Saturday In The Park With Calvin

This isn't quite a Sondheim musical although at times my life does seem like a musical of some sort.

Saturday was too beautiful of a day to keep The Calvinator inside. First thing in the morning there was a bit of a nip in the air and I couldn't decide if I should go running or take him on a field trip.

Knowing that IFest was going to be happening downtown and knowing that there was probably something going on at the GRB, I decided to get to Discovery Green early; wanted to beat the crowds.

Discovery Green is a 12-acre park that opened last week in downtown Houston. It is by no means Millennium Park or Central Park but considering that parcel of land was previously two parking lots in front of the GRB, I think the City of Houston did good.

The park sits in front of the GRB and Hilton Americas. There is a brand new high-rise condo being built on another side with additional high-rise construction in the works. It isn't far from Minute Maid Park or Toyota Center. It is good to see this end of downtown coming to life.

The park has an upscale restaurant, The Grove, which is run by the Del Grande Group of Cafe Annie fame along with Taco Milagro and Cafe Express (yourself). There is a small lake (pond) where you can rent remote control sailboats, a nice concession stand, a reading room, artwork, a dog area, a 1/2 mile jogging track around the perimeter, a playground, wireless internet access, a performance area, and 100 year old trees that were transplanted.

I think Calvin was bored. He sniffed and peed and tried to stick his nose into the lake. I took him to the dog area and for a few minutes he ran around and sniffed and sort of played with another dog and then he just stood there. I took that as a hint it was time to go.

I hope that conventioneers will make good use of the park and people going to sporting events will use it as well as those people who work on that side of downtown.

I really am happy that the land wasn't used for more parking lots or buildings. I'm especially anxious to see how it used for the Houston Marathon. It will be great place for a post-marathon party.

Speaking of marathons...did anyone else see the Boston Marathon this morning? OMG! The finish for the women was nailbiting!

So here are some pics from our field trip.