Angelia @ Ihop Houston, TX

May 13th, 2009

While we were in Houston we went to eat at Ihop (a first for me) before going to Ross. We were waited on by Angelia who we liked right away because she had a happy and energetic attitude. She made sure to get our food quickly and didn’t mess up the order, which is more than I can say for some places I have been to.

Angelia allowed us to do a short video with her, but after contacting Ihop’s corporate & advertising offices, they said they could not allow me to use it, because it talks about Ihop.

When I have time I will try to figure out how to get some pictures from the video to post as well. So keep checking back!

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Slick Willies, Houston Texas

May 4th, 2009

While taking a break from the Downtown Aquarium we went walking some. After stopping into the Hard Rock Cafe right down the street, we noticed a sign that said Pizza (straight down and to the right from the Hard Rock Cafe). We went up to have some Pizza at Slick Willies, I have to say it was some good pizza!

With our pizza mom had the class bottle of Bud Light, and I had myself a Dr Pepper, that is until I found out they had Everclear 151 (it’s illegal to sell Everclear 191 at a bar in Texas). Thing was, I had the 191 before, never the 151, had to try it!

I sipped it first to see the difference in taste, then the guy at the end of the counter said if it was the 151 you don’t sip you down it (I knew this of course). Few seconds later I down it without a problem, same guy goes “I’m an alcoholic, but even I can’t do that”. I found that to quite funny.

I didn’t get any pictures, but they have many pool tables in there, several dart boards, and a few other games as well. They were nice, we left after playing some darts and continued our Downtown Houston walk. Up next, the J.P Morgan building with 75 floors (was told it was the tallest building in Houston).

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Clarissa Make-up lady in Houston, TX

May 1st, 2009

One day of the trip we were out and stopped in a beauty store (Ok, so I was being shown what Sinus beads were), when we got there my mom seen they had those areas to test product on people. She goes over and asks “can you do anything with me?”, that is when Clarissa started going to work.

As you can see in the video below how she does, and she’s comfortable to talk to while getting the make-over as well. If you are in the Houston, TX area and would like to set up an appointment with Clarissa, you can contact her for a consultation over the phone by calling 281-903-6422.


Mom’s Make-over



My before/After pictures. [Click to enlarge]


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Hard Rock Cafe by Downtown Aquarium Houston, TX

April 30th, 2009

Spent part of the day at the downtown Aquarium in Houston, Tx during my five day visit. Taking a break we walked downtown some, stopping in several places, including the Hard Rock Cafe.

We had never been into a Hard Rock Cafe and was curious. The host’s were polite and allowed us to go around and take pictures of the things on the wall, and on the way out they even allowed us to take a picture of them!

Up next, Mom’s make over.


Kyle (left), Liz (mom, middle) Marco (Right), Peace guys! Marco says: Tell people I'm the cute one.

Kyle (left), Liz (mom, middle) Marco (Right), Peace guys! Marco says: Tell people I'm the cute one.




Click here for Hard Rock Cafe Picture Gallery (Downtown Houston, TX)

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Hotel Derek Houston

April 30th, 2009

First impression: The check-in

When first entering Hotel Derek the lobby was nice. There were people around, but not really crowded as reviews I had read made it out to be. We where taken to check in by a friend here, and we found that they do not have a visitor parking section at all, they too would need to valet park ($20/day). Not that I like the $20 a day for hotel guests, specially as we have spent so much on a room already, but why would I expect someone else to pay $20 to come visit me? So she parked in the parking lot across the street while we checked in.

As we checked in, they were nice enough, however, the guy behind the counter said our reservations for a room with two beds was not available. We explained to him we had called two weeks prior and they had said it would not be a problem. He got on the phone and quickly got things settled and got us a room with two double beds.

First impression: The room

After checking in we walked up to look at the room real quick. It appeared nice and clean, and a view of downtown Houston. With a bit of a closer look we noticed a price list for the items in the fridge, which all seemed high priced, again specially after cost of room. Example of prices would be $6.00 for a 1 litter bottle of Fiji water, or $3.00 for a bottle of Orange Juice.

