Uptown Park, River Oaks District, Highland Village, and Greenway Plaza.  Our other three hour tours can include the various Heights, ethnic minority areas, the elite Green Tea subdivision in Pearland, Candlelight Plaza, Prestonwood Forest, and more communities.  The 3-hour tours are normally from 6:30 to 9:30 PM, although we can be flexible.  Remember that sunset takes place at about 5:30 PM so you want to start sometime thereafter.  They normally have one stop at a Starbucks for bathrooms and holiday drinks.  Visit our website to see more of the detailed descriptions.

People begin scheduling the Holiday Lights Tours in August. I already have conducted our first Holiday Lights tour of the year this past week in November. I already have over one-half dozen more Holiday Lights tours scheduled with still other inquiries. If you would like to go on a Holiday Lights tour, contact us now to reserve your tour.

Mexican Restaurant Tours
December is a good month to also go on a comfort food tour.  We offer several food and drink tours including Mexican Restaurant Tours.  You can choose the length and how many restaurants that you want to visit and how much you want to eat.  We take you to a historic Mexican restaurants that are generally considered among the best in Houston.  All of the restaurants were found in the 1900s.  Some specialize in entrees, some in appetizers, some in margaritas.  We recommend that you select one thing, for example nachos or quesadillas, that you can compare and contrast at each restaurant and still have more space in your stomach to try some more at the next restaurant.  Many of the Mexican restaurants are beautifully decorated for the holidays.  Visit our website to see what restaurants we include on such a tour and customize it.

Galveston Tours
Galveston has a certain mystique, similar to New Orleans, but on a 1/10 size.  Like New Orleans, it was a port city, the state’s wealthiest city and full of immigrants and sailors coming into it.  It was the largest city in Texas in 1870 and 1880.  Prostitution and gambling thrived during the years that Galveston was an open city.  Hurricanes have repeated beaten it down only for the city to bounce back.  The greatest architect in Texas history designed some of the most impressive buildings in the state from 1872 to 1900.  Galveston is currently experiencing its first growth in six decades.  Hurricane Ike in 2008 resulted in people reinvesting in Galveston.  We offer Galveston tours from 5 to 12 hours that can include a boat ride to see dolphins and a sunken ship in Galveston Bay, museums, mansion homes to tour, historical homes from the 1830s and 1840s to stop and photograph, movies to watch titled “The Great Storm” and or “The Pirate Island of Jean Lafitte,” seeing tree sculptures, great food and drink to consume, and exploring different neighborhoods.  December is a particularly good time to visit because of the festival Dickens on the Strand.  It started in 1974 and is held on the first weekend in December.  A tradition is a descendant of the great British author Charles Dickens leads the parade and people dress in costumes from the era of Dickens’s best-selling book The Christmas Carol.  You will have a bloody good time.

Monthly Special – Discounted by 17 to 43% Based on the Number of People
The monthly special for December is a Northern Hermann Park Walking Tour.  This 2.5-hour tour focuses on going through Houston’s most famous and popular park, Hermann Park.  It was named after Houston’s greatest benefactor, George Hermann. Some of the highlights are:

  • Strolling through the Japanese Gardens
  • Walking by the Houston Zoo
  • Watching the activities at McGovern Lake
  • Seeing our smaller version of the Washington Monument
  • Visiting Miller Outdoor Theatre (MOT)
  • Viewing the children’s train
  • Visiting the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS), the fourth most museum visited in the United States
  • Seeing the most famous statue in Houston, that of General Sam Houston
  • Seeing the 18-hole golf course
  • Walking through the John P. McGovern Centennial Gardens and Cherie Flores Garden Pavilion,
    Seeing the 3 Mecom Fountains
  • Seeing nine busts of Latin American leaders: Benito Juarez, Jose de San Martin, Simon Bolivar, Jose Marti, Bernardo O’Higgins, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Vicente Rocafuerte, Field Marshal Ramon Castilla, and Dr. Jose Rizal
  • Seeing 3 statues of men of peace: Mahatma Gandhi, Confucius, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Seeing miscellaneous other statues and structures of Cancer, There is Hope, Grecian Dancer, Oliver Twist, Atropos Key, a Japanese Stone Lantern, and Chinese pagoda, and
  • Seeing the holiday decorations in the park.

This tour begins outside the main entrance of the Houston Zoo on the north side. If you have a GPS, input 1680 Zoo Circle Drive, Houston, Texas 77030. The street may also be identified as Golf Course Drive and Hermann Park Drive. Parking Lot G is the closest lot. Parking is free, but limited to 3-hours. The parking garage by the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) costs money, but one can park there for several hours.

Monthly Special Prices

  • 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.

Some Positive Forms of Recognition


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.

Enjoy the season.

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

 

Keith’s Blog – November 2018

Keith's Blog

Welcome Fans, Friends, and Visitors,

Hi. November has historically been a slower month than those months that surround it. However, in 2018, that is changing. The 5-day Quilt Festival Houston has moved to the first full week in November. It begins on a Wednesday and continues through Sunday. In past years, the Quilt Festival began in October and continued into the first weekend in November. Now, it is exclusively in November. This is the biggest annual event in Houston, with over 60,000 people attending and filling the George R. Brown Convention Center. We offer 8 different quilt tours that go to over one dozen towns in Texas. Enjoy a day out in the country and in towns that you have been meaning to visit someday. Today is that day. Check them out and sign up for one, . . . or two, . . . or. . . .

