Shop in the Galleria or cool off in the skating rink

Go fishing out in the gulf or the bay or one of the many lakes.  Nothing like fresh-grilled fish and a cold beer.

 
 



If you're into birding, our beaches are clear so far.  Visit one of several national wildlife refuges and bring your camera.  You might snap a photo of a tricolored heron, a Whooping Crane, or a Javelina!

 

Take some friends to the beach for a day's fun.  Bring sunscreen!

    Fun in the sun!

Take in the Houston rodeo every March.

Consider a Caribbean cruise on a ship moored at Galveston.


Or take a tour of the Houston Ship Channel -- it's really amazing.

Dine at the Aquarium Restaurant after seeing everything the Aquarium has to offer.  Take the train through the huge tank and look up at the fish!

Cool off in the Gulf of Mexico at the Galveston sea wall.

The end of a lovely day

Downtown Houston by night

Downtown Houston by day

Sometimes I feel that my home of Houston, Texas, is the most misunderstood city in America.  Although it is the nation’s 4th largest city, it still languishes in the shadows of smaller cities, such as our rival to the north, Dallas.  When people think of Houston, it seems as though all that comes to their minds is Oil, which isn’t the most popular thing to be known for these days.  And when is the last time that most gay people have said to themselves, I want to go to Houston?  The gay scene in Houston is relatively unknown outside of our area.  But it is there!  And it is vibrant and alive!

Do you know that we are the largest city in the US with an openly gay mayor, Annise Parker?  Pretty impressive for the biggest city in the biggest “Red State” in America, huh?  It hasn’t been easy, but we have made some progress here.  And who can forget the often used quote, “Houston, we have a problem.”  That’s right, after the rockets blast off from Cape Kennedy, the controls are taken over by the Johnson Space Center right here in Houston.  And if rodeo is your thing, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the largest such event in America.  We pioneered domed stadiums with the Astrodome, and now have added two newer covered stadiums for the Houston Texans football team and The Houston Astros baseball team.  To coin another phrase, “Everything’s up to date in Houston, Texas.”

I returned here in 1991 after a long absence to teach at Houston Community College, and found that the gay world of Montrose fit me much better than the one I came out in up in Dallas.  We are just more laid back and blue collar here.  I often think that the American version of “Queer as Folk” could have just as easily been set here in Houston as Pittsburgh.  The characters in that show very much resembled the people that I see here in Houston.  So if you liked that show, and would like to find a place like that to visit, come on down to Houston.


Once you’re here, you may want to know where to find what.  If you are looking to see someone who might remind you of Erik Steppenwolf, go to The Ripcord in the evening where the men are butch and proud of it.  Another watering hole that you might enjoy if you’re looking for a slightly younger crowd along the same lines is The Montrose Mining Company.  Like The Ripcord, it’s really cruisy. 




If cowboys are your thing, head on over to The Brazos River Bottom, where you can enjoy line dancing, the Texas Two Step and a little dance we call The Cotton Eyed Joe:  “BULLSHIT!”  But if you are looking for a place to hang out and drink with your friends, try JR’s.  Then right next door at South Beach, a dance bar, you might find a young man dancing for the crowd who reminds you of Steppenwolf’s love, Red. 


Patrons enjoying JR's patio








South Beach patrons dance in a cool fog




Another place to find someone like Red is at EJ’s on Ralph Street where they have amateur strip contests several nights per week.  You might also find someone like Steppenwolf there, and on occasion Wolf Phoenix is known to hang out there in the daytime served by his favorite bartenders, Perry and Devin.  Don’t be shy, come on up and say howdy.  LOL!  About EJ’s, it was the inspiration for the bar I called Ralph’s in Irreversible Error. 

In a side note, I hadn’t been there for quite some time when I  wrote my book, but once Dreamspinner Press accepted it for publi- cation, I went to EJ’s to celebrate only to find that it had been completely remodeled and no longer resembled the bar I described in the book.  The same thing happened in regard to the bar that I used as Lola’s hangout.  It had changed hands and had been totally remodeled and improved.  So my apologies to EJ's and TC’s for my dismal description of their predecessors which no longer applies.  Speaking of TC’s, it is the place to go for drag shows.  If that’s what you’re into, drop on by in the late evening for some old-fashioned entertainment.  But sometimes in the middle of the day you may find Wolf Phoenix sitting on a barstool enjoying the people.  Once again, don’t be shy, come on up and say hi.


Another place you may find Wolf hanging out is at Michael’s Outpost on Richmond in the late afternoon.  It’s just a neighborhood bar atmosphere that’s quiet and relaxing at that time of day, and there’s a bartender there named Alvie who is a real pleasure to watch, if you know what I mean.  Hint:  He’s an ex-cop.  Could he be the inspiration for Erik Steppenwolf?  You decide.  Now, if your inner vampire or your job do not allow you to make it by Michael’s in the daytime, the evenings there include a piano-bar atmosphere to enjoy.  So check it out.  Day or night, it’s a really friendly place to meet some real Houston men.

So as you can see, there is plenty to do here in Space City USA.  If you like your men down to earth and real, come to the real Texas and see us.