Verarara Rants: Honeymoon Part 61; Moscow / Houston 6-13 September 2014 (Part 2)

*** This is a continuation of Part 1 :) ***

Day 4, Moscow 9 September

DME - IAH 09 September 2014 1040 - 1355
IAH - DME 12 September 2014 1745 - 13 September 2014 1400
DME - SIN 13 September 2014 1520 - 0540

We were to depart Moscow for Houston on 9 September.

On the day of departure, Moscow was pretty chilly and rainy. We were so blessed with sunny warm weather the past 2 days when we were out sightseeing!

SO LUCKY! The load was so light, almost everyone had a 3-seater to themselves! Yay!

Always put me on the over-wing seats, so hard to take photos!

Photobombed my photos only this wing!

Don't know about you, but I always like looking at the flight path when I travel...

Woke up around 2 hours before landing into Houston for meal...had half a chicken leftover from the previous night so got the crew to heat up for me as it can't be brought into Houston. Didn't want the green curry chicken rice main course but the very nice crew insisted for me to just have a few bites to try.

YAY! We are in Houston!

Day 4, Houston 9 September.

Check-in at Royal Sonesta Hotel around 4pm.

Previously I have stayed in Marriott as well as Hilton in Houston, my favorite among the 3 is Marriott cos it is way more convenient than the other 2. Galleria Mall is just opposite Marriott and there's a Walgreens across the other side of the street. The Royal Sonesta is very near Hilton, and I don't like the location as it is not convenient even when driving.

We rented a car with Enterprise after we checked in and headed to my hubby's favorite place in the States - Costco. (I told you my hubby very uncle right?!)

Very tickled by the street name Cummins Street outside Costco.

If you didn't know, Costco Wholesale Corporation is a membership-only warehouse club that provides a wide selection of merchandise. It is the second largest retailer in the United States, the seventh largest retailer in the world and the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States.

The lobsters are so cheap!!

Everything in the States must come in Plus-size, even chips. It may not look that big beside me as I'm quite big size...but I think it's about 5 packets of regular chips combined!

I'm super suaku, but what flower is this?? Very unique and pretty!

I was told that Houston has a lot of Vietnamese which is why there is quite a number of Vietnamese restaurants in Houston as compared to Chinese restaurants, so we decided to go for Vietnamese food for dinner.

Hubby's fried crispy duck which we both agree is delicious! (9USD)

My beef pho, pretty good too. (6USD)

I was like "WHOA!" when I saw this. I just started this blogging "job" and my fortune cookie gives me advice on writing? Too much of a coincidence aye?

Day 5, Houston 10 September.

Couple OOTD! :)

IHOP (International House of Pancakes) is a United States–based restaurant chain that specializes in breakfast foods.

It has been more than a year since I last have IHOP and I CRAVE for it so much! (We usually only get to have IHOP in Houston or Los Angeles as hardly any crew will rent a car in San Francisco or New York.) Someone should bring it into Singapore!

Our group for the day!

Omelette and pancakes party!

I had omelette with extra bacon on the side for around 9USD while my hubby who insisted that Singapore is dinner time, decided to eat chicken burger for around 10USD.

Our tummies fulfilled, all ready to head to factory outlet!

Some of the traffic lights in Houston are in the shape of a cowboy hat.

First to Walgreens to grab some drystores!

The much raved about Arizona tea...over-rated leh, IMO.

Sunny weather en-route to the factory outlet.

The weather was actually a little to warm and sunny for shopping at factory outlet.

We got there at around 10.30am and agreed to split and meet up at 2pm. But when we met up at 2pm, everyone didn't have enough time to finish shopping so we extended and met up at 4.30pm instead.

Our loot of the day!

Not our car...

This is the car that we rented from Enterprise for 3 days (09 September 6pm - 12 September 11am). It cost about 290USD including full coverage insurance, excluding petrol. It seems that car rental in Houston is relatively more expensive than Los Angeles or San Francisco, based on our experience.

On the way back to hotel's vicinity for dinner.

Crab cakes for 12USD.

Shumei's pork chop for 16USD.

Yang's chupchai (lol) rice for 12USD.

My hubby's fish and chips for 16USD.

My medium rare tenderloin wagyu steak for 29USD. YUMS!

Day 6, Houston 11 September.

To commemorate 9/11, all the flags in USA were half raised.

Couple time for us(:

First time see monorail in Houston.

Hubby bringing me to a well-known Vietnamese restaurant for brunch.

Saw this nearby the Vietnamese restaurant and we find it quite true for our Zodiac signs. You reckon?

We've reached restaurant - Pho Saigon Noodle House.

