in the stratosphere.
a little over one & half a year ago a stranger began talking to me on the social media website tumblr, a musician/artist/freespirit that would turn out to be a man who would slowly steal my heart & be the most important reason for why i would make my way to america. i never thought i'd ever set foot onto the soil of the united states, even though i always dreamed of seeing some places on this contintent. mostly i was dreaming on seeing places like the pacific northwest for example, northern california or the east coast states of new england with their wild atlantic coastlines & the indian summer forests. never had i envisioned i would end up in the mexican golf coast region, namely greater houston, specifically a town called baytown. this region was never on my radar before, as it is not exactly a region that most people would recommend highly when it came to touristic travelling! baytown lies within galveston bay, one of the biggest bays in texas, & it is one that is heavily covered with petrochemical refineries on its shorelines. you can see the steel scaffoldings everywhere you look & you won't really be able to forget that you are in the middle of a huge industrial complex. but, within all that, i have found that there were many wonderful places, too, places that shone bright with natural beauty, places that were absolutely worth visiting & travelling to! & i guess, through the lens of love even the most destitute or boring places will probably have a positive impact on you, & i sure know that i sound super fucking corny right now, but i found it to be true!
getting to know the magician ( for the more curious people - there will be more on him later ;P ) opened up a completely new world to me, the strange country that is america. even though i only saw a tiny part of it, & even that tiny part was even tinier than what the state of texas truly has to offer, it all impressed me deeply, sometimes to the extent of being a little overwhelming ( but in a way, that makes it even more treasurable to me! ) as it should probably do, because if it didn't, how are you supposed to know that you're in a complete different part of the world getting to know a different culture? if you don't feel anything, have you really travelled? it should do something to you, expand your brain, make you uncomfortable, get you out of your skin & mind. only then you will notice how it all changes you, your perspectives & views & maybe lays a path to finding yourself, or consolidate what your next steps in life might be to make it more wholesome to you. travelling to new unchartered places on this world map opens your synapses for a wider understanding of life, that's what i truly believe.
when it comes down to it though, one could say that my motivation to visit america was not stemming from a desire to explore the country, but from the desire to meet up with the man i fell in love with. & that brought me to a place in late september & most of october of 2022 that many wouldn't think of when they thought about the united states! let's explore galveston bay & the greater houston area & look forward to even more adventures in the upcoming future, as i will try to change up the blog content a bit & stray a little from the year 2020.
flying over oceans and new continents is fairly uncommon for me, i only had been flying once before in my life & that was just a 2 hour trip to london. the 11 hours that i flew from europe to america were a total different experience, though i had no trouble with being in the air at all, but just the moments spent on the airport themselves ( hello to skipping the check-in of my suitcase & forgetting to take out swiss knives 🙈) . the flight was an easy breeze though, i watched movies, looked out the window dreamily, maybe even slept a few minutes & really had no serious turbulences or other mishaps. the excitement of meeting the magician was the most pressing emotion during the whole trip, and that excitement was no understatement! it was exhilarating, and anxiety-inducing, but i went into it reminding myself all the time that all would be well, and we would finally unite, after getting to know each other for such a long time within such a great distance. i knew it would be good though going in, because i have rarely felt so sure about anything or anybody in a long time. and when i touched down in houston, though the first moments were kind of awkward, we quickly overcame that and connected naturally, as we had already done via countless video calls & chats before. it was a continuation of what had already transpired before and being able to finally connect in person was just the cherry on top of whatever dessert you prefer 😍 okay, okay, i'll stop the corny business now, i don't want this post to drip with too much romantic business 😂 you'll notice these kinda things anyway as i progress with these recounts 😙
this is jenkins park at night, a park that we frequented often ( especially during the night as it was a little less hot then ). we had some interesting experiences in this park, namely meeting a little ghost cat, but also encountering many turtles, curious beetles ( & gazillions of mosquitos 😱 ), herons & one time i think we even saw america's top number one bird, a bald eagle! i loved visiting this little park, definitely would recommend it to any baytown traveller! i was often also on the lookout for alligators, i am sure they hang out sometimes in the bayou ditches 🐊 i never saw any, though 😢
the first thing i noticed when i touched down in houston & went outside was the heat & humidity. we had late september & there were temperatures that reminded me of high summer season in august! also, when you think that german summer is humid, you haven't been to the south of the US, 'cause that shit was another level. thankfully, the temperatures would slowly drop a little the next coming week and the humidity would fade, but those first few days were oppressing. i had some trouble adjusting to those temperatures, and together with the jet leg headaches were abundant the first couple of days. it did change eventually, though, but temperatures barely went below 30 c & the sun kept shining, shining, shining for three weeks straight! it was a prolonged summer for me, that's for sure 😂
on our first real outing in baytown we stopped by roseland park, where the cedar bayou is passing by. bayous are slow-moving bodies of water often found in the southern states ( mainly louisiana, texas, florida - the golf coast essentially ). often they reminded me of swamps more than of streams or rivers, & in a sense they probably are, especially since the waters are very stagnant & brackish. they can often be abandoned channels of bigger rivers or creeks, but are also connected to the gulf. because of that, tidal movements are noticeable and communities in this area are on high risk for storm floods. there's been a few hurricanes in the past that have destroyed neighborhoods & communities by flooding them, making this part of the coast objective to constant change. & the architecture often shows that, as many houses are built on stilts, something that i will get into later on ( it's something that i completely fell in love with & now totally associate with gulf coast architecture! ).
