"Remember the Alamo!"
Above: A little piece of Texas magnetically fixed to a refrigerator in the suburban West Side of Cleveland, Ohio.
"Remember the Alamo!"
Above: A little piece of Texas magnetically fixed to a refrigerator in the suburban West Side of Cleveland, Ohio.
Spoiler alert: During the past few years, the Wible family has a developed a new connection to the state of Texas. I can go into more detail, in real life.
I'll say it again.
Truth be told, I didn't know much about Texas before 2023.
Before then, I had been to Texas only once — on a very brief business trip to Dallas. Somebody else was paying for the trip, so we kept things pretty simple: business symposium near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, with a round of golf thrown in. Then, fly back to Cleveland.
I honestly can't remember the year of that first "trip to Texas." I can tell you, though, that I didn't see much of Dallas beyond the airport and the area around the runway. I didn't even make it downtown. There is so much I still want to see in downtown Dallas.
I do know the trip was before 9/11. How do I remember that? Flying was still remarkably simple. I didn't have to take off my shoes and prance around Chicago O'Hare in my stocking feet — something many of us became familiar with after 9/11.
I'm not complaining about the stocking feet thing after 9/11. I'd rather everyone fly safely, even if that means I have to buy myself a pair of SKECHERS Slip-Ons and dance around Chicago O'Hare in my black dress socks while my sweaty shoes sit a few feet away.
So, once again: before 2023, I had been to Texas exactly once. And aside from that round of golf, pretty much the entire trip was spent at a business symposium near the Dallas/Fort Worth airport.
In other words, I really hadn't seen Texas before year 2023.
Today, in August 2026, I am absolutely astounded and delighted by everything I have seen and experienced in The Lone Star State during the past few years.
For starters, it's fairly inexpensive to fly from Cleveland to Houston. Why? Because Houston is a major hub for United. If you can get to Chicago, the flight may be even more affordable than flying in from Cleveland. Set up a Google Flights tracker. Watch the numbers.
Once you get there, Houston feels like a different world.
Talk about a place where things are really happening! Wow — where do I begin?
The shopping malls in Texas have tons of foot traffic — at least from what I saw at The Woodlands. Folks who know me know that have spent plenty of time in the shopping malls around Cleveland, Ohio. I'll have to explain more about that in real life.
Better yet, walk through any mall in Cleveland, Ohio. Then fly to Houston, Texas. Take a ride to The Woodlands and find a hotel. Then walk the entire area of The Woodlands, on foot, for a week.
Tell me what you think the differences might be between the Houston-area malls and the malls around Cleveland, Ohio.
Like me, when you arrive in Texas, I think you might find yourself thinking:
“What is this place?!”
In Texas, you'll see six-lane highways with towering concrete “flyovers” held in the sky by massive pylons.
“What's that?”
And:
“Is my car going to get blown off this thing?”
The walls of some of these flyovers don't seem very high. The whole experience sort of gives me “the willies!”
Again, I'm "a bit of a noob" when I'm there in Texas.
Then, when you need to refuel the car, there is noticeably inexpensive gas. Even the Uber driver may remark:
“How much is your gas up there in Ohio?”
Then the conversation might continue:
“Have you ever refueled a car in California?”
And:
“Our gas in Texas is cheap!”
Drive out to Galveston. Then drive back from Galveston.
You'll see why.
There it is: “The Energy City.”
Remarkable!
I didn't know!
Meanwhile, out on the highways, it seems to me as if every second or third vehicle is a very large pickup truck — as if there is no gas crisis.
Probably needed for all that farm work on the Longhorn cattle ranches. And many of the folks are wearing cowboy hats.
So, are they all ranchers?
Isn't that interesting?
Money is changing hands in Texas.
A vibrant economy.
No Rust Belt there, in Texas.
Truth be told, I know “just enough” to get around in Texas. I know when to avoid the traffic. Nevertheless, Texas is a fascinating place to me.
We love our home, here, in Ohio.
Other folks — mostly family and friends who are Ohioans — are quick to point out our fairly cool and livable summers here in Northeast Ohio.
“Too hot in Texas,” my Ohio people say.
I suppose that depends on when you're visiting.
Nevertheless, there are some destinations that have “tugged at my sleeve,” as Frank Sinatra would have said.
Places that pull you back.
In other words, where could you go when the Northern Ohio winter sets in?
Let me paint a picture.
Late winter. Early spring. Northeast Ohio.
This is when you might still see some of those giant chunks of ice floating in Lake Erie.
You board the jetliner in Cleveland.
The plane departs.
You're in the air for about two hours or so.
Then you land in Houston, Texas.
You arrive at the hotel.
Folks in Houston are swimming in the hotel's outdoor swimming pool — during nearly the same month that you saw ice floating in Lake Erie.
Remarkable.
I'm thinking:
“I'm choosin' Texas” for my next spring getaway.
When it comes to work, I'd even consider reporting to a Texas-based headquarters a few times a quarter.
I've known a few people who have a house in Ohio and a house in Texas.
Like snowbirds, these people move back and forth through the seasons.
Ohio in the summer.
Texas in the winter.