As I mentioned here, John and I planned a trip to Houston to capture the skyline and visit the incredible store that carries our work, Space Montrose!
Our trip was at the very end of July and we were only there for two days...
Day 1:
^ Views from our hotel room!
After we took a cab from the airport to our hotel, got change for the cab from a billionaire lawyer named Joe Jamail (I had to google him...he's the wealthiest practicing attorney in America!), and checked into our room, we gathered our suitcase full of stone coasters and set out to find Space Montrose!
^ This is Leila, owner of Space Montrose! She's so freaking sweet.
This store is amazing.
^ We're now proud owners of Montrose shirts :-)
I think the ceiling is my favorite detail of this space.
^ Good thing we showed up with more coasters, they were nearly sold out!
Our next stop was Torchy's Tacos! We had Torchy's once before when we were in Austin for a music festival a few years back and LOVED it. So when I discovered they were also in Houston, there was no question we'd be finding our way there. Thankfully it wasn't too far of a walk from Space Montrose.
We got to the restaurant right before an awesome thunderstorm. Perfect timing.
Their queso is hands down THE best. I'm not exaggerating when I say I've thought about it almost every day since this day. I don't care if that's sad...it's damn good.
^ The lady accidentally rung us up for "Street Corn", what a delicious happy accident.
After our rainy walk and a strange bus ride, we went back to our hotel and passed out for an hour. It had been a long couple days leading up to this trip and a very early flight that morning so the nap was much needed.
After some hotel margaritas (a wonderful post-nap beverage), we headed back out into the city in search for the best skyline shot...
^ John's model pose.
^ Turns out the billionaire lawyer I encountered earlier that day owns the skate park!
We were still a bit full from Torchy's Tacos, but we decided to grab dinner at The Flying Saucer because their beer selection was unreal.
Day 2:
^ Free upgrade to the hotel breakfast buffet. It pays to be kind to the waitstaff ;-)
I enjoy hotel mirror shots in front of the elevator. And John tolerates them ;-)
We ate lunch at Bombay Pizza. Yum.
^ John's fisheye shots are excellent.
^ Leila & her husband Carlos (the other half of Space Montrose) picked us up and took us to dinner here! I was so caught up in the moment that I didn't get a group photo of the four of us. I'm pretty sad about it!
This place was too cool, it's actually just a shipping container with a big backyard filled with picnic tables. They have all these wild game hot dogs on pretzel buns, burgers, and gourmet toppings plus a whole wall of beer taps. John ordered the venison hot dog, I got the lamb hot dog, and Carlos & Leila got the veggie burgers. It was delicious.
Carlos & Leila then drove us around the city, our own personal photography tour! These people were so incredibly nice, really makes me wish NJ & Texas weren't so far from each other. We're so honored to be doing business with them. And I can't say enough how beautiful their store is, well done guys!
^ A security officer saw John and I photographing this sushi restaurant and offered to take us on the roof to get a better shot. Once we got up there, John's camera lens wouldn't fit through the bar rails so he had to take his lens off, maneuver his camera through, and then attach his lens, all while hanging off the roof. It was impressive.
^ Some of our Houston photos will be made into coasters and sold at Space Montrose.
Our flight back home was also an early one. We went to bed sometime after midnight and had our alarms set for 3:30 am.
I don't think we could have squeezed any more productivity and fun into those two days. We wish we could have stayed longer, we even contemplated for a quick second about changing our flights to give us another day, but John and I got the Houston skyline (they'll soon be listed in our shop!) and made some new friends so all in all it was a complete success!
Very cool! Shits and Giggles!!
Posted by: James | 08/24/2014 at 11:26 AM