view on richardson marina. we only stopped for a short time here in roseland park, there wasn't much to see & barely some shade. so we decided to move on quickly & check out a different part of town.
but not without marvelling a little closer at the palm trees everywhere, sporting some bright orange fruit! i think this specific palm tree was a date palm, the orange fruit giving it away. i think they're even edible! now i wanna return & try them 😋
our next stop led us to some possible alligator living grounds: the bay area park close to armand bayou nature center. while the prospect of spotting an alligator really excited me, i also sort of wished i would not come upon one up close 😅 and i never did. which then made me sad again, because how cool would it have been if we had encountered one anyway?
there were some boardwalks to explore and get better views of the armand bayou, which i loved, 'cause it led you over the water, too and you could try to look for wildlife. i don't know if it was just simply to warm that day, but we weren't detecting anything other than water & plants. the views over the bayou were beautiful, though!
first peaks of the bayou. all of the plant growth seen here was growing out of the water, the boardwalk kept us dry while walking over it.
with american flora i am not quite well acquainted with, so please bear with me when i might be wrong about identifying plants. i think this might be goldenrod, a plant that is also known in europe ( though it is an invasive species there ). they're actually often used for medicinal purposes, but i read the flowers and leaves are great for teas.
all swampy-looking - armand bayou. the bayou was formerly called 'middle bayou' and is one of three bigger bayous that empty into clear lake. clear lake is actually much closer to houston than to baytown, though, with houston being such a metropolitan city, all communities around it kind of merge into each other and it always felt a bit like the towns were one big city anyway. even baytown didn't quite feel like a place on its own for me, but rather like a district of houston. which might be quite an egregious thing to say, so maybe i should shut my trap 😂
nice & still, barely a movement on the water. it was a tranquil place for sure!
the boardwalk over the bayou. it did feel quite tropical to me, especially with the humid temperatures and the very green plants everywhere. in germany, nature was about to shine in golden & red, on the cusp of losing summer leaves, here in texas the palm trees & water plants did nothing of that & exuded an exotic air.
the armand bayou nature center is one of the largest urban wilderness preserves in the US, & it's offering some hiking trails, an environmental learning center, and plenty of activities like kayak cruises, night walks, or workshops for photography. it sounded quite cool to me, maybe i get to check it out one day when i return to the area!
a little introduction on the magician - his name's darius greene and you might want to check out his music & art, which encompasses & explores all kinds of sujets & themes. i don't want to gush too much about him, since i am a tiny bit biased, but i do enjoy his work quite a lot and it was what made me check him out more thoroughly as well 😎😘 i wanted to know more about the person behind the versatile music, the personality that created such a wild mix of musical spheres & fantastical sceneries. turned out that the person behind it all was equally fascinating & one of those kind souls with big hearts that are so rare these days, with an all-encompassing curiousity towards a myriad of things, something that also is close to my heart. in the past i often was a bit cautious of too grand feelings, as i have been disappointed a few times & took it out hard on me, but with him i finally dare to feel them again & have started to envision a joint future 💖 everything just feels comfortable with him, a growing relationship that doesn't feel rushed & pressured, but develops organically. sure, the big distance between us can be frustrating at times, but i personally think it also might strengthen our relationship in ways. it is an obstacle, though, that we can overcome & are planning to. i don't know yet exactly what that might look like, but options are laid out & looked at closely. for now, i can't wait to get him from the airport this upcoming april, to explore some more together & taking on the quest of figuring out a life together 💑
blackbirds in texas are totally different from european blackbirds! this is basically the only good image i took of these fascinating metallic blue birds that sounds equally metallic as they look! i hear there are 5 blackbird species found in texas, but this one was the what i kept seeing: the great-tailed grackle. it's said that these birds are widely intelligent, they can even solve puzzles that crows and ravens can solve, and have memory thinking!
