I am lucky to have family that lives all over the globe, including relatives from both sides of my family in Houston, Texas. Growing up, we would spend several summers in Houston visiting my dad’s sister Ghada and her boys Geoffrey and Keenan. A few years ago, my mom’s sister Rim and her family moved to Houston from Syria. I had not been to the city of H-town in 17 years! My cousins Anthony and Michael recently got engaged, so we planned a weekend trip to Houston for a cousins reunion and to properly celebrate the milestones.
Photographed below is my crew of cousins: Chris, Kevin, Michael, Anthony, me, Keenan, and Danny.
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Me, Danny, Chris, and Kevin flew out of SFO in the early morning of Saturday, 9/18. We had a 40 minute delay landing due to weather conditions and a backed up runway at the Houston airport. We experienced quite the turbulence before the decent, but made it to the ground where Michael came to pick us all up. We stayed with the Arnouk’s for the weekend.
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The Itinerary
Family Time
On our first night, Aunty Rim cooked a delicious Middle Eastern dinner with kabobs, hummus, and chicken. All my staple favorites, making us feel right at home! Michael’s lovely fiancé Natalie came to meet and hang out with us for the day through the night! I am so excited to have her as a part of our family 😍❤️
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After dinner, we gathered around to look at old childhood photos, reminiscing on our youth and how quickly time is passing us. Although I’ve always grown up as the only girl surrounded by a group of boys, I wouldn’t have it any other way!
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Midtown
Michael planned a fun outing for us with him and Natalie’s friends in an area called Midtown. Before heading out, we took a few shots at the house to get us going.
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Midtown was crazy busy on a Saturday night. The streets were filled with lively energy, music, and bar hoppers. After circling a few times, we found street parking and made our way to the first bar.
77 Degrees
This outdoor, 3 story rooftop bar was a great place to kick off the night. I had the frozen mojito which was really tasty! We met up with the group and mingled all together while enjoying the music. It felt so foreign being in a crowded place without masks. Everyone was enjoying themselves, living life.
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Wonder Bar Houston
The next spot we went was next door to 77 Degrees. Wonder Bar had a whimsical aura to it and is very insta-grammable.
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Each corner of the room has a different theme and is worth checking out! The vibrant colors reminded me of Alice and Wonderland. The name of the bar is very fitting 😜
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Electric FeelGood
The last bar we went to was also several stories. It had a fun vibe to it - even having a slide inside! We witnessed a fight break out and the cops came to manage the crowd. Kevin accidentally bumped into the cop who was not happy about it 🤣
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The crew was hungry for some food, so we walked through midtown in the late night and made our way to Cafe Layal, where we had fries and shawarma sandwiches. We were back at home and in bed around 4:45am 💤
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Piggy’s Kitchen and Bar
Our cousin Keenan drove from the Woodlands to spend the day with us. He picked Danny and I up while the rest of the crew was still asleep from the previous night’s outing. We went to a fun brunch spot that had a live DJ. We ordered the chicken and waffles 🤠
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Buffalo Bayou Park
Next, Keenan took us to a beautiful park surrounded by luscious greenery and a skyline view of downtown Houston. We walked 4 miles round trip. Be warned that Houston humidity is very strong in the month of September! Carry water on you if you decide to do this walk. This trail is also perfect for biking with scenic views along the way.
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Pool Day
Following our park visit, we met up with the same group of friends from the night before. We were invited to hang out all together by one of Michael’s friend’s. Many of the apartment complexes in Houston have a beautiful outdoor facility to cool off in the extreme heat.
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Whataburger
Similar to the hype of In-n-Out in California, Texas is well known for Whataburger. I ordered the chicken sandwich with a side of fries and honey bbq dipping sauce.
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Scary Movie Night
Following our eventful day, we came back to the house to relax and ended our evening watching back to back scary films. We watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre (fitting as we were in Texas) and American Psycho while munching on popcorn Aunty Rim made for us.
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Cedars Bakery
Craving Mediterranean breakfast, we drove to a Lebanese bakery on our last morning. We ordered fresh manaeesh with cheese and zaatar. They were so doughy and delicious 🤤Aunty Rim made us an entire spread of breakfast to pair with the manaeesh.
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Rudy’s Country Store and BBQ
We made one final stop before heading to the airport. We couldn’t leave Texas without eating bbq!
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We ordered the wet brisket, dry brisket, ribs, and sausage. Every table has complimentary house made bbq sauce to dip with your meats. We also ordered the banana and chocolate bread puddings to finish off our epic meal.
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Our Houston trip was a great reminder to appreciate the gift of family. We had the best weekend being hosted by our cousins and spending rare, quality time all together. Houston offered us Texas BBQ, good company, and a memorable nightlife. I can’t wait for our next reunion!