Arenas and Centers
Houston Musings
Jul 14th
In the July issue of Global Traveler, Sharon King Hoge wrote an excellent piece on Houston. It made me a bit homesick for the city. Although Houston was never technically my home, I spent a fair amount of time there when my sister and her family lived there a few years back.
Hoge mentioned that 71.7 percent of Houstonians drive to work. I was amazed at that number, as I never saw really bad traffic (except for construction zones). A big part of that reason is because the roads were built with many lanes and many connections. Houston even thought so far ahead as to make allowances for future on-ramps in some areas.
Hoge listed such Houston highlights as the Space Center Houston and the Sam Houston Pavilion. She also included the National Museum of Funeral History, a lesser-known but fascinating place. These are great choices, and I would add the Galleria, which is a huge complex housing a mall, two Westin hotels and an office tower.
Over the years, we saw sporting events at Minute Maid Park (home of the Astros baseball team), Reliant Stadium (home of the Texans football team) and the Toyota Center (home of the Rockets basketball team and the Aeros hockey club). Unfortunately, I never saw an event in the Reliant Astrodome, the first domed stadium in the world, which still stands in Houston.
I also fell in love with eating in Houston. I can honestly say I never had a bad meal in the hundreds of times I went out to eat. Like most places, Houston has great dining, but their casual restaurants really stand out. I had my best barbeque fish and chicken at Goode Company Barbeque. I had my best turkey sandwich at Kenny & Ziggy’s Deli. I had my best buffet pizza at CiCi’s. Finally, I had the best ballpark food ever at Minute Maid Park.
Now that my sister has moved back to Chicago, I only go there about once a year. My brother-in-law, nephew and I will usually go down for the series between the Chicago Cubs and the Astros. Actually, that brings up my only real complaint about Houston. The Cubs never seem to win when I am there!
It was great reading this article. It reminded me how much I love Houston.
– John Wroblewski, distribution specialist
Midway — A Great Option
Apr 28th
Midway Airport has a great hotel setup. Within two blocks (or a quick shuttle ride) of the south end of the airport is a gated community of hotels. Included in this Hotel Center are a Courtyard by Marriott, a Marriott, a Fairfield Inn, a Hampton Inn, a Hilton Garden Inn, a Residence Inn, a Holiday Inn, a Holiday Inn Express and a Sleep Inn. There are also a handful of restaurants such as Fridays and Starbucks.
Of course, there are also several hotels outside of the hotel center. They range anywhere from half a mile to several miles away from Midway. However, with such a cluster of hotels, why would anyone venture outside this zone?
This is probably not the only “hotel center” like this in the country, but it is a great concept. The area around Midway isn’t the best. There are plenty of abandoned, run-down and shabby buildings. There has been an improvement in the area, but it is slow. For Midway to compete against O’Hare, it needed this hotel center.
The hotel center is perfect for either the business traveler or the vacationer. The hotels offer different amenities and different pricing scales. Again, they have something for everyone. However, all hotels offer secure, shared parking facilities, along with a decent amount of extras like continental breakfasts and business centers.
This is a great example of the hotels working together and with Midway for the betterment of everyone. The hotels probably got a better deal by partnering with each other for this area. Midway benefits by having quality hotels so close. Travelers certainly are better off with excellent choices within a shuttle ride.
McCormick Place and downtown Chicago are just about a 20-minute ride away (as opposed to an hour from O’Hare). Midway is an often overlooked airport. Many years ago, I wouldn’t suggest Midway, but I have to say it really is a viable option.
I grew up not too far from Midway, on the far south side of Chicago. Midway was always viewed as the cheaper, grungy alternative to O’Hare. I have seen Midway undergo many great changes. It is still size-challenged, because of the area, but it has done many things to improve the experience. The hotel center might just be the best improvement.
– John Wroblewski, distribution specialist
The NBA at MSG
Feb 4th
Last night I went to see the Knicks vs. the Wizards at Madison Square Garden. Although I live in New York, I was there to support the Wizards. I am not much of a sports jersey kind of girl, but I showed my support by wearing a shirt with a real wizard on it!
Unfortunately, with Arenas suspended from the team and Butler injured, the Wizards started off strong and ended poorly. I was disappointed in the team’s loss, but it wasn’t anything a foot-long hot dog and an ice-cold beer couldn’t remedy. It was a great night to get out and enjoy MSG. One of the things I enjoy about the NBA is that the crowd is a little tamer than with hockey or football. Nonetheless, I enjoyed being one of the four fans in the entire crowd rooting for the Wizards. At the end of the day, even if it feels as though the majority is against you, you must stick to your guns!
– Courtney Centeno, account executive
