Speaking as an extroverted nomad, it is not always easy to feel interpersonally connected on the road. Sure, you can chat someone up at a restaurant or at the RV park, but that’s just not the same as communing with people you mutually love and admire. That’s why for December 2019, I went to Houston.

Houston has been one of life‘s great surprises since I hit the road in 2015. I stopped by on the way to New Orleans in 2016 to visit Randy (whom I met in Seattle through our mutual friend Loren not too long before I went full-time.) I had also briefly met Randy’s partner Brian in Washington, but Brian and I really became friends on that first visit to Houston, when Brian played tour guide.

It was on that first trip that I also met Kevin and Stephen, a brand new couple then, now married.

2019 was my fourth trip to Houston, a city I love even more with each visit. But, this post isn’t about Houston; it’s about the people in it, who graciously open their circle and pull me into it, without missing a beat, anytime I’m around.

I kicked off the season by making Coquito with the rum I bought in Cuba and have been hauling around under the bed for a couple of years, distributing it to some peeps. If you are unfamiliar with Coquito, it is the Puerto Rican version of eggnog, but mine is made the lazy way, with no eggs.

The Holidays are a time for annual soirées, and Kevin & Stephen invited me along to one in Cypress, where I got to meet some of their old friends and sing a tune by the piano.

Stephen, daughter Emily, and new grandson Sean and I took in Lights in the Heights, a holiday festival in Houston’s Heights neighborhood, where I amazingly bumped into Carolyn, a blog follower who recognized me on the street though we had never met in person. Imagine that, in a city of six million people. Thanks, social media!

While not officially a Christmas activity, we celebrated Kevin the Christmastime Baby’s birthday at a drag show at Hamburger Mary’s.

On my last trip to Houston I met Robbin, who has become a faithful Facebook and Instagram commenter. I heard legendary stories about her annual candy making party, and I finally got to go this year. At Robbin’s party I also got to see Valerie again, whom I met on my last visit.

The gathering results in copious amounts of toffee, which requires constant, vigilant stirring. In keeping with her mother’s holiday tradition, guests signs up for stirring duty, and the reward is delicious, homemade sweets.

I hosted a couple of (small!) parties at the rig. We watched “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” an annual tradition for me, whether in the Sticks and Bricks or the Wheel Estate.

Stocked with fabulous, inexpensive homewares I bought at the Libbey Outlet Store in Toledo for just for this purpose, I had a game for the boys, where they each opened gifts, then stole from each other.

Similar to the gift exchanges you may have played at the office, items could be stolen twice before they were locked. It was hilarious watching alliances form and couples create sets by passing them back and forth to each other.

Randy introduced me to Allison on my first trip to Houston, and it is always such a joy to see her. She hosted a swanky holiday cocktail party at her apartment, with Kir Royales and hors d’oeuvres.

She hosted Christmas Day at her place too. Everything was so delicious, especially that standing rib roast, which none of us had made before, so it was quite the adventure.

My second little gathering at the rig was a girls’ night, where we drank Negronis and ate Caