Discover Houston Tours

Angela & Jessica Speece Discover Downtown in August 2009

2011-03-28T19:37:00.000-07:00

On August 13, 2009, sisters Angela and Jessica Speece joined me for a TunnelWalk and Rail Tour. It started inside Joe Muggs Coffee Shop at Books A Million, one of the many tenants at the Houston Pavilions. We took an elevator up to Books A Million's second floor, then exited outside onto the second level of the Houston Pavilions. I took the photo on the left at the skyring over Fannin Street. We continued on to the second skyring, this one over San Jacinto (photo on right).

We exited the Houston Pavilions at the House of Blues and walked north on Caroline to the Four Seasons Hotel, where the ladies had a taste of the luxurious pool and spa.

From the Four Seasons, we entered the Downtown Houston Tunnel System through the skybridge connecting the hotel to the Shops at Houston Center. We followed the Tunnel under Main Street and stopped for lunch at Be-Wiched, a gourmet restaurant in Commerce Tower's food court.

Notice the article over the sisters' heads. It was written by Ralph Blumenthal of the New York Times. He also enjoyed lunch at Be-Wiched.

We exited the Tunnel and took the elevator to Chase Tower's 60th-floor sky lobby, where I took a photo of the ladies in front of Wells Fargo Plaza, with the El Paso Building and CenterPoint Energy Plaza on the left and One Shell Plaza on the right.

We ended the tour by riding MetroRail from the Preston Street Station to Main Street Square.

While this itinerary is no longer available, this blog should help you follow the Speece sisters' steps and explore the many wonders of Downtown Houston.

Ghost Hunt Lock-In February 26, 2011

2011-03-01T01:47:00.000-08:00

Summer & Maya

Last Saturday night, I was joined at the Spaghetti Warehouse by five eager ghost hunters: Maya and her friend Summer; and Scott and his wife, Jenn, who was celebrating her birthday, and their friend Jennifer. They had all had dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse before I arrived, so I passed out my Short Guide to the Paranormal so that they could catch up on ghostly terminology. We also polished the lenses on our cameras to eliminate any dust spots that might masquerade as orbs.

Jenn and Scott travel extensively to locations that have ghosts tours and told us about some of their experiences. It turns out that Jenn, Jennifer, Maya, and Summer are all teachers. I am always amazed at the amount of serendipity that happens on tours.

Once the kitchen closed at 10:30 p.m., we went upstairs. It was dark and we were the only ones there. We went to the back, near the restrooms, and I talked about the history of the Spaghetti Warehouse and told a few ghost stories. I also passed out dowsing rods and a Ouija board.

We walked around the second floor with our EMF meters and gots some signals in the Bank Room, near the top of the stairs. The outside sign for the restaurant was off, and the EMF signals were intermittent, so it is possible that a spirit was in this space. Scott had an EMF app on his smartphone.

Scott with His Smartphone in Front of the Funeral Cabinet

Summer and Maya communed with the Ouija board:

Summer & Maya with the Ouija Board. Maya has had some bad experiences with the board and was hoping to break any evil spells.

while Jenn tried out the dowsing rods:

Jenn has her own dowsing rods at home and finds them very responsive. She said sometimes they spin almost out of control.

Jennifer read up on Ghost Hunting techniques:

Jennifer almost didn't show up, she's so scared of ghosts, but I think Saturday night may have helped her make her peace with them.

Scott checked out the ghosts in the Ladies Room. He returned to the dining room unscathed.

By 12:30 a.m., all the staff had left and only Brian, the manager, remained. He took us all down the back stairs to the basement:

where I pointed out the elevator:

Jennifer wasn't sure what was going on, and when the elevator door opened, she screamed loud enough to scare us all to death! I won't tell you all any more about the basement; you'll have to experience it for yourselves.

We took the elevator up to the first floor, where everyone spent quite a bit of time exploring.

As you can see by the photos below, Jenn found a friendly orb who followed her around the second floor, down to the first floor, and even into the basement, where it was joined by several "friends."

We all returned to the second floor and gathered for a group photo before heading safely home.

I encourage you all to come in March, April, June or July and see what ghosts you can discover at the Spaghetti Warehouse.

Aryana wants to know if I ever see paranormal stuff with my own eyes

2009-11-12T11:17:00.000-08:00

Aryana was one of several young Girl Scouts who took a Broomstick Adventure with me in October. The next day, she sent me the following email: "I had alot of fun at your tour last night and it was amazing!! I really did like it because my whole life I always wanted to see paranormal stuff. I always went to libaries and looked up a lot about Paranormal stuff and I learned a lot and I was wondering do you ever see paranormal stuff with your own eyes???"

