Deep In The Heart of (Spring) Texas

I just spent a long weekend in the suburbs of Houston visiting my step-bro Jamie and his family. They used to live here in Denver but they moved back to TX a few years ago for his job, which gave me the sadz. 

Friday was a travel day which started with me arriving early at DEN for my flight. I always try to take the bus or train to the airport to save $ on parking but that generally results in getting there too early. But that’s okay, because I always travel with books and there are always bars open 😉

I enjoyed a spicy bloody mary while reading The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. OMG that book. Everyone should read it. 

We landed at IAH nearly 20 minutes early so I had time to grab some coffee and a snack while waiting for Jamie to pick me up. I’ve talked about Cibo Express before- they’re often a fantastic vegan option at airports, with lots of good options. This was The Nicest Cibo I’ve ever been in- they had a full coffee bar with Nitro cold brew on tap, and they even had Primal vegan jerky! I chose the Texas BBQ flavor for obvious reasons, but there were 3-4 flavors total. They also had a peanut butter, jelly + granola sandwich that looked good, but I wasn’t that hungry. Tons of vegan snacks as well. 

I didn’t take too many pics once I was there, I was too focused on hanging out with Jamie and Kathy and the kids. Here’s a good shot of me and Jamers kicking it at the bar (because kids are allowed in bars in Texas, apparently). He’s being a teenager and had to make a funny face of course.

He’s going to be turning 14 soon and his parents decided he’s now old enough to fly alone, so he’s coming to Denver this summer to visit his Auntie Barb! Yay! 

Here’s a shot of me with all the kids. We were trying to recreate a shot taken the night before they left CO for good, but I can’t find a copy of that one… And OMG I look old and tired in this picture but I swear it’s just because I was, well, tired. I was sharing a twin bed all weekend with Gaby and the dog, haha!

There was also lots of food! Jamie made smoked bbq tofu for me the first night, but I failed to photograph it… I did however get a shot from Sunday night dinner, which was a portabello burger (marinated in a bunch of spicy stuff and also smoked a little), along with grilled corn and boiled taters:

Earlier that day we went out for brunch. I had house-made granola and fresh berries, plus an English muffin with avocado. And two mimosas. There was also this jarred sauce on the table, some kind of green chile/tomatillo/garlic amazingness that I put all over the the avocado muffin. SO GOOD. I need to get them to mail me a bottle. 

My flight was supposed to leave fairly early on Monday (thanks again for the ride Kathy!) BUT there was insane wind in Denver so it kept getting pushed back. I didn’t mind too much though because the United Club was right by my gate, so I took the opportunity to read some more (Snowblind by Christopher Golden), eat some fruit and bagels, and drink some white wine….

And that was it. I miss them all so much, but I’m glad to be back at home snuggled in with my dogs of course!

Oh, the other thing we did that was super fun? We all huddled near the finish line while Kathy finished her third full marathon! That woman is #goals and it really made me want to start running again. Or at least work on my fitness. We’ll see!

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