June 9, 2014

A VERY Busy Day in Houston!

June 9, 2014

Ron and I left Brownsville around noon yesterday (Sunday) and drove to Houston.  We made a couple of stops on the way and arrived about 7:30 Sunday evening.  We were both tired and after a quick trip to a near-by Wal-Mart, we returned to the motel and were asleep before too long.

This morning we were up at 5:15 so I could wash and dry my hair and we could leave the motel about 6:15.  We checked out, went to a Shipley Donut shop for breakfast, got gas for the car, and arrived at the Houston Ear Research Foundation on time for our 7:00 a.m. appointment. 

We had been told the appointment would take about an hour.  It took 2 1/2 hours.  When I finished, I found Ron sleeping on the couch in the waiting room.  During my time at the office of the Houston Ear Research Foundation, I had a very interesting conversation with the director about some of the aspects of the Cochlear Implant.  I asked if there was an age limit on doing the surgery.  She said it was a health limit, not age.  They have done them on healthy people in their 90s, but have had to cancel planned surgeries for 50 year olds when health issues surfaced.  We covered a lot of other issues and I may get around to sharing some of them another day.  This has been a very long day, so I won't go into those at this time.

When we left there, we went to the Lifeway Bookstore a couple of blocks away so I could buy a birthday card and I ended up also buying a book.  Then the next stop was one of our suppliers for the office.  We had called in an order on Friday and told them we would pick it up today.  We visited for a while there and the manager of the office tried to help me locate a phone store in that area.  We went to one after he called them to see if they had what I needed and they had said yes.  When we got there, they had 2 phones only, and the person who knew about them wasn't in today. 

We stopped at a grocery store for a particular type of jelly I like and this store could be the Crossroads of the World.  There were people from many countries, speaking many languages, buying things I never heard of, and didn't know what to do with.  It was interesting.  We have stopped there before but more and more they carry items for various cultures.

From there, we tried a Sprint store before going to our regular Chick-fil-A with the outdoor tables, for a quick lunch.  It was overcast and looked like it could rain at any time, but the rain held off until later in the day.  The cloud cover made it cooler.  Next stop was the Houston Garden Center where we selected a few plants for the back yard and then a visit to the quilt store across the street.  I needed some thread in assorted colors so it was a quick stop to get those. From there, we tried a Sprint store close by but I could not get the help there that I needed.  The young man was nice, but lacked the training for my special need.

 

 Next on our list of shopping was the James Avery Jewelry store at the mall in Sugarland.  That is a very nice shopping area.  There are many little shops in an area beside the mall and the James Avery store is in that area.  Last year I got a ring there when I had my Cochlear Implant activated.  It is a bird sitting on a twig and I have had countless compliments on that ring.  I had seen another that I liked and had asked Ron if he would get it for our anniversary.  We went and I was able to get the ring. I know I will enjoy the ring for years to come.

Cracker Barrel in Stafford was our final planned stop in that area, but after we were finished there we spotted another Sprint store and tried it.  The staff there was knowledgeable and helpful.  A little over an hour later, I walked out with my new cell phone under my old contract that the last 6 stores have told me was impossible!  Around that time we had one heavy rain shower and a couple of little ones, but again, the cloud cover made things cooler.

It was finally time to head home.  We stopped for supper at 5 Points, near Corpus and got home about 9:15.  It was a long, but very productive day.