I am asked that question a lot, so, here is what I wrote back to Aryana:

As for seeing the paranormal with my own eyes -- no, I never have. I have only seen orbs and apparitions on digital cameras. But everyone has a different sensibility for the paranormal. Many people who have taken my tours tell me about what they have seen or heard or felt. Amazing stories!

However, I did experience one beautiful and unexplainable event. I don't know if you would call it paranormal, but it was amazing for me.

My mother died in 1962 when I was 21 -- it was very sudden and unexpected and I was very upset, as were my father and brother and grandmother.

I was in my senior year in college and the year before, my junior year, I was lucky enough to study in Geneva, Switzerland. I met a young man there from another country who was studying to be a diplomat. He drove a little car called a Renault Dauphine. We took lots of trips in that little car and fell in love. But he had to continue his studies in Europe and I had to return to the United States. We never saw each other again.

The day my mother died, my father gave me permission to call my "true love" long distance. That was a very big thing then -- you had to go through international operators and it was very expensive. I called my "true love" using the telephone in our kitchen, where there was a window over the sink looking out onto the street and the buildings across the street. It was early in the morning and there were no cars parked on the street.

As I cried and told my "true love" what had happened, he was his wonderful self and comforted me and when we hung up after only five minutes, I looked outside the kitchen window again. Parked across the street was a little blue and silver Renault Dauphine -- just like the one my "true love" drove in Europe. I never saw anyone get into or out of the car. It just sat there for several days, until my mother's funeral was over and it was time for me to return to college. Then it disappeared.

Aryana, best wishes to you in your hunt for the paranormal -- sometimes, as for me, it comes in the form of a happy miracle instead of a scary ghost.

Discover Houston Tours and The Haunting in Connecticut

2009-03-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, March 25, Discover Houston Tours will distribute FREE Admit Two invitations for the Advance Screening of The Haunting in Connecticut ($19 value) to the lucky people who make advance paid reservations by Midnight on Tuesday, March 24, for any future Broomstick Adventure or Ghost Walk.

There are currently 33 FREE Admit Two invitations available.

To purchase tickets to a Broomstick Adventure or Ghost Walk, click HERE and follow the prompts to make your reservation.

Pick up your Advance Screening Invitations from Sandra Lord at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25, at the Edwards MarqE at 7600 Katy Freeway. She will be wearing her witch's hat and carrying her blinking ghost wand.

While the tickets to the Advance Screening of The Haunting in Connecticut on March 25 are FREE, they do not guarantee you a seat. You will need to arrive at the Edwards MarqE at 7600 Katy Freeway at 6 p.m. to get in line for seats.

The movie starts at 7:30 p.m.

Photos from Galveston Broomstick Adventure

2009-02-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

There was a beautiful full moon on January 10 and when the clouds surrounded it, it really suited the ghostly theme of the night.

You'll find more photos from this tour at www.flickr.com/photos/discoverhoustontours.

Coming soon, lots of photos taken by friends who came on Broomstick Adventures in 2008. Now that I think I know what I'm doing as a novice blogger, I'll attempt to catch you all up on some amazing occurences caught on ditigal cameras last year.

If you have any photos from last year's tours that you'd like to share with the Blogosphere, please email them to me at tourhouston@aol.com and I'll be glad to publish them.

January's Broomstick Adventure in Galveston

2009-02-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

I was thrilled to accompany 16 fun folks on Discover Houston Tours' first Broomstick Adventure to Galveston. The incomparable Dash was our guide on his first ghost tour in Galveston since September. As we walked past historic buildings on The Strand, we were amazed at how wonderful the beautiful old town looked so soon after Hurricane Ike. It was cold and windy -- perfect ghost-hunting weather. After Dash left us in front of the Tremont Hotel next to this year's Mardi Gras arch, all lit up and ready for February's parades, I showed the group the site of two camps settled by pirates in the early 1800s -- the first was created by Michel Aury, the second by his rival pirate, Jean Lafitte. We were delighted to see that the historical marker has survived next to the stairs of the house that was built on top of the foundation of Lafitte's Maison Rouge after he burned his camp -- Campeche -- and departed into the mists of the Gulf of Mexico. We headed for the Seawall and warmed up with some beer and margaritas at Landry's before driving back to Houston and the Spaghetti Warehouse.