In just two days in Houston we saw quite a bit, from the sobering to the lighthearted. The first stop was the incredibly moving Holocaust Museum Houston, which chronicles the rise of Hitler through his European Domination and his Final Solution plan including the concentration camps and ends with their liberation.  Make sure you take the docent tour, it is worth it. The museum focuses on those incarcerated and killed at the camps. Seventeen million people including Jews, Soviet POWs, gypsies and homosexuals were killed in the Nazi camps.

Interesting note:  the pink triangle commonly used in the gay community is based on the symbol tattooed on those suspected of homosexuality, much like the star of David was used to denote those of Jewish faith.  The museum uses pictures from the camps, artifacts, and survivors’ accounts to teach “awareness of the dangers of hatred, prejudice and apathy in today’s world.” 

At one poignant moment our group of forty was separated by the guide.  Five men went to the right, the rest of the group; women, children and elderly were sent to the left.  “Those of you going to the left will be dead in less than an hour, those to the right will be dead within a week, and you will be worked to death.”  There was a long quiet hush on our group.  It was a lot to absorb.

The tour ends with a rail car used to transport people to the concentration camps.  The car was twenty-five feet long with no windows or vents.  About two hundred people were forced into each car and their journey could run several days without food, water, showers, or any restrooms.  Many people died on these trips.

After the Holocaust Museum we drove to the National Museum of Funeral History.  Who would have thought a funeral museum would be the lighter of the two museums I visited this day?  This is more interesting than tacky so don’t blow it off based on just the name. The museum is serious, but tries to have a little fun too.  Their motto is, “any day above ground is a good day.”  The museum features a full service mortuary school called Undertakers University. 

There's also hearses through the ages from buggies to modern day Cadillacs.  One of the coolest vehicles was a 1921 Rock Falls hearse with hand carved wood panels.  There is an area dedicated to presidential funerals including an exact copy of Lincoln’s coffin and the original eternal flame from JFK’s grave is on display.  Funeral programs from various famous people can also be viewed. 

The most interesting part is a display of coffins shaped like animals, cars and food - an airplane coffin was pretty slick. These are popular in many Asian countries.  A rare glass casket modeled after Snow White’s is also on display.  A casket factory represents a 1900s shop to show the craftsmanship put into wooden caskets of the past. 

The gift shop is also full of fun stuff; like mortician t-shirts, toy hearses and - my favorite -  the Undertaker’s Root Beer, very refreshing.  Another interesting fact:  Dr. Thomas Holmes, who is considered to be the father of modern embalming, also sold his own brand of root beer.

We were in the mood for seafood and the Downtown Aquarium Restaurant was just down the street.  The dining room wraps around a giant aquarium, and I mean 150,000 gallons giant.  All tables face the aquarium so everyone gets a good view.  Over 200 different colorful fish swim by the glass while sharks hover above and stingrays float below all while you eat.  It seemed almost tacky to eat seafood, but it wasn’t like they were taking fish out of the tank for us.  The crispy calamari appetizer was delicious.  I had broiled shrimp filled with seafood stuffing and covered with crabmeat sauce. Jeremy got the fried coconut shrimp, both were presented beautifully and both were delicious.  The dessert was as Jeremy put it, “to die for.”  Appropriately named the Shark Attack, it was a chocolate cake with a chocolate liquid center covered in caramel sauce and Heath pieces, ice cream, white chocolate, and topped off with a big shark shaped cookie.

After dinner we decided to check out the attraction's Shark Voyage.  Riders board a CP Huntington Train with a glass top that goes through a tunnel in a 200,000-gallon aquarium.  The train stops in the tunnel while a voice-over fills everyone in on sharks and their plight in open waters.  The sharks swim by pretty close so you get a good long look at a variety of speices including sawfish, white tips, sand tigers, blacktops and zebra sharks.  It is a little dark in the tunnel, and it might scare small children.  The return trip to the station is filled with more information on conservation of sharks and their ocean habitats.

The Houston Zoo is a great getaway in the heart of the city and after a few minutes we didn’t even notice the skyline towering around the park.  It was founded in the early 1900’s and today is the seventh most visited zoo in the country. The children’s zoo is awesome, with a good size petting zoo. The habitat for otters seemed to be a crowd favorite, they're cute and active and seemed to awe the kids watching them.  It was like Animal Planet television, only real life.  There is also an unusual wildlife carousel there, it features the only known carousel armadillo in the world.  I prefer the okapi; I think that is about the coolest-looking animal. 

There is a prairie dog exhibit with tunnels so the kids can get an eye-level view of the little animals.  Their aquarium has over 2,200 fish, and it is air-conditioned so save it until later in the day to beat the heat.  The reptile house features a ton of exhibits and a rare leucistic alligator, which is also known as albino.  A young elephant was on display with his mom and dad and we watched him play with toys and use his trunk to ring some chimes, he was adorable.

Hint:  The zoo is laid out a little weird, so you definitely want to get a map so you don’t miss any of the animals. The zoo schedules a number of special events throughout the day so check on the seal shows, koala feedings and elephant showers so you don’t miss anything.  We weren’t paying attention and pretty much missed all of the zoo’s extras, but still had a good time.