Houston, Saturday 6-April — Fujimoto Potpourri

For our other full day in Houston, we spent the bulk of the day with Lindsay, Joe, and Noah. It started with lunch at the Farmers Market, then a walk through the Houston Arboretum, then snacks and dinner. After saying goodbye, we tried to see bats emerging at sunset.

Just like the day before, we had a loose set of ideas of what to do and knew things could be fluid depending on Noah’s nap schedule. giving a couple of options to Lindsay, she suggested Buffalo Bayou. Since it was in the same general area, we suggested going to Farmers Market for lunch, so we all convened there. Since we were there a few minutes before they arrived, we did a quick walkthrough to get a feel for the place. It was a mix of indoor vendors and tents outdoors. Seemed much more weighted towards produce than Pike Place Market.

Once we were all together, we split right up to look for food. Around the table were tacos, tamales, empanadas, desserts, and drinks. We were able to grab tables outside and had a relaxing lunch.

Houston Arboretum

Our plan was to go to Buffalo Bayou to walk around. Once we got there, though, there were no parking spots to be found, let alone three spots near each other. Earlier in the day, the other option we had for Lindsay was the Houston Arboretum, so we changed course and went there, instead.

There was plenty of parking at the arboretum, but since Noah was still sleeping, Joe stayed with him while Lindsay joined us as we started walking around. It wasn't long, however, before he was awake and we all started making our way to the central building.

After we looked around at the exhibits, we went outside. Melody decided to look at some of the trails that went further, while the rest of us did the inner loop.

Dinner

Since Melody was still walking around the arboretum, I went to find her when everyone else went to get coffee. We caught up with them, then headed down the street to have tacos for dinner. We were able to find a table that was large enough for all of us, so we had a leisurely meal with plenty of time to chat. Once we were done, it was time for Lindsay and Joe to take Noah home, so we said our goodbyes. We all appreciated our time with them, and hopefully, they'll be able to make it out to Tynor and Mallory's wedding this summer.

Once they were heading out, the rest of us went across the street to get some gelato for dessert. It took us a little while to figure out how to order, but once that was figured out, we got what we wanted and took a seat outside.

Melody and I wanted to do some shopping, and the kids went to look for a drugstore. After that, we headed out to watch the bats emerge from the Waugh Street Bridge.

Waugh Street Bridge bats

Almost every night at sundown, a large colony of bats emerges from under the Waugh Street Bridge. That bridge happens to cross the Buffalo Bayou, so we weren't sure if we would be able to find a place to park. We directed the kids to one lot, while we started looking around the length of the bayou. As a last resort, we went to a park that was supposed to close before sunset, but it did seem to be open. A quick text to the kids, and we all gathered in the lot to head to the bridge.

We checked multiple apps to find the best walking route to the bridge, and both of them said it was about mile. Noël had looked for sidewalk on the overpasses heading towards the bridge and thought it did look continuous, so we went that way. Good thing, since instead of a 20-minute walk, it was about five.

Before the bats emerge on Fridays, there is a presentation given, known as the Bat Chat. It being Saturday, we figured we would just watch the bats emerge. As we got close to the viewing location, we saw a lot of people gathered, listening to someone giving a talk. Ends up that the Bat Chat also happened that night. I'm guessing they are doing extra ones for the people who are expected to be in town for the eclipse.

The presenter did a good job of letting everyone know what to expect. The bats would drop from the bottom of the bridge, spiral in what she called a bat tornado, and then go out in a ribbon across the sky. While she was talking, I saw a couple of drones flying around, but they were staying pretty high.

While the bats could emerge a little bit before sundown, they weren't out yet. One of the drones dropped and went under the bridge, probably so the operator could try to see the bats on the underside. It quickly, but loudly left.

Sundown approached, but no bats. They did start dropping about 10 or 15 minutes later, but not many of them. I had staked out a location high up so I could hopefully see the bats go into the sky, while everyone else stayed closer to the bayou. The bats did emerge and start forming their tornado, but they weren't flying off. Since the sky was getting too dark to try to take a photo, I went down by the bayou, also. While it was hard for me to pick out the tornado, I did see them dropping and flying in front of some lights.

After a while with still no ribbon of bats flying out, several people started leaving. The presenter was wondering if the drone going under the bridge so close to when they would emerge spooked them enough to disrupt their normal behavior. We also decided we should head back, especially since we didn't want it to be too dark when we went back on the overpasses.

Once we got back to the house, we lounged around for a bit. Melody and Noël called it a night, but the rest of us kept chatting. I think Mallory knew that Kellen, Tynor, and I can keep talking until all hours of the night, and it was definitely reinforced. As it ends up, we didn't stay up too late, and eventually, the whole house was asleep.