Houston is not GPS friendly

December 15, 2009
I've travelled 15,000 km and this is the first city where I've encountered real and ongoing problems getting around. Driving to my cousin's, I had to be directed by cell phone to her area of Houston. When I went to meet Christine, same thing. Getting to my hotel at the airport, I had to call the front desk for directions. A very frustrating time and I probably drove 300 to 400 extra km. So, yes I did yell at her a number of times and it wasn't pretty.

Getting back to the fun part of my journey, I've spent five full days in Houston, USA's 4th largest city. Both my hosts live in Sugar Land, a suburb of Houston. I spent a few days with my cousin, Adèle and hubby, Dennis, their two kids, Michlynn and Dylan and of course, Buddy, the dog. Adèle is my cousin Cecile's daughter from Saskatchewan and I was very well received. Heck, Dennis was even going to pay for my plane ticket back home. After attending church on Sunday, we went to a popular restaurant where I had my first huge Idaho potato stuffed with shredded beef, sour cream, onions etc...it was a whole meal.

Christine was a friend I had met earlier and she hosted me for two nights. Her kitchen fluorescent fixture had not worked since July and I was able to replace it without difficulty. She was vey appreciative and said that she now sees things diffently.

I also visited the Johnson Space Centre, a huge and very interesting complex. Remember the Appolo 13 famous line:"Houston, we have a problem"? (yeah, me and my GPS lady)This is where astronauts train(except when they used to come to Sudbury of course).

December 17 to January 4
I took a vacation from my vacation to be home for Christmas. I flew from Houston to Sudbury where my sisters Murielle and Aline met me at the airport. Had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends.