Yesterday I asked where in Houston this picture was taken. It’s from Art Alley in Arts District Houston!
Where in Houston? Art Alley!
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ICE Skating at Discovery Green in Downtown
ICE skating is at Discovery Green through January 31, 2021! The rink is outdoors and open every night.
This year there is only online ticket buying and Discovery Green is enforcing capacity limitations. Also, masks are required. Get details HERE!
ICE Skating at Discovery Green Hours of Operation:
- Monday – Friday: 5-10 pm (Fridays open until 11pm)
- Saturday & HISD School Holidays (Dec. 21-31; Jan. 1-3; Jan. 18): 11 am-11 pm
- Sunday: 11 am – 8 pm
- Christmas & New Year’s Eve: 11 am-7 pm
- Christmas & New Year’s Day: 1-7 pm
Ice Skating at Discovery Green Tickets:
- Must be purchased online
- $15 admission, skate rental included
- Cheap Skate Mondays: $8, skate rental included (Mondays, Jan 4, 11 & 25)
ICE at Discovery Green Weather Delays:
- Because the ICE is outdoors, in Houston, it can close due to weather. (This usually happens if it gets too hot or if it rains.)
- Call 713.434.RINK (7465) for updates and check discoverygreen.com for closures and other delays.
Wheelchairs on the ICE:
- Non-motorized wheelchairs are allowed on the ICE.
- The wheelchair user must be accompanied by a responsible adult (but only one ticket must be purchased).
Parking:
All parking in Downtown Houston is paid parking. That said, metered street parking becomes free after 6:00pm and on Sundays. If you park on the street, be sure to check the signs before leaving your car.
There is also a parking garage under the park. The entrance is by the George R. Brown Convention Center. The rates change some but it can be expensive.
You can also find a lot of paid lots surrounding Discovery Green.
More Houston Holiday Activities:
After ICE skating at Discovery Green, walk through the park to look at the lights. Also, walk over to the George R. Brown to enjoy the fountain and the decorated trees in the windows.
For more holiday events around Houston, including lights, shows and events, go HERE!
Marriott Marquis Houston -Downtown Houston Hotel!
Look at the Marriott Marquis Houston! This is the downtown Houston hotel with the iconic Texas-shaped rooftop lazy river, complete with stunning views of downtown skyline!
We are doing school a little differently this year, so this week we packed up our books and moved our classroom to the beautiful downtown Houston hotel. It’s our way of making this messy year work for us (instead of just against us).
And what a beautiful backdrop for a classroom and stay-cation! We have wanted to see this pool for years!
Our host, Marriott Marquis Houston is located right next to Discovery Green and has six onsite dining options, the world’s largest Texas-shaped rooftop lazy river, an infinity pool, awesome fitness center and a great Houston location. Learn all about this downtown Houston hotel, HERE.
At the Marriott, the kids did their schoolwork with a view of a skyline and raced out to the pool deck. They floated down the rooftop lazy river, played giant chess and sat by the fire. It was chilly outside, but the pools are all heated to toasty 80 degrees.
Because of the great location, we were also about to walk around downtown Houston. We played at Discovery Green across the street and grabbed lunch at lunch at Phoenicia Specialty Foods.
This downtown Houston hotel is also close to Minute Maid Park, Toyota Center, BBVA Compass Stadium, George R. Brown and the downtown tunnel system. It’s also a short drive or METROrail ride to the Museum District and Hermann Park.
Right now, Marriott Marquis Houston is sticking to capacity limitations, they are requiring masks and they have handwashing stations everywhere. And it just so happens when we visited on a weekday, we practically had the place to ourselves. See their safety guidelines HERE.
If you are considering a visit Marriott Marquis Houston, here are some tips to help you plan your trip:
- The rooftop lazy river is the really very cool. It’s fun to swim in and it’s also beautiful to look at from above.
- Half of the rooms face the Texas-shaped lazy river and the other half face Minute Maid or BBVA Compass Stadium.
- If you do not have a room with a view of the pool, you can still take plenty of Insta-worthy photos from the window by the elevator.
- The rooms come with a mini-fridge and coffee maker. (We have someone with a special diet, so we are always looking for this information!)
- Paid parking is available. You can pay for valet or self park around the corner.
- You can read Marriott’s health and safety guide HERE.
- The pool deck includes the heated lazy river, heated infinity pool and hot tub. There is also a restaurant and bar and lots of lounge chairs.
- Pool towels are provided.
- There are no lifeguards on duty.
- The fitness center is great. More and more, we’ve been picking out hotels by the fitness equipment available… and this was a great hotel fitness center. It overlooks the pool and Minute Maid Park and has free weights (dumbbells up to 100lbs and Smith machine), resistance machines, cable machine, treadmills, ellipticals, bikes and stepmills. The 7,000 square-foot fitness center is open 24-hours.
- If you need a place to work for the day, Marriott Marquis Houston has a Work from Anywhere Package. From 6:00am-6:00pm on a weekday, you can have access to a room with enhanced wifi, the pools, the fitness center and spa. For this, use promotion code WRK.
- Some low overnight rates are available these days, so go HERE to search for your dates. Also, for more hotel discounts (like AAA and Veteran discounts), go HERE!
- Learn all about the downtown Houston hotel HERE.
Find more pictures below and if you go to Marriott Marquis Houston, tell us about it!
Marriott Downtown Houston Hotel:
Address: 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010
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Find more to do in Houston:
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Selena Mural near Washington Avenue!
Selena! Our last mural post had the Selena Mural in EaDo. This post has the Selena Mural near Washington Avenue in Rice Military (or the Greater Heights)!
This Selena Mural is on the side of a building, on Center Street, just off Shepherd Drive. It celebrates Selena and the iconic We Love Houston sign.
The work is by Houston artist, @soder_texas. (Be sure to visit the Instagram page to see video of it being made… and more video of it getting repaired.)
Near this mural, free street parking is available. The only tricky thing about getting here is that Shepherd is a one-way going north and Durham is a one-way going south. The mural can be found between these two streets, on Center Street.
Selena Mural near Washington Avenue:
Address: Shepherd Drive and Center Street, Houston, Texas
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Find more Houston area murals:
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Give Away: Black Bear Diner Holiday Family Meals To-Go
With the holiday season in full swing, Black Bear Diner wants to make things easier on families by offering Holiday Family Meals to-go. And I have $75 gift cards to give away!
Black Bear Diner offers a large menu selection of breakfast (all day!), lunch and dinner as well as specially priced Family Meals To Go for the whole family starting at $19.99. Family Meals include everything from Bacon, Eggs & Pancakes to Chicken Strips to Roasted Turkey Family Meal.
Enter to Win Family Meals To-Go:
I have two $75 gift cards to give away. Enter to win below (or HERE)!
UPDATE: Congratulations to Amy A and Melony B. I will email you with details!
Contest ends: Monday, December 21, 2020
Official rules: https://www.jillbjarvis.com/official-contest-rules-233/
And for holiday events around Houston, go HERE!
Lone Star Flight Museum Field Trip
In this Houston field trip, learn about aviation, fly the simulator and explore hangars full of planes at the Lone Star Flight Museum!
Look below for resources to read before your trip, details on each stop and parking/driving instructions.
Resources:
- Flight Museum Teacher Guides (Activity guides for all grade levels)
- Flight Museum Virtual Tours and Classes (Website)
- Raid of No Return (Book by Nathan Hale)
Explore the Lone Star Flight Museum:
Take the kids to the Lone Star Flight Museum!
There is an interactive STEM kids room with a lot of things to learn. It includes 27 hands-on exhibits, including hang glider live action simulators.
This Flight Academy was reviewed by a committee of middle-school science teachers for content and connections to principles included in TEKS benchmarks. Also, the exhibits were reviewed by a committee of pilots for accuracy of aeronautical content.
There are also hangars full of planes, many of which are in good working order. Our favorite is the Doolittle Raider replica we knew about from the affiliate Hazardous Tales series!
Also, kids over 10 can fly the simulators in the Aviation Learning Center. And teens that are 12-17 years old can fly (really, fly) in the T-41 Mescalero if accompanies by a legal guardian.
Learn more about the museum HERE. And even if you can’t go in person, you can still take virtual tours and classes HERE!
Drive/Park at Museum:
The museum is in south Houston, at Ellington Field. Once you are there, free parking is available in the big parking lot.
The Lone Star Flight Museum:
Address: 11551 Aerospace Ave, Houston, TX 77034
Find More Houston Field Trips:
Where in Houston? Center Street and Durham Drive!
Yesterday I asked where in Houston this picture was taken. It’s on Center Street, between Durham Drive and Shepherd Drive!
Selena Mural… Just East of Downtown Houston
Just look at this new Selena mural in EaDo Houston… made for the new Netflix show, Selena: The Series! It is by Artists Sylvia “Donkeemom” Roman and Alex “Donkeeboy” Roman Jr.
Articles about the Selena mural say it is just up for a short time, but I hope it doesn’t go away as soon as December 13 (like the posts say). We’ll take another drive by soon… but tell us if you find it!
This Selena mural is very close to the Houston Graffiti Building and the art surrounding 8th Wonder (including Donkeemom’s well known astronaut).
Polk has a lot of construction right now, so it might be best to park in the metered spots by 8th Wonder and then walk to the other murals.
If you are looking for some of the coolest Houston merchandise around, head over to the Donkeeshop. Here you can find prints, shirts, masks and stickers by the artists. (I want the pink astronaut sticker!)
So… go see the new Selena Mural and let me know that it’s still up. And even if it’s not, go to the Houston Graffiti Building and 8th Wonder for lots more art. (And if you’ve seen the new Netflix series, tell us about that too.)
Selena Mural:
Address: 2101 Polk Street, Houston, Texas
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Find more Houston area murals:
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Sugar Land Holiday Lights is Magical!
Sugar Land Holiday Lights is open and it’s magical!
Constellation Field has more than 3 million lights and many themed displays. At Sugar Land Lights, you can also get your picture taken with Santa, shop with some local vendors, play lawn games, visit the carnival, play at the playground and more.Â
Sugar Land Holiday Lights is open through the new year and has different events and themes each night. Check the calendar for movie nights, parades and more.
Our Visit to Sugar Land Holiday Lights:
We went on movie night and watched Elf on the giant outdoor screen and toured the lights… but our very favorite parts were the cake pops, the playground and the light maze!
We missed Santa, but my four year old let me know he wasn’t the real one anyway. (If you want to verify for yourself, he’s behind a plexiglass snow globe for safety.)
The stadium is large and we were never too close to other families while were there. Masks are required and our temperature was taken at the gate.
We only had about an hour to spend at the lights… which is plenty of time to walk through… but it would have been fun to enjoy the venue for longer. It’s magical to play on the playground, make s’mores and watch a movie with the lights twinkling all around you.
Also, if you go to the Sugar Land Lights, be sure to stop by Posh Pastries. The cupcakes, breads and cookies were delicious… and reasonably priced considering we were at a stadium light show. (The cake pop was $2… which I appreciated since I buy in bulk.)
Go HERE to learn more about the Sugar Land Holiday Lights. Or go HERE,  to see what else is happening in Sugar Land. And go HERE to find more Houston holiday lights, shows and festivals!
Sugar Land Holiday Lights:
Address: Constellation Field, 1 Stadium Dr, Sugar Land, TX 77498
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Find more Houston holiday lights, festivals and shows, HERE!
East River Mural
Look at the East River Mural! It is by Artist David Maldonado and it features the bayou, bluebonnets, beehives and a space city astronaut. It was inspired by the surrounding Historic Fifth Ward and East End neighborhoods.
Learn more about the East River Mural, HERE.
The mural is large, covering six stacked shipping containers. You can find it easily from Clinton Drive or Jensen Drive… and you can find free parking on Clinton Drive.
We went in the afternoon and had no trouble parking or walking over to the shipping containers. There is a lot of new development happening in the area, so the parking signs could change as people move it. (So just check the signs!)
The mural is set back from the street, so you are away from car traffic. There is not a ton of foot traffic, so just be aware of your surroundings (like I say about everywhere in Houston).
East River is just east of Downtown and might just be one of the funkiest parts of town. Once you are at the mural, you can easily drive by David Adickes Studio (with lots of giant president heads) or St. Arnold’s Brewery (with root beer, food… and beer).
Look at more pictures below and learn more about the East River Mural, HERE. To see more Houston area murals, go HERE!
East River Mural:
Address: Clinton Dr @, Jensen Dr, Houston, TX 77020
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More Houston Murals:
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