Happy to be Home

I love Maui but I am happy to be back in Houston. Maui is an awesome place that hundreds of thousands of tourists visit each year. Houston doesn't receive the same acclaim. I mean, who would come to Houston on vacation? And yet, I love this place and I have missed it very much in these last three months. Because of this, I have decided to create a "Top Ten Things I Love About Houston" list in no particular order.

1. Bike Riding- In Houston, many people ride bikes. From kids with training wheels to grandmas on cruisers to spandex-clad athletes with clip-in pedals; there are tons of bikers on the streets at any given time. There is a big bike ride every year that goes for 150 miles from Houston to Austin. Many people participate in it, including me and train for it throughout the year. Because of this, there are organized training rides almost every weekend within about 30 miles of Houston. I love organized rides because I can ride a lot farther and a lot longer with other people around me. They also feed you all along the way and I love to eat for fuel. In Maui,I have only found 3 organized rides for the whole year and one is "Cycle to the Sun" where you ride uphill about 25 miles to the top of Haleakala, Maui's dormant volcano. No thank you. In Maui, there are some people who bike but you have to be pretty hardcore to go very far. This is because of the crazy wind that draws the world-class windsurfers. At certain times of day and in certain directions, it's almost impossible to keep your pedals moving against the wind. The first time I tried to pedal against the wind, I gave up and got a hitch home in the back of a pick-up truck.

2. Clean Houses- Houses in Houston tend to be cleaner than in Maui. They also all have air conditioning (partially because you would die in the summers without it.) In Maui, the air conditioning comes in the form of open windows. For much of the year, the wind mentioned above provides more than enough relief from the heat. There are certain times when the wind doesn't cut it though and you feel like you are actually being baked inside your home. Because of the abundance of open windows and wind, there is a fine red dirt that settles all over everything in a house. The houses in Maui also tend to be a bit more run down (not all of them but most of the ones I frequent). In Houston you are not likely to see someone passively living with termites and a hole in the floor. In Maui, this isn't too uncommon.

3. Shopping- Since Houston has over 2 million people, there is also an abundance of stores for all those people to shop at. We have all the chain stores as well as some fun local shops. You can find almost anything you could possibly want. This is not the case in Maui. For starters there is no Target. I know that sounds like a bad dream, but it's true. The only Target substitutes are Wal-Mart and the Big K. Neither of which even comes close to Target. In Houston, I personally know the locations of at least 8 different Targets. In Maui there is no Bed, Bath and Beyond, Victoria's Secret, Bath and Body Works, Marshalls, Best Buy, etc. Most stuff has to be ordered off the internet and there is often an extra charge to ship to Hawaii.

4. Friends- I have plenty of friends in Maui but they tend to come and go. In the couple months before I came back to Maui this time, a bunch of my favorite people left. Bad timing! Then, several people left right after I got there. I tried not to take it personal. I only have one friend in Maui who owns a house. Everyone else is prone to coming and going so it's hard to count on any of them being there when I am. In Houston, several of my friends own homes and have good jobs here. They plan on staying here indefinitely. This is really nice and makes my group of friends in Houston feel a bit more solid.

5. Texas Pride- I have missed this a lot. Hawaiians have a lot of pride, which I respect. Being an outsider, though means that some of that pride is negatively directed at me. They have bumper stickers that say "We grew here. You flew here." And the thing is that they are right. There also stickers that say 100% Hawaiian. Now I can never become a true Hawaiian but I am a true Texan. Maybe I could make some "I arrived here. You drive here." bumper stickers. I really don't have to though since Texans already have a lot of pride. There are even bumper stickers that say, "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could." There are Texas flags flying everywhere and many businesses incorporate Texas into their company name or logo. And of course, everyone knows that Texas is bigger than France.

6. Mexican People and Black People- I don't know if this is racist since I like these groups. Oh well, I do miss them. In Hawaii, there are very few Mexican or black people. There are plenty of Asians, though. I've always enjoyed black people since I was a little kid. We had a housekeeper/babysitter who watched me and my brother on Saturdays when we were kids. Her name was Betty and she was so loving. I adored her and I think it instilled in me a lifelong love for black people. I also enjoy Mexican people. The school I worked at was predominately Hispanic and I got used to hearing Spanish all the time. I also think Mexican is my favorite genre of food. In Texas there is a Mexican food restaurant on almost every corner. This is not the case in Maui.

7. Driving- In Maui there are no freeways and the highest speed limit you will find is 55mph. I also don't always have a car in Maui. In Texas, you really can't survive without a car and there are plenty of wide freeways with 70mph speed limits to satisfy one's need for speed. I also really like road trips. There are plenty you can take from Texas. I used to go to Louisiana almost every weekend. In Maui, it's a lot like being in a small town you can't leave since it is surrounded by ocean. Sometimes I get that island fever and just want to get off the island.

8. Family- Most of my family lives in Texas so I get to see them a lot more when I am here. When I am not in Texas, I miss shopping with my mom, biking with my dad, playing with my nephew, laughing with my brother and hanging out with my sister-in-law. There's definitely something special about being near those people who love you no matter what.

9. TV and Cable- In Maui, I don't usually get to have a TV. I'm not addicted to TV but I definitely enjoy it. Cable is especially fun since I can watch 5 college football games on one Saturday. It's nice just to veg in front of the TV for a while or get together with friends to make fun of reality TV. It's easy to get out of the loop with no news or movie previews to watch.

10. Nightlife- In Maui, pretty much all the fun to be had happens during daylight hours. There are incredible beaches to lay out on, clear blue water to snorkel in and tropical trails to hike on. But at night, everything pretty much shuts down. Very few places are open after nine, let alone after midnight. The typical night is spent hanging out and watching movies at someone's house. In Houston there is plenty to do at night. I like to go bowling, play trivia at a local bar, go to a concert, go to a sporting event, etc. There are a lot of choices.

It may have sounded like I was dogging Maui in this post. I truly love Maui and the work I do there. However, Houston is my home and I will always love it (lack of natural beauty and all.)