Houston Travel

Several groups in Houston travel plans include, exciting outdoor excursions this weekend that are open to anyone who wants to participate. If you're game, this weekend could be your chance to enjoy an incredible experience in Texas' great outdoors.

There's wildlife areas and waterways along Armand Bayou waiting to be explored, and a fascinating camping trip to a batholith (underground rock formation uncovered by erosion). For those who prefer to be indoor activities, you can join local Astro fans and other baseball aficionados and check out some cool baseball memorabilia.

Things To Do In Downtown Houston

The Heritage Society Museum Gallery located in Downtown Houston always has interesting exhibits and informative lectures that feature experts in a variety of fields. They've assembled homes, furniture and other classic pieces of the city's history to preserve for future generations at the Sam Houston Park.

This weekend they're offering opening the doors on their great new exhibit: Rain or Shine: How Houston Developed Space City Baseball.
Sunday from 1-4 pm you can take part in baseball crafts and try your hand at fun baseball activities that test your math skills.

The Heritage Society teamed up with the Houston Astros and the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame to present this new exhibit. The sport of baseball gets an inspiring treatment and the history of baseball in Houston is on display, featuring treasures from the Astros, Houston Buffs, and some of the teams that have called Houston home.

Guided Canoe Tours In Houston

It's time again for the bi-weekly education and adventure guided canoe tours of Armand Bayou. Get up with the early birds and enjoy a morning of leisurely watching wildlife, learning about local wetlands and have plenty of fun paddling a canoe down the Armand Bayou.

Early morning canoe tours in Houston allow you the opportunity to observe herons, egrets, turtles, deer and other residents who are start their day on the bayou. It's a lively tour that's well worth your time talent and treasure to enjoy. Reservations and payment information is available on the ANC website.

Houston Group Travels To The Hill Country

The local branch of the Sierra Club Houston travels to many places and most of the outings are open to both members and non-members. Join them for exciting camping adventures, hiking trips, and other treks to fantastic places all over the state of Texas.

This weekends destination is Enchanted Rock in the beautiful Texas hill country. The huge, pink granite dome is one of the largest batholiths in the United States. The family-friendly outing will include both a backpacking and a base camping group. For more information visit the Sierra Clubs webspace.

If you want to add more excitement into your Houston weekend schedule, lookout for the Houston Travel section coming soon to Midtownlive. We are committed to giving you more details on wonderful things to do in and around Houston so you can get your fun on day or night, weekend or weekday.

Your invited to follow Midtownlive on Google Connect, Twitter, Facebook and other social media communities where we make spontaneous announcements about other cool local events happening around the city.

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Houston Weekend

If your Houston weekend agenda needs a boost, I've found a few local events that are exciting, entertaining and enriching for busy professionals who have been cooped up in a office or a cubicle all week long and can't wait to get outside.

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Urban Gardening, Armand Bayou Nature Center and Discovery Green are the top picks this weekend to get you out of the house and have some great outdoor fun in Houston.

Urban Gardening

This weekend is an ideal time to scout-out locations in your neighborhood or that weed-filled plot of land outside your office window to prepare for a community garden.

Flowers can beautify a landscape, but vegetable gardens have flowers that reward you for your hard work and taste better. The expert gardeners from Urban Harvest will teach you everything you need to know about a community/school garden.

They're offering a class in Houston soon, to teach the mechanics of organizing, maintaining and running a productive community garden. You can brighten just about any corner of your world with some incredible edible plants. Especially if there are vacant lots in your neighborhood, school or office.

Urban Harvest classes are open to anyone with an interest in growing plants. Their hands-in-the-dirt training will prepare you to grow vegetables, fruit trees and anything with roots in a variety of urban landscapes.


Armand Bayou Nature Center

On the 2nd & 4th Saturdays head over to the Armand Bayou Nature Center for a guided canoe tour of the bayou. The nature center's tour is part education, part outdoor adventure. Be prepared to paddle your own canoe on a guided tour down the backwaters of Armand Bayou.

It's a leisurely tour of the local wetland, that allows us city folks to observe birds, reptiles, deer and other wildlife who start their day on the bayou.

Discovery Green

If you missed all of the exciting action at last year's Ice Carving competition in Houston, which featured acclaimed ice artists from around the country using chainsaws and blow torches to masterfully transform blocks of ice into works of frozen art. Come out to Discovery Green Ice Day this weekend to witness this icy battle for yourself .

Your creativity will get a flowing as you watch the sculpting process which is as much a part of the competition as the finished products. Ice sculptor Reverend Butter of DLG Ice Factory will entertain visitors during the evening, with a show highlighting ice carving set to music.

Houston Weekend Activities

Don't let a little cold weather cause you to miss out on these fantastic Houston weekend events. It's a great way to try out that new parka so be sure to bundle up and get out of the house.

If you're willing to brave the cool Houston temperature and experience some of the great happenings taking place outdoors you'll find a big plus is that there won't be long lines and big crowds this weekend.

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December Events In Houston

December events in Houston are shaping up to be some of the most exciting things that we've seen happening in the city all year. The top events on tap this month in H-town are: rides in the Administaff balloon, a dinner and cruise with the Starfleet and visits to the Armand Bayou Nature Center.

If you do manage to get in on any one of these great events, then you've got one of the hottest tickets in town.

Administaff Balloon

There is a huge hot air balloon tethered in Discovery Green. It offers visitors a chance to take a ride in its gondola to see downtown Houston from above instead of the usual ground view. This perspective should give you a better look at the expressways that encircle the downtown district and and the coolest view of the park.

