Going Back To Houston Houston Houston - Houston We Have A Problem

Rice University

The Houston Astrodome
8th Wonder of the World

What are you doing in Houston for 5 day in February? Lulu has to be in Tallahassee on Thursdays to teach an in-person grad class. So we have designed a series of "5 day weekends." First was Kansas City - then Sarasota - now Houston. 

We left Tallahassee at 6 AM on Friday. Our Delta flight took us to Atlanta - and had us at our Airbnb in downtown Houston at 11 AM. We have a lovely little condo with living room - kitchen - bedroom - bath. It is a second floor walkup. We have it for 5 days for $402 that includes all fees and taxes. We took an Uber from the Houston Hobby Airport to our little home. We had lunch at El Rey's just down the street - a Cuban/ Mexican Place.

RICE UNIVERSITY

Next we took an Uber to Rice University. 28 years ago - my son and I took a college visitor tour to Rice in Houston and Tulane in New Orleans. 

Rice is sometimes called the Harvard of Texas. At the time in 1994 - Rice only had 2500 students - it was the smallest Division I school in America. Their endowment per student was more than Harvard's. William Rice died and left his fortune to building a co-education college in Houston. He made his fortune as a land owner - railroad owner - and cotton producer. For 50 years - if you were accepted - you paid no tuition. At the time we visited in 1994 - the full cost of a year was $16,000 - compared to $35,000 for Duke. They covered all of a student's need. They also agreed to keep that price until you graduated. 

The Rice Campus is one of the prettiest in America. Many buildings are Byzantine in nature. 

A donor gave a stadium that held 70,000 people. They also brag that a student has plenty of parking space - each student can bring 8 cars! Then they figured out - even if every graduate came to a game - in its entire history - that would not fill the stadium. John Kennedy gave the famous speech - "why does Rice play Texas - we wish to go to the moon because it is hard." The stadium is so big - they had Super Bowl VIII here. 

Next we took the trolley to downtown. We wanted to get ticket to see a show. Downtown next to City Hall is the theater district. We got ticket to see - South Pacific - for Saturday at 2 PM. they were not cheap - but we wanted to see a show and be down close. $135. 

THE ASTRODOME

Downtown is the Astrodome. This was the first football/baseball stadium built for MBL/NFL/NBA. It was built to house the Houston Colt 45s - Houston Oilers - Houston Rockets in 1962. At first they put Bermuda grass in it but that failed. They then invented Astroturf for the Astrodome - and changed the baseball team to the Astros. 

Richie Allen hit the first official home run there. 

The Game of the Century pitted Houston against UCLA in college basketball. UCLA was on a 60 game winning streak and lost by 2. 

Billie Jean King played Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sex's in Texas. She won. 

It hosted concerts by Elvis - The Rolling Stones - even Selena filled it. 

During the Katrina Hurricane - they brought refugees from New Orleans to live in it. 

The stadium became antiquated - they tried to pass a bond issues to renovate it - they were voted down. In 2008 - it was condemned. People want to keep it but do not want to pay to fix it. So it sits on the National Historic Register. It is an eyesore. 

We were tired by 5:00 pm - because it was 6:00 pm back at home. We took a trolley west toward our condo. It was about 3 miles. About halfway we saw a HEB Super Store. We stopped and bought 3 bags of groceries. Using our $3 all day trolley and bus pass - we took the last leg home. 

1 day gone and 4 to go. As I type here at 9 am - my tour guide is in the shower warming up for a full day. 

Friday is was sunny and 70s. Today it is 50's with a 70% chance of rain - it is heavily overcast. It is a good day for the theater. 

Downtown Houston 
2.3 million people

Rice has a sense of humor

Kennedy said -
We wish to go to the moon - here

Super Bowl 8 was here

Campus Theater

Nancy Theater

William Rice - benefactor

Trolley $3 a day

We will see - South Pacific - here at 2 pm today

Today - I Drove A Hyundai Ioniq 5 - Fully Electric Car

 

My red Tesla next to the gray Hyundai

The Hyundai is much taller - more roomy. 

The Hyundai is a hatchback

EDITORS NOTE - Alan Hanstein reminded me - the Hyundai is eligible for a $7500 federal tax credit. Tesla do not get this tax credit anymore because they sold over the limit. That tax credit would make the Hyundai less expensive for the buyer. Harry. 

