Raw Weather Ahead

"We're out in open country," said Andy, as we left San Antonio behind, heading east. "And, San Antonio, we probably won't see you ever again."
"But I like San Antonio," I told him. "At least it has some character."
"True," he agreed. "Paseo del Rio is lovely."
It didn't take us long to catch up to the cloud bank. Thirty miles east of town, the sun disappeared. "It's raining in Houston," said Andy. "They have had rain here too. I see puddles in the middle of the road, and the fields look damp. I need to check Arkansas weather predictions carefully tonight since the weather station mentioned freezing there."

Traffic going the other way on Interstate #10 slowed somewhat to make way for a flatbed truck carrying one windmill blade. The white monster extended 20 or 30 feet beyond the end of the 18-wheeler.

"See those billboards," pointed out Andy. "Those should not be there so close to the highway per Lady Bird Johnson's law, but zoning the land around the billboard as industrial circumvents the law. It's a loophole."

"What a shame when her intentions were to beautify America. And I wonder just how much business or how many sales that ugly billboard generates," I said.

If scenery here looked pretty, we wouldn't know it. For miles heavy grey clouds melded on the horizon into brown fields covered in grey and black mesquite for as far as we could see. Only occasional highway median and shoulder green added any color, along with the blowing white plastic bags tumbling at the roadside. As the wind picked up, Little Red swayed with the gusts.

Thursday at noon, the Houston traffic was terrible. "I would think people would avoid the tollway, but just look at the congestion!" complained Andy.

"Aren't you glad it's not rush hour!" I added.

The 2.8-mile Waterway Walk at The Woodlands provided exercise. "I didn't think we'd have that much outdoor activity today the way things started out," said Andy.

When we came to Houston in the early 1980's, The Woodlands, with some homes already built, advertised a prime developed community on 28,000 acres that preserved as many trees as possible. Now the area featured a whole town with neighborhood housing complexes arranged village-style and completely surrounded by pine forest; waterways with fountains and a water taxi service; hiking and biking paths; beautifully landscaped high rise office buildings and hotels; and a selection of classy shops and restaurants, set off with statues and gardens.
Andy explained, "It's a contrast between Houston with its lenient zoning laws and the controlled community of The Woodlands with stipulations and planning."

"The results are amazing," I told him. "See what a little planning can do!"

Lovely as the area must be on a nice day, The Woodlands wind blew raw and damp today. It felt good to be indoors.