As we where leaving we asked if they had a room with a view of the Galleria instead, and the guy behind the counter at that time said that they should have one available tomorrow (day 2)

Overall impression:

My overall impression in short, if I could afford it when I go again, I’d stay there again. Everyone I talked to from valet to behind the counter, and concierge was helpful and nice. The lobby did get crowded several times during the stay, but it didn’t bother me, was event type things. I think one was a wedding theme event by the looks of it.

The first night our reservations got messed up, but quickly fixed, the next day they did managed to get us a room with a view on the Galleria as we asked the first night. Did not order room service or really take advantage of things as I was rarely there anyway.

Location:

2525 West Loop South ยท Houston, Texas 77027
Right off I-610

  • About one block from the Galleria.
  • Directly across the street was a nice Italian restaurant: Grotto
    Owned by:

    Managed by: Shaw Edwards

    General Manager: Hans Shmit

    Size: 314 rooms

    Pet Policy:

    For an extra $50 per stay (not per night), a person can bring their pets, long as they are under 50lbs.

    Language:

    Hotel Derek can translate several languages, including, but not limited to Spanish, German, Russian, Arabic.

    Lobby area:

    I don’t know what the scent was, but I liked it. I forgot to ask what scent it was when I was there.

    Bathroom:

    It was clean, big enough sink, I liked the glass counters as well. The shower was great, high power, and adjustable as well. The main thing about the bathroom was the door. It’s one of those sliding doors, you slide it closed and there’s like half an inch gap between it and the wall. Also no lock on the door.

    It may have been the biggest negative thing I found about the room though.

    Connectivity:

    The internet connection is good so far, a steady 48.0mbps connection speed. They did not mention the user/pass was on the card-key case so I called to get the information. It was not a problem.

    Cleanliness:

    So far I have not found anything wrong with the cleanliness of the room, or the hotel for the most part. The only thing (so far) was a plastic glass with something in it by our door when we returned.

    Amenities:

    outdoor pool
    24/7 fitness center
    Spa treatment suite
    Complimentary overnight shoe shine
    In-house clothes pressing
    Valet and guest laundry
    Twice-daily maid service
    Concierge services
    Pet-friendly accommodations

    Note: Valet is the only parking option. Not only for hotel guests, but for those who visit them as well.

    Pool:

    I didn’t really use the pool, a friend and I attempted, but it was way to cold. I would think a hotel like Hotel Derek would have a heated pool.

    Fitness center:

    Cleaning service:

    We did not use this service. We have had things stolen before, and did not take the chance this time. We kept the sleeping sign on the door when we left, and took it off when we got in.

    However, I did see carts up and down the hall in the mornings for room cleaning, and they clean the rooms twice a day.

    Food and restaurants:

    Tried the restaurant in the hotel, and it was good. Was the only ones in there at the time, but appeared to be plenty of seating in case it got busy.

    Conference facilities:

    Hotel Derek has several facilities for business meetings. During my stay I also seen some meetings going on in the lobby, maybe they liked the atmosphere?

    Length of stay: Five Nights

    Date of review: April 2009

    Would you stay there again?

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Crater of Diamond State Park (Murfreesboro, AR)

April 16th, 2009

I spoke of this place in an earlier post, but as I am going to be leaving for a diamond search next week I thought I would update with another video of the place.

Come next week I should have some videos of my own I can upload and show. Maybe our experience their will yield a $9,000 diamond like in this video!



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Arkansas Tourism Video Advertisement

March 31st, 2009

Found another travel video on YouTube worth posting, it’s what appears to be a TV ad on Arkansas tourism. Since Arkansas is where I live, I found the video interesting as I had never seen it before. In fact, I’ll have to do some research on some of the things I seen in this video as right off I do not know where they are located. Advertisement

However, I have been told that Hot Springs, AR is where the horse track/racing is located.

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