Today I got an email from Werner Hyundai. I had told them at one time I was interested in their electric car. They had gotten a few in and asked if I would like to drive one. I emailed back saying - sure. We made an appointment for 1 PM. When I got there - I could not see any different looking cars in the lot. I went into the showroom - and one was on display. It is a very nice looking car - but more like a small SUV than a sports car. The salesperson - Daniela Reina - said they had two more in the back - and she would get one prepared for a demonstration ride. 

The three cars they had were light gray - dark gray - and white. Two of them were in mid-trim level - the white one was limited trim - which meant a sun roof and more gadgets. I drove the light gray one. I will compare this car to my Tesla Model 3 Long Range - although the Hyundai felt bigger and taller more like the Tesla Model Y. The Ioniq was taller and easier to get into and out of. There was no stepping down - you easily slid in. Those were two features I like over my Tesla Model 3. It also had a softer ride than my Tesla - which has a tighter sports car suspension - like a BMW. Those are features old folks like. The seats are very comfortable and luxurious. It is a hatchback so you could put the back seats down and sleep there for short periods - not overnight. 

The specifications you use for comparison are range and power - and of course - price. The Hyundai would be $60,000 out the door with tax and tag. The Hyundai has 225 horsepower and rear wheel drive. Its range is 303 miles. 

Comparing apples to apples - My Tesla Model 3 LR - cost $56,000 out the door. My car has 450 horsepower! My Tesla range is 353 miles. My Tesla has two motors and all wheel drive. 

The interiors are very different. Inside the Hyundai - it is more like a convention car with two separate screens - and controls and buttons all over the place. The Tesla is more spartan - almost all the controls are on one big screen in the middle. The Tesla dash is pretty bare. I did not go over all the different tech things. Both have auto pilot. I am used to the Tesla big screen - so now I like that. I could get used to the Hyundai way. Both cars are very quiet inside.

One of the main reason I bought a Tesla is they have their own supercharger network. Those chargers are exclusive to Tesla and they are all over the place. We use them on long trips. Both cars cost about 3 cents a mile of electricity when charged at home. The first 1000 miles on a Tesla Supercharger are free. After that you are billed on your Tesla bill - over the Internet. Hyundai gives you 2 years of free charging - I do not know what chargers you can use - not the Tesla chargers. In the future - there will be more and more places to charge. but the Tesla chargers are a big plus. 

Both cars can be charged at home with a 110 volt AC plug or a 220 volt AC dryer type plug. The cheapest place to charge is at home - about 10 cents a KWH.  

One major difference - if you want a Tesla like mine - it is a 7 month wait now. You can buy the Hyundai right off the showroom floor. 

 

Note the Hyundai 225 HP engine

With tax the Hyundai jumps above $60k

The Tesla has a trunk - the Hyundai is a hatchback. 

Hyundai is much taller and roomier.

Both have nice fancy wheels and tires.

The front is a matter of taste. 

Hyundai is 114 eMPG. That means it get
114 mile to an equivalent amount of electric

Hyundai made in South Korea - Tesla - in California.

Free two years of service

Showroom Hyundai

Controls on wheel

AC control like regular car.

Two separate screens 

Screen with charging on.

the 4 dots on the steering wheel are Morris Code for H. 

WINTER WEEKEND TESLA TRIP - Saturday Jay Leno - Sunday Tom Brady - Monday Marjorie Rawlings

Jay Leno in Sarasota

Raymond James Stadium in Tampa

Marjorie Rawlings Home in Cross Creek

On Friday - Lulu and I decided to take the Tesla for a long trip. We heard Jay Leno was doing a stage act in Sarasota - we decided to get a hotel in Tampa - maybe see the Philadelphia Eagles in a playoff game. 

Saturday morning I woke up with a sore throat. I did not have a fever - but I feared covid. Some say we are all going get covid - even those with 3 vaccines - I figured it was my turn. We went over to FAMU campus and got covid tests. If we had it - we stay home - if we didn't we would drive. 

At 10 AM we got our test results - negative. We went right on the road. We decided to take the back country road way to Tampa. Our Tesla had a full battery - 350 miles worth. We knew there was a Tesla Supercharger in Crystal River. So we enjoyed a quiet 150 mile trip through Florida nature country. At Crystal River we stumbled onto the Manatee Festival. This little coastal town is famous for the lumbering mammals. As our car charged at the WaWa Market we had lunch. Then we walked among the vendors in this cute little coastal community. 