You can check for address nearby your hotels here: phosaigonnoodlehous/locations

My PHỞ TÁI GÂN - Beef noodle soup with eye round steak and soft tendon. (6.15USD)

Spring rolls to share. (2.40USD)

My hubby's CƠM BÌ SƯỜN NƯỚNG - Steamed rice with shredded pork skin and charbroiled pork chop. (6.15USD)

This is the best pho I have ever had, the tendons are so tender, sticky (think COLLAGEN!) and tasty. I LOVE IT!

All set for Galveston Island road trip.

Fluffy, cottony clouds that are so pretty!

Seems like another great weather day!

The island's main access point from the mainland is the Interstate Highway 45 causeway that crosses West Bay on the northeast side of the island.

Almost reaching!

Inside Galveston Island.

A mosque in Galveston Island!

I think they forgot to half raise this flag.

Stopped by the Galveston Visitors' Information Centre to get some brochure and the island's map.

OH! Hello there friend!

Not scared of us...

"Ok bye going home!"

The first touristy thing we did in Galveston Island was this.

30USD for 1 costume set and choose 1 photo to be printed from the set taken.

The small town of Galveston Island.

Weather was so hot we needed ice cream!

Then we saw this, our favorite Snickers ice cream bar! We bought this at convenience store for 3USD which is very expensive cos we later realised that the supermarket sold a box of 6 for 3.50USD!

On September 8, 1900, the greatest natural disaster to ever strike the United States occurred at Galveston. In the early evening hours of September 8, the Galveston hurricane of 1900 came ashore, bringing with it a great storm surge that inundated most of Galveston Island and the city of Galveston. As a result, much of the city was destroyed, and at least 6,000 people were killed in a few hours.

With the advent of Mexican independence in 1821, and the Texas revolution soon after in 1836, the Anglo-American population in the Republic of Texas began to grow rapidly. The island quickly became Texas' primary port and a destination for immigration. Following Texas' annexation by the United States in 1845, the island's population soon surpassed the population of San Antonio.

Galveston for a time before the American Civil War was the largest cotton shipping port in the world and the second-largest port for immigration in the United States. In the mid-19th century, it was a major port of entry for the many Germans who entered the state.

Pit-stop at Wendy's for a snack, and also to park our car for free while we take photos at the beach and Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier.

Parking at the beach area of Galveston Island is quite expensive, 10USD for 3 hours or per entry. We only intended to take some photos so we didn't think it's worth it to pay 10USD for couple of minutes.

Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier.

After the hurricane passed, the state and city constructed a seawall around the settled portion of the island. Some houses were raised, and the many new ones to be constructed were built on stilts. Sand dredged from nearby waterways was pumped into the area within the seawall. In time, the elevation of the eastern portion of the island was raised by as much as 17 ft.

Hubby saw on the Galveston Island map that there's a place called Pelican Island. Pelican Island is an island located in Galveston County, Texas. It is part of the city of Galveston and is linked to Galveston Island by the Pelican Island causeway. We decided to go check it out.

When we got to Pelican Island, there's only one main road...and it felt like a scene in The Walking Dead.

Apparently, the island is home to only the Texas A&M University at Galveston as well as USS Stewart, USS Cavalla and Seawolf Park. Not sure what these are but we didn't pay for entering to find out.

This was inside the Seawolf Park.

Before departing Galveston Island, we went to Target to shop around. (cos the uncle hubby wants to!)

And I bought this 6 bars for 3.50USD, hubby and I finished it on the road back to hotel!

Because I am such a big lover of steak but my hubby doesn't eat beef due to religious reasons, I hardly get to eat steak in Singapore. So we decided to have my fill of juicy fat steak in the States before leaving. My choice for the night's dinner was Sullivan's Steakhouse at 4608 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77027, United States.

Oysters on the Half Shell. (15.50USD)

A tad bit of a disappointment, small and not that juicy.

Shrimp & Lobster Bisque. (7.50USD)

I'm a soup person and I need my soup!

My hubby's Bacon-Wrapped Sea Scallops. (36USD)

Obviously not filling for a man, and the waiter actually served this to me and served the steak to my hubby. LOL.

My Filet Mignon 8oz. (36.50USD)

On hindsight, I should have ordered the 12oz. cos it's just 3USD difference.

The first steak that was given to me came almost as well-done. I told the waiter and he agreed to my observation and quickly got it changed. And this is the medium-rare one I eventually got. It's so juicy, tender, sweet and everything fantastic about a fillet mignon - love it so much I just licked my computer screen.

My hubby ordered Grilled Asparagus as a side for 9.50USD.

We were given 2 servings of it as an apology for the well-done steak and wasting our time while waiting for the second steak. I'd say their service was indeed excellent.

Day 7, Houston 12 September.

We didn't have problem sleeping at night in the States as we completely drained our energy in the day with sightseeing and shopping. But on the 3rd morning I woke up to pee at 6am and managed to catch a bit of sunrise.