Although I did not have a lot of time off when I was in Texas, I made the most of it. I went to three main places that truly made my time in the hot, humid Lone Star State bearable.
Seeing a musical
I got to see a production of the musical, “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown!” This production happened at The Center for the Arts and Sciences in the county I was staying in. The age range in the show was 14 to 28 but you could not tell if you were not told. I got to do a preview of the show for an article, so it was nice to see it actually come together.
The show had different scenes in the style a comic strip would be in. These scenes included Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Snoopy, Schroeder and Patty. Patty was a character that was only in the comics, not the same person as Peppermint Patty. My co-worker Mia, from my internship, played Lucy in the show so I went to support her. She, along with everyone else, did such an amazing job bringing these characters to life.
This show took a toll on my emotions. Within minutes I went from laughing to crying. Mia had a very emotional scene where her character did not feel good enough and did not feel worthy. With how my mental state was when I saw this show, it related too hard. I found myself bawling in the theatre of a non-sad musical.
A picture of my family and I with the star herself can be seen on slide two of the embedded Instagram post. I already know Mia is going to go far as she continues her career in musical theatre. Seeing this production truly was one of my highlights.
Getting In n Out
I know I am going to be exiled from Texas for saying this but, In n Out is so much better than Whataburger.
My family and I made the hour trip before going to see the musical to get In n Out. When I agreed to come to Texas, I only wanted two things and this was one of them. We will get to the other one soon.
I got In n Out for the first time three years ago when I first visited Texas and ever since then I had been craving it. The burger is by far the best burger I have had at any fast food place I have been. There are no In n Outs near Ohio that I can easily drive to, so this was special.
I think I finished that burger in record time. I did not get it “animal style” like all the YouTubers who lived in California did, I just got it normal. It was amazing though. The burger and the whole establishment took me back to 2014 YouTube days where I would dream of being in California eating In n Out with OurSecondLife and penny boarding back.
The Funeral Museum
My favorite part of my trip was my last weekend when I went to the National Museum of Funeral History. Any normal person probably would not be as excited about this, but considering I was excited to cover a murder trial, I have learned that I am anything but normal.
I first went to the museum when I visited Texas the first time when I was ten. Unfortunately I could not go when I had visited three years ago due to scheduling conflicts. I made it my mission that I would be going this time. I was staying with family and they originally told me we could not go, I was devastated. They surprised me by taking me my last weekend and I was beyond excited to be there.
Since I went ten years ago there have been a lot of changes and I had a lot of fun with it. There is a president section where they talk about how different presidents were commemorated at their funerals. They focused mainly on George Bush since he recognized Texas as his home. They also addressed his wife’s passing as well. The museum had a huge section with Lincoln and even had a wax figure of Lincoln in a coffin. It was categorized as a “selfie spot” which seemed odd to me, but I digress.
A section they were working on when I was there ten years ago was finally finished when I came. This was the celebrity section and on the outside, it said “Thanks for the Memories,” as seen on slide two of the embedded Instagram post. They have different celebrities displayed there with either memorabilia to go along with them, props from what they are known for or stuff from attendees from the funeral. They had a whole section of those who have lost their lives while trying to travel to space. I did not realize how many lives have been lost while trying to explore the unknown.
The museum had a pair of shoes that Robin Williams wore in the movie “RV.” It’s a bittersweet part of the museum. I am glad these actors are being remembered but it is sad to see how much talent has left this Earth. They have a “Gone Too Soon,” section where it talks about members of the 27 club. They keep the museum up to date that there is a section about Kobe Bryant and things from that celebration of life. This section was the one I spent most of my time in because there was so much to see.
My favorite section that got expanded since the last time I was there was the Pope section. They show the process of the funeral of the Pope. They go through a thorough timeline and who is invited. Along with this, they showed what the Pope and the pallbearers wear for the ceremony. Since I can’t keep anything serious, I made it my mission to take a selfie with every wax figure in this section. One of the pictures can be seen on slide seven of the embedded Instagram post.
They talk about different cultures too and it is a great thing. They had a whole section about the history and significance of mummification. They had a fake mummy and tomb there to show what the process would look like. There was a huge Day of the Dead section that my aunt was telling me about and explaining more. I remember some of the Day of the Dead section, but it seemed expanded from last time.
There were two new sections that caught my interest, embalmment and cremation. They showed the process of both of these and found it interesting. I truly did not know what embalmment was until I was reading the panels at the museum. It is crazy how much it has changed with technology. With cremation, I feel like it is never really talked about, it is just something that happens. They showed the different options of what can happen after you are cremated.
Did you know you can become a tree? That was so interesting to me.
Overall, I found this museum more fun than any normal person, but I can not wait to come back in a couple of years to see what else they do in that time. If you are in the Houston area, go visit!!! You won’t regret it.