short stop at clear lake. it is a densely populated lake with several communities surrounding it. we often visted the community of seabrook, a small town that also is connected to galveston bay. this shot was taken close to seabrook on a parking lot near the taylor lake village.
my very first tacos were from torchy's tacos - in the baybrook restaurant in houston. i had a baja shrimp taco that was pretty hefty in spices, i certainly couldn't do the accompanying sauces 😂 it was still delicious on its own, though i would try maybe a less spicy one next time around. tacos would turn out to be my most consumed meal during my time in texas, i would kind of call it one of texas' national dishes. i especially loved the breakfast tacos darius often made for us, ingredients involved lots of love, which made it taste even better 😍 ( yes, i know i am sappy )
a common sight in the galveston bay: petroleum refineries. the land in the bay consists mostly of sand and clays that go very deep & were layered upon each other & enriched with plant & animal matter that was washed down by the rivers feeding the bay. that, over time & millenia, created rich petroleum deposits which are now being extracted from the earth, making galveston bay one of the most important petroleum providers in america. this is only a small snippet of the many refineries dotting the lands around here, creating some sort of a hellish landscape during dark hours & making you believe that all of galveston bay is a huge connected steel city. it sort of has a kind of beauty to it, at least for a visitor like i was, it felt interesting and singular. for someone who lives here all day, every day, it might not be a thing of beauty or appreciation & i can totally see why. that & the gases & exhaust fumes that are being generated during the production & handling of it all, can sure make you stop cherishing this industrial landscape.
we made it home to baytown in the evening after our first time out & were granted this sweet evening light.
on our night walk in jenkins park, we came upon ghost kitten, a starving but loving little critter that prowled the grounds. darius always had a bag of kitten food in his pockets ( he had discovered her a few weeks ago & tried to coax her with the plan to maybe take care of her or finding a home for her ), so we used that to lure her close and say hi! she was very shy at first, but as soon as she spotted the magician she was head over heels in love with him and let him pet her ( & consequentially i was granted love as well 😙 ). that's another one of darius' magic traits, he's an animal whisperer per excellence. he has the astonishing talent to attract all the pets he comes upon, i have never seen anything like it before. during my time there we continiously made friends with kittens & i could see that even dogs were heavily interested in him. quite a few years ago a little white show bunny showed up at his door step, too, he took it in, named it jack potts & they turned into bffs forever. even recently two kitties showed up at his home as well, while he was trying to shut down a front door discussion with two religious ladies, both of them kittens running into his home without mercy & claiming him to be their daddy. he's been caring for them for a while now, too, but he'll move them to a better home soon, as circumstances are quite challenging for him to handle everyday life & these angel rascals.
watching him being a magnet to animals made me fall even deeper in love with him, it's just so nice to see someone respect & care for creatures that often are just accoutrements or side distractions to some people. he has a big heart for the strays & the roaming, & i am pretty sure if we end up moving together at some point, we'll have plenty of critters running around our home all the time 😉
a new day brought new discoveries, here we made a stop at the alexander deussen park at lake houston, a reservoir on the san jacinto river. this lake is very important for houston city as a water supply. it was built in 1953. it's a nice spot for fleeing the compounds of the surrounding towns & cities, you can go fish or watch birds & rent boats, but there's also lots of hiking trails surrounding the lake.
little gazebos dot the shores of the lake.
on the other side of the lake i spotted some quaint houses, they belong to the small community lake shadows, which is part of the town of crosby.
nice skeleton trees are always worth taking photos of.
the wide views onto the lake were soothing and calming, i really enjoyed the peacefulness around here!
some empty boat piers. i don't know if you can rent some boats at the park facility and have a day out on the lake, it sure would make for a nice activity, i am sure!
a cute gazebo on which a heron was overlooking its kingdom. ( if you look closely, which i did ;P )
zooming on in...
