Take another little piece of my heart Houston

Today I woke up, jet lagged and my head pounding, but when I stepped out onto the street in front of my hotel I breathed in the warm air as the sun shone on my face....and knew that yes I was in Houston, Texas. My travels to Houston are for business, I am attending the SATW (Society of American Travel Writers) Conference and meeting over 140 journalists to pitch the story of one of the world's greatest travel experiences - the Rocky Mountaineer. So, I brought to Houston a little bit of Canada, a bit of my own history and exciting stories to share to this beautifully clean and comfortable city. The streets of downtown Houston are almost deserted on a Sunday morning as I walk to the George Brown Convention Centre. The city of Houston is charming, it is warm, safe and open. The wide open spaces of the skyline and the streets reflect the slogan that "everything is bigger in Texas" and smartly so - Houston has built its city in a way that will avoid those heartattack traffic jams and crowded sidewalks. A city to be admired for its structural construction. The beauty of Houston is in its quietness, calmness and very friendly, almost Canadian like, people. And of course, I cannot forget the best part of Houston, the humid hot weather - I love it. If you go to Houston catch a bus from downtown for $1 and go to The Galleria mall and shop around for the day, I guarantee you, with hundreds of shops you will be in there for more than four hours with lunch at Kona Grill- get the crunch roll, calamari and california roll - some of the best sushi I have ever had. Comparable with the sushi joints in Maui Hawaii, so you better believe you can get some good sushi in Texas and a big 12 oz burger to boot.
Other sites to see are the Space Center, Houston Zoo and some of the beautiful museums and parks. If you are here on a Sunday, like me, attend the mass at the Annunciation Catholic Church - 9:30am mass is best and don't forget to light a candle for a cause close to your heart.
Two more days in this beautiful city and I will have left a piece of our history here and taken home a piece of theirs.

Worldwise Quiz: Test Your Chocolate I.Q.

Another National Geographic Worldwide Quiz for your enjoyment:

What do you know about the makers of the chocolate world? Try tackling these questions: 1) Thorntons, a British chocolatier, created an 860-pound wall of chocolate in 2007. Dubbed the “World’s First Edible Billboard” (and devoured in three hours), the wall graced which London shopping area? 2) Theodor Tobler created the Toblerone chocolate triangles, which mimic the shape of the Matterhorn and honor his native country of Switzerland. Name his hometown, of which Tobler also exalted by placing its symbol, a bear, within the logo artwork. 3) The cocoa tree’s scientific name (Theobroma cacao) means “food of the gods” in Latin. Cocoa was considered as such by the Aztecs, who made chocolate beverages from the beans. Cultivated for thousands of years in the Americas, the trees are native to which South American geographical region? Find the answers to these chocolaty questions and learn more in this month’s Worldwise Quiz.

Voting begins but the decision is never infinite

Today is voting day in Canada, yes the federal election and four parties are at the forefront. I am sad to say, I will probably not be able to get to my polling station fast enough to cast my vote before 7pm this evening, but I will be happy to report that my family and friends are all voting for the same party that I want to win. Really, this election was called too early and at such a terrible time. At this point, I am kind of fed up with federal politics, but still our vote matters. This year, like most years, I am voting Conservative. But it is not for the same reasons I have voted Conservative before. This year, I am voting Conservative because of the lack of options avaliable to me, I am choosing the best piece out of the pile of shit that exists. Dion is a wimp, Layton is uncivilized and May is just too far out there, especially with the legalization of drugs on her platform. Did you see the televised debate? The only civilized player at the table was Harper, everyone else was in a shouting match. These politicans make me want to become an MLA more than ever now, to move and to shake the politics that exist today. If I do make it to the polling station this evening , I might even write on my ballot "Obama for PM" because that is really who I think the winner should be, both in Canada and the US. Oh...bama...if only that was possible. I found an article on political leanings that I found quite interesting today, have a read and let me know what you think: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=organization-and-political-leanings
Get your VOTE ON!