Starfleet Cruise

Weather permitting you can enjoy a dinner cruise on Clear Lake or Galveston Bay onboard a luxury yacht. The Starfleet Cruise features more than just a basic soup and sandwich. It has a "bottomless brunch" on weekends and a "Murder Mystery cruise" that's usually sold out before departure.

The Clear Lake cruise offers a few other exciting events on their schedule in December, a Holiday Lunch, Christmas Party and a Dance.


The Armand Bayou Nature Center

Houston's ABN becomes a bird activity center this month. It's where you can take part in a guided bird hike, play bird games or make a birdhouse. December is prime time for bird migrating season and the nature center is one of the few places in the country where you can see a large variety of the migratory visitors.

Local outfitters and birding organizations will come out to help guide ABN visitors in selecting the right equipment and other key tips to help them hone their bird watching skills.

December Events in Houston

These December events in Houston are not just for adults. These are fun activities that children, school and church groups and the whole family can take part in on any weekend or weekday.

Let your spirit be your guide and you can check a wide range of ways that our city celebrates the holiday season in December. Houston always has a lot to do and places to go and everyone can find something that's fun for them to do, in Texas during Christmas.

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Houston Weekend: Boat Tours In Houston

Every Houston weekend from now until late winter is a good time for a fabulous getaway on a boat tour in Houston. Busy professionals need QT (quality time) to escape into the peaceful beauty of nature to contemplate, relax and enjoy life. If you could enrich, educate and entertain your family, friends or just yourself in the process, that would be a two'fer, right. Try this!

For a fun outdoor adventure on a weekend try one of the Boat Tours In Houston. There are some unforgettable local destinations that you, your family or group will enjoy during local boat tours, especially the one at the Armand Bayou Nature Center. It's open during the week, but Saturday and Sundays are my favorite days to visit this local ecological treasure.

Armand Bayou Nature Center

The natural beauty of the area is awesome and it's one of the few remaining places in the U.S. where you can experience wetlands, prairie and forest. These ecosystems are essential to preserving Houston's rich biodiversity. The ANC is the perfect setting for a fun interactive outdoor experience in nature on a weekend.

You can take your pick from guided canoe tours, pontoon boat tours, nighttime adventures and other exciting activities that are regularly scheduled things to do, at the Armand Nature Center.

Boat Cruises

The "Bayou Ranger" takes visitors on a boat tour in Houston, on a cruise down one of the tributaries of Armand Bayou. The pontoon boat offers unique opportunities to view local wildlife doing their thang. You could put together a private cruise for your friends, family or a group; Or come and meet some new folks on the cruises scheduled on most Saturdays.

There is a morning boat tour that provides a early view of whats happening down on the bayou before noon. A nocturnal tour in the nature center will yield a whole new crew of creatures, out and about in the woods.

Guided Canoe Adventures

The guided canoe trips at the center, travel the slow drifting backwaters of Armand Bayou Nature Center. It's a calm, leisurely way to spend a fall morning. The canoe tour provides ample time for wildlife watching, wetland education, relaxation and fun.

The watery tour is a pleasurable experience that gives you plenty of physical exercise paddling your canoe along, while enjoying the peace and beauty of nature.

Moonlight Cruise

When your daytime, things to do list, is full or the Houston sun keeps you inside until after sunset when it has completed it's westward trek, you can still find plenty to see, hear and do at the Armand Nature Center.

You'll hear the chorus of frog songs and owl calls. Your eyes will do quick scans and squint to see the workers on the night shift, raccoons, opossums, nutria, deer, owls, snakes, turtles and alligators, along the bayou. Their body color and slow quiet movements makes it easy for them to blend into the wooded background at night.

The tranquil ride on the pontoon boat at night, adds its own character that magnifies the beauty, ambiance and excitement of the forest after dark.

Planning Your Adventure

Take a look at the Armand Nature Center calendar to get a complete listing of the exact dates, times and phone numbers for any of these activities and lots more that deserve a place on that busy schedule of yours. The ANC makes it nice and easy for you plan your boat tour in Houston with reservations by phone or in person.

If you plan your Houston weekend ahead of time, you'll never run out of places to go or things to do that will educate, entertain and enrich the lives of you, your family and friends through fun outdoor excursions. You'll easily become known as the go to person anytime your family wants to have a great time on a fabulous getaway in Houston.

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Houston Weekend | Bayou Cruise

Start your Houston Weekend early with a unique boating experience at the Armand Bayou Nature Center. How about leisurely drifting down the bayou on a boat tour at breakfast time, observing wildlife searching for their breakfast on the bayou.

The "Bayou Ranger" the center's pontoon boat will carry guest on a trip through the heart of the nature center for this special opportunity to catch an up-close and personal glimpse of bayou life around Houston's bayou.

Saturday Morning Boat Cruise In Houston

This Houston weekend trip takes you through the the largest urban wildlife refuge in the United States. It's a great way to spice up your Saturday morning routine. Armand Bayou Center has diverse ecological environs. You can experience forest, marshes and prairie platforms with live animal displays.

Educational signage listing key factoids are on the paths throughout the center to give you the details about the abundant plant and animal life. The butterfly gardens and the 1800's farm site are two place that I recommend you visit after you finish the morning cruise.

How To RSVP For The Weekend Trip
To be a guest on this exciting boat tour in Houston, you need to make reservations in advance and remember reservations can be made by phone or in person and payment is required at the time of reservation. They don't do reservations by email.

Some of the culinary delights served on the cruise are: rolls, juice and coffee. This Houston weekend adventure aboard the "Bayou Ranger" departs from the Bay Area Park boat launch.

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