The latter portion of the month is generally slower than the beginning of the month. With the Thanksgiving holiday and people departing to be with friends and family in other cities and states as well as those individuals and families who are hosting friends and family and watching lots of football, less people go on tours. Throw in Black Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving and many people have already been planning their alternative activities.

Weather in Houston

The weather is pleasant, if a little cool. You might want to wear a light jacket. This is a wonderful month to go on any of the tours that involve being outside. Keep in mind if you went on a Wine Tour or San Jacinto State Park Tour between April and September, you would likely be drenched in sweat. Go now while the weather is comfortable.

November is Houston’s fourth coldest month. However, do not be intimidated by the previous sentence. Cold in Houston is still warm in most of the world. Be prepared to wear a sweater or jacket. The monthly average high temperature is 73 degrees Fahrenheit/23 degrees Centigrade. The monthly average low temperature is 53 degrees Fahrenheit/12 degrees Centigrade, and the mean is 63 degrees Fahrenheit/17 degrees Centigrade. The average rainfall is 4.54 inches/11.5 centimeters. It is tied for the fifth wettest month of the year.

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 November. What a deal!

National Food Day Tours
Did you know that:

  • November 5th is National Doughnut Day II? The first Friday of June is National Doughnut Day I.
  • November 6th is National Nachos Day?
  • November 10th is National Vanilla Cupcake Day?
  • November 11th is National Sundae Day?
  • November 29th is National Lemon Cream Pie and National Chocolates Day?

We will create a customized 3-hour themed tour for your enjoyment anytime in this month for the above gastronomical sensations. Who does not like comfort food?

Wine Tours
November is a great month to go on a wine tour. See the countryside, sit outside sipping one sample of wine after another at a variety of wineries, possibly listening to a musical performer, and all without sweating – what a wonderful way to spend a day! We offer 5 different winery tours that venture into different directions to a total of 14 wineries + 2 wine tasting rooms = 16 sites. Eleven of the wineries have their vineyards attached to the winery. It cannot get much fresher than when you see where your product has been grown. Sometimes, you can walk or stagger through the vineyards.

You can go to 1 to 4 wineries on these tours. The tours can last from 3 hours one close winery to 12 hours for 4 more remote wineries. Most wineries offer 4 different samples from dry, semi-dry, sweet, and dessert wines. All of these wineries or tasting rooms are in or close to rural towns with names like Brenham, Chappell Hill, Burton, Bryan, College Station, Old Town Spring, Montgomery, Plantersville, Anahuac, Sour Lake, Winnie, Anahuac, and Baytown. If you wish to purchase any bottles of wine, the prices of such bottles are generally much cheaper than going to a store. Many of these wines are only available on site or in local stores. Stock up for the holidays. You must be at least 21 years of age to go on these tours.

San Jacinto State Park Tours
Another popular tour in November is going to the San Jacinto State Park. This is normally a six-hour tour. Go inside the San Jacinto Monument, Observation Deck, the San Jacinto Museum of History, watch the Charlton Heston narrated movie “Texas Forever! The Battle of of San Jacinto” and see the diorama. The Monument is the tallest monument in the United States at 567 feet/173 meters. It is taller than the Washington Monument because a Star of Texas caps it. This is the most important battle of Texas’s War of Independence where on April 21, 1836, Texas won its independence from Mexico and on the next day the Texans captured Santa Anna. This tour also includes going onto and inside the Battleship Texas, the only surviving US battleship from both World War I and II and the only one that survives that served in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans during WW II. It was the first ship adapted to serve as an aircraft carrier. For groups of 14 or fewer people in a van or sedan, we will also go on a ferry boat. The ferry cannot have buses on it. Lunch is at a great restaurant that specializes in seafood and with huge windows with the best view of the Houston Ship Channel. You will watch barges and oil tankers passing us. If we skip going onto the Battleship Texas, the tour can be shortened to five hours.

City Tours
Of course, if you are visiting Houston for the first time, or new to Houston and still learning your way around, go on one of our city tours. You have 8 options ranging from 2 to 9 hours, depending on how much you want to do and see. Four hour tours and longer generally have one stop per hour and on Monday through Friday include a brief walk through the underground downtown tunnels. Five hour tours and longer have a stop for lunch. Houston has over 7.5 miles/12.1 kilometers of pedestrian tunnels. These tunnels form a city underneath downtown Houston with over 500 businesses and 10 food courts. They are air conditioned or heated and dry. They are a secret gem in Houston. These driving tours can cover from about 20 to 60 miles/32 to 97 kilometers when from 2 to 9 hours.

If you are visiting Houston for the first time and will be here for a number of days, you might want to schedule a 6 or more hour tour on your first day. This will enable you to drive-by and see more sites that you might want to visit at greater length during your stay in Houston.

Monthly Special – Discounted by 17 to 43% Based on the Number of People
The monthly special for November is a Houston Heights Walking Tour. This 2.5-hour tour focuses on going through the old downtown area of the Houston Heights, the area where serial killer Dean Corll lived, by beautiful old Victorian homes, Marmion Park, Opera in the Heights, Hits Theater, where a reservoir exists, one of the best spice shops in Houston, Penzeys, can be found and more. The weather is crisp, the leaves are different colors, and the big oak trees are imposing. You will find yourself returning to the Houston Heights to go shopping and eating now that you know what it has to offer.

Monthly Special Prices

  • 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

Keith’s Blog – October 2018

Keith's Blog

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 18th is National Cupcake Day, and October 28th 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