... and here it is! it looked a lot like the grey herons i am used to in europe. it is different, though, actually a great blue heron! they're a bit taller than the european kind & have more brownish feathers on neck & legs. i couldn't zoom in much closer, but i was still happy to see this majestic bird throning on top of the gazebo.
darius checking out the boat ramps.
if it hadn't been so super hot and sunny, without any clouds in sight, i would have loved to sit down here for a while and just relax a bit with a glass of wine and some picknick essentials.
another interesting fella, the great egret! though i am not super sure if it is actually a great one or a little one. it was definitely an elegant one ;D i think the problem with determining the correct bird is mostly that i remember it being small and the beak was more dark grey than yellow, which is a trademark that is typical for a great egret. so, the longer i look at it, i feel like it is more a little egret, but another problems pops up here, too. which is the fact that little egrets are usually not very common in north america. so whatever egret it might be, know that i still enjoyed watching it wading through the more shallow shores of the lake!
these blue blooming water plants were so beautiful! they are called pickerelweed and are native to america.
i found the swamps & marshes & rivers & creeks of texas rich with dragonflies, many of them were huge! this beauty was hovering around the pickerelweeds. it's an eastern pondhawk!
random passerby place on our way back to baytown - the baytown seafood express, which is a restaurant in crosby ( and curiously not in baytown 😅). we didn't go in, i had some serious headache going on, so we focussed on getting home, so i could lay down a bit. the aftereffects of getting used to a tropical climate & jetlag!
a different day, another stroll around jenkins park! this time along the cary bayou. not sure if it was on that particlar day, or even later in my third week of being there, but we think we spotted a bald eagle here, soaring high above our heads! which was quite a magical thing to see, darius was all over the moon. apparently they are not so common down south, but it happens, they can pop up every once in a while.
the area along the bayou was very green & lush, & we stole away from the main paths to a little secret charge-up point. next time i'd like to take a blanket & just hang out there for an afternoon!
the great blue heron was a constant attendant, they seem to be very common in the area. i love these elegant looking birds!
entering pine tree woods! pine trees are some of my favourite trees, they always smell so nice! these particular pines are loblolly pines ( a name that i absolutely adore! ). they are often growing in southern texas, because the soil is perfect for them here, sandy & loamy! they have quite a special & strong fragrance, reminding you a bit of frankincense.
loved strolling through this very welcome shady little forest! it provided quite some shelter from the sweltering heat!
tripped over this huuuuuuuge stink bug! it is an acantocephala terminalis. their leaf-like structure & twiggy legs was most notable to me. apparently, when they feel attacked, they can give a warning odour to the attacker, but while i was looking & watching it, it didn't do that. i love bugs 😍
the tiny cary bayou, which was home to...
... several turtles! i am not a turtle expert, but i think we came across the red-eared slider & the spiny softshell turtle that afternoon! they were feeding on some bread that some people threw down into the water. first, it was only the small sliders, but then came the big softshell turtle & competed with them!
there it was! it swam quite quickly and snatched quite a few pieces of bread away from them. it was so good to see these aquatic creatures mingle! we stood for quite a while watching them, me being totally mesmerized! we have turtles in europe, too, but these felt so very exotic to me.
them floating around the bayou water was so magical!
the curious little snout of the softshell turtle was definitely its most cute characteristic!
snatching away bread.
fought hard for the bread, won the bread!
final image of this first installation of the america chronicles! fruit of a very special tree, one that is native to china, but has invaded america rapidly: the chinese tallowtree. nearly all of the tree is toxic, even the leaves & the sap. though this tree is loved by beekeepers because of the very tasty nectar it produces, the tree is hard to kill off, as its seeds are plentiful and can last a long time in the ground before they begin to sprout again. these trees are able to create monocultures that will take away the ground for other native trees, especially when their leaves are falling and covering the grounds, killing off other tree seedlings. the tree has some beneficial properties, though, like the aforementioned nectar that creates a particularly nice honey & the seeds are producing an oil that can be used in bio diesel & in paint varnishes, but also can be used in candle-making. the leaves are said to be helpful with boil treatments ( i guess it's not entirely toxic then 😅 ).
anyway, it is and was quite interesting to me to discover baytown & its surroundings & learn about southern american nature & places . it keeps expanding my mind & knowledge on things, which is what i am all about when i travel! i love exactly this about it. i hope you liked the first glance into the adventure that was this first america trip, and hope you'll return for more & even wilder trips!
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