Do you ever just feel the need for a mini-adventure? The kind where you get in your car and take a little road trip? It doesn’t have to be far—or anywhere fancy—something different will do. Houston residents are in luck. You have things to do all over the city (and just beyond) that are within an hour’s drive. Gas up your ride—it’s time to explore the open road.
Flying Free
The drive itself will be liberating, but the destination will be the cherry on top of the icing on top of the cake. Have you ever wanted to go sky-diving, but the thought of it is a tad too terrifying? Now you can fly, in Houston, without the 10,000-foot drop.
iFLY is an adrenaline rush. It’s a get your blood pumping, heart racing type of experience. Your excursion will start with a short training session, you’ll dress in the decidedly uncool gear and then you’ll get a 60 second taste of skydiving in a tube that uses vertical wind tunnel technology. The average free fall is 45 seconds out in the wilds of the blue sky, but inside one of Houston’s two iFLY locations, you can fly for a whole minute.
When you’re done, find somewhere to eat and explore the foreign neighborhood before heading home. Your mini-road trip will be a memorable experience. Your location choices are:
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iFLY Houston (Memorial), 9540 Katy Freeway
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iFLY Houston (Woodlands), 26860 North I-45
Urban Safari
When is the last time you went to commune with wild animals? If you can’t remember—it’s time to make the Houston Zoo your next road trip. The zoo has a fantastic menagerie of creatures. There are even opportunities to get up close and personal. Plan to feed a giraffe, or maybe get some behind-the-scenes action by taking a tour. The zoo’s creatures range from amphibian and aquatic to birds and mammals. There are over 6000 residents waiting to make you feel like you’ve driven much further.
The zoo is located at 6200 Hermann Park Drive. As long as your there, feel free to hop over to The Houston Museum of Natural Science or explore McGregor Parkway.
Hot Date
Those kids back in the day sure knew how to treat a date. All you need is your car, some popcorn, candy, drinks and a good makeout session. Oh—and a movie. The drive-in theater may be your ultimate road trip idea. Luckily, you don’t have to drive back to the 1950s to find one. The Showboat, located in Hockley, Texas, is a minimal drive. What’s waiting for you on the other end is worth it.
During the summer, The Showboat is open Wednesday through Sunday. Gates open at 6:30 p.m., and shows start at dusk. The website will give you the list of available flicks, and they span everything from the classic drive-in movie “Grease” to “San Andreas” and “Tomorrowland.”
The theater is located at 22422 FM 2920. There’s a snack bar, so all you need to bring is you, your date (or friends) and your ride.
Another Level of Shopping
First off, there’s shopping, and then there is retail bliss. Normally, you wouldn’t send someone off to the mall for a road trip. However, when that mall is The Galleria, then it’s okay.
The Galleria gets 30 million visitors each year. For real. That’s because it’s something special. The stores are a little better, there’s an ice skating rink, you can play games at the arcade or swim in one of the two pools. Plus, if you get hungry, the food is outstanding. They have the kind of dining where you order at the counter, and where you can sit down and take your time. This drive will lead you to the kind of shopping that takes retail to a whole new level. The mall is at 5085 Westheimer Road. And hey—if you want to make it a real getaway, stay at one of the onsite hotels.
Like many things, road trips come in all shapes and sizes. The end goal is the destination, and if you have a car, you can go. So get out there this summer and explore everything Houston has to offer.