At 3 PM - we pulled into our Hilton Homewood Suite near the Tampa Airport and Raymond James Stadium. We took a little rest - and watched FSU beat Syracuse on TV - in the Carrier Dome. 

At 6 PM - we drove to Sarasota where Jay Leno was playing the Van Wezel Theater. We wanted to find a place for supper but the theater was in a nice neighborhood with few if any places to eat. We went into the theater - after they checked our covid cards. Lulu was hungry. She went downstairs to see a dining area with a lot of old people having supper. We walked up to the waiter and asked what the deal was. He said it was a dinner and show deal. It had a really nice spread including prime rib. He gave Lulu a wink and said - you look hungry. We had a nice supper - and no one asked for payment. We went upstairs and sat in our seats just in time for the show - 8 PM. Maybe our tickets included dinner :-)

Jay Leno is a favorite of mine. I liked watching him on TV at night - but I like even better his talks about automobiles. Jay has a car collection worth over $50 million. He knows everything about the cars. Go to YouTube and look him up. He is very entertaining. Jay did 90 minutes of stand up comedy. He kept going and I never saw him use notes. He never sat down. 

After that we drove back to the hotel for a nice sleep. 

In the morning - we had a nice breakfast. We decided to leave the Tesla in our covered hotel garage - free parking - and took the local bus to the stadium. It was $2 - the distance was about 2 miles. We could have walked but we are grayheads - we save our energy. 

At the stadium we enjoyed the fans carrying on. I was surprised how many Eagles fans made the trip. Scalpers had tickets but the prices were really high. About 20 minutes before kickoff - a nice young couple offered us two club tickets for $100 each. The tickets had a face value of $400. It included inside bar and seating if you wanted it. 

The stadium was packed. Tampa Bay was killing the Eagles. Temperature was around 70 - but it was very windy. It even had a cold rain for a few minutes. We brought raincoats. We had a light lunch there in the club room. Since it was such a beating - the Bucs fans were very happy - singing - etc. 

Tom Brady - considered an old man - was excellent. I must remember he is as old as my sons. 

After the game - we took a bus to Grimaldi's for pizza at the mall. Its was a nice place - but they burnt our pizza. They brought a new one for free. We ate and drank - enjoying other fans. 

Finally - we called an Uber to take us back to our hotel. To our surprise - the Uber was a Tesla just like ours - but black. The driver rents the Tesla from Hertz for $420 a week - he earns enough to pay for the car and for himself. He has ordered a Tesla for himself. He seemed happy. 

Monday morning - we packed and drove north on I-75. Lulu had a mall she wanted to visit. The we drove to Cross Creek - FL - to the former home of Marjorie Rawlings. It is out in the sticks. 

Marjorie Rawlings - is a Pulitzer Prize winning author. She wrote "The Yearling" among many other short stories and books. Her main subject matter was Florida Crackers - these people were poor whites that lived off the scrub lands of Central and Northen Florida. She bought this orange farm and ranch around 1928 and lived there until she died 1953. She raised crops and animals - and also hire locals to tend her property. She also wrote about them. She was originally from Wisconsin and later New York - but she loved the wilderness. 

It was getting late - and the Tesla GPS said we would be home by 7 PM. Beside how quiet and smooth the Tesla is - we really like the autopilot. Once on the divided highways - you can put the autopilot on - and it steers itself. It stays between the lines like I never could. Flawlessly. It asks you to keep you hands on the steering wheel - but it steers with or without you. Both Lulu and I agree - it makes us better drivers. It corrects your tendencies. We could have made it all the way home - but we do not like to drain the battery down low. At 100 miles left - I like to fill her up. It gave us a chance to pee and grab an Arby's for supper. 7 PM - we were in our garage. 

What a nice 3 days. We like Leno - we enjoyed seeing an NFL playoff game - and the Rawling farm was really neat. Lulu plans a nice weekend. Our next big trip is to Houston in February. 

Lulu's turn at the wheel

See our red car charging out back

Our Hilton Homewood Suite at Tampa Airport

Van Wexel Theater in Sarasota

Leno was very funny - not too blue

Catching the bus to the stadium

Looking for tickets

We got ticket for the stadium club

While Lulu shopped - I charged the car

The rest fo the tickets are Marjorie Rawlings place