Down on the Bayou

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Not the nicest beginning . . .

A quote in the magazine Houstonia says “For the longest time, bayous are just one thing to you: EW, which is to say they’re, slimy, teeming with dangerous characters, disease, and secrets – secrets contained in dumped garbage, old cars, the occasional human torso.” Not exactly a glowing endorsement for tourist attractions, but it was down in the historic district and seemed it might be an interesting place to walk along the water.

Our first day in Houston, we went for a walk along the Buffalo Bayou. On the map it looked like a river, and although a bayou is defined as “Chiefly Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf States,  marshy arm, inlet, or outlet of a lake, river, etc., usually sluggish or stagnant. “, even when we got there, it looked like a muddy river. Fortunately, Houston has made a decision to develop this area, and it has been turned into a quite nice place to walk. There are miles of paved trails along both sides of the Buffalo Bayou, and it seemed to be used by many runners, walkers and cyclists.

A few highways . . . .

This area might have been forgotten and neglected and indeed might have become just as in the above quote, because it does have a few negatives. The ring road around the downtown area of Houston follows the Bayou – probably cheaper to use this land than expropriating useful property for highways, so much of the trail system actually winds under the highways, sometimes three deep above you.

Canoe - not very watertight

The first part of this trail almost put us off walking it, as we saw a number of homeless folk coming up from the trails, but we also saw some cyclists so we decided to try the walk. The first part was a bit rough, and you could see the homeless squats up under the highway supports and I noticed a number of open power boxes where power was being stolen and a few hidden areas where people had obviously been living. All along the trails were signs forbidding “Overnight Camping”, and I imagine it must be an ongoing chore to roust the homeless from the inviting shelter areas under the highways.

Tourists on the Bayou

As the trails progressed it got better and better and turned greener and more developed. At the end there were canoe launches and numerous inviting benches and garden areas. All in all, it was a lovely morning walk “Down on the Bayou”.

Homeless Signs

Pedestrian Walkways

Las Vegas is famous for the “strip”, Las Vegas Blvd, running north/south through the city with casinos and hotels lining both sides. The roadway is constantly full of vehicles and the sidewalks are a steady stream of people. In order to keep all those potential gamblers safe, Las Vegas has constructed an excellent series of pedestrian overpasses and escalators.

As you walk across the street on these overpasses they provide an excellent view up and down the strip. They also give a great place for the homeless to sit and solicit money. As with the casinos, the competition is fierce, so the hand lettered signs are a great source of entertainment.

You will notice I have no pictures of the homeless, because they insist you pay them to take their picture, and I will not give them money. I did throw my loose change into the buckets of a group of people who were collecting money for the homeless, but these folks were actually dressed in a uniform, so they were either legit, or a very good scam.

The Mirage

There were lots of simple “Homeless, Please help, God Bless”, but there were lots of more interesting ones. We noticed one guy who had written, “WHY LIE, I WANT BEER!”, this must have worked because I noticed one of the “PLEASE HELP, GOD BLESS!” changed his sign to the same thing.

The TV ceiling at Freemont

“IF I HAD 10 BUCKS, I WOULDN’T BE HERE.” This guy was either lying or his sign wasn’t working, because he seemed to be always be here.

How about, “NEED BEER, NEED CIGARETTES, NEED LEFTOVERS”.  I only saw this one for a while, so perhaps they got their beer, cigarettes, and leftovers and are happy now.

One young girl sat looking very pathetic, had a sign saying “TOO PROUD TO PROSTITUTE”. I only saw her once, so either her sign worked, or she changed her mind. The same thing with the couple with the “JUST WANT TO GET TO CALI”. I only saw it once, so they must be in California now.

There are a few homeless with a bit more ambition, and move a bit more into busking over begging, playing guitars or squeeze-boxes. One outfit consisted of two homeless, and a big white dog dressed in scarf, and fancy sunglasses with a big sign “HE AIN'T NOTHING BUT A  HOUND DOG”. of course Elvis was playing from a blaster.

And, my favorite, “PLEASE HELP ME AND MY PUSSY”. Oh, don’t worry, she really did have a cute little cat on a leash.