Texas Trip 2008

Today Omer and I toured around downtown Houston, climbing up to the top of the Chase Tower, Wells Fargo Plaza Tower, and even the Chevron parking garage, formerally the Enron garage (that was a 13 story stair climb from hell!). It was very hot and humid, so we did a lot of walking via the Houston underground tunnel system which I thought was quite cool (literally). It was like an underground subway system for pedestrians. Some parts were plain - simply walls, ceiling, and lights, while others had shops and restaurants.

We spent two hours downtown, I taking as many photos as I could (though I edited two-thirds of them). From there we had lunch, ran errands, and were home by 6:00PM. We did not stay home long before going out to do some night photography of downtown. It was difficult finding good places to photograph but well worth it in the end. Most of the photos came from around Houston University. I forgot how much of a rush I get by taking night shots around cities. For some reason I really enjoy night photography.

Tomorrow we head to Austin. I'm very excited about the road trip. We haven't done much outside of exploration and photo-taking here in Houston, but I still have many more days here. Things between Omer and I have been ok - we haven't killed each other yet, though he does drive me absolutely crazy. I just focus on my journey and try to keep quiet. Seven more days and it's off to Florida.

This is a view of the Bank of America Center in Houston, taken from the observation deck of the JP Morgan Chase Tower. The building, completed in 1984 and designed by award winning architect Phillip Johnson and partner John Burgee, is reminiscent of the Dutch Gothic architecture of canal houses in The Netherlands. At 56 stories the building is the 49th tallest building in the United States and is the seventh tallest building in Texas.

A view of downtown, showing the all-glass Wells Fargo Plaza in the center. The Wells Fargo Plaza Tower is the tallest all-glass building in the Western Hemisphere. This building is currently the 13th-tallest Building in the United States at 71 floors and 992 feet, and the second tallest building in Texas and Houston. Get this: The building's footprint forms an abstracted version of the shape of a dollar sign.

Some people may recognize this building (1400 Smith Street) as the former headquarters of the infamous Enron Corporation. It is now being leased by the Chevron Corporation. It is 50 stories tall, and has very strict security. We were unable to even get past the lobby of this building.

Another night shot of downtown Houston. This is looking south overlooking Buffalo Bayou.

One last view looking over Buffalo Bayou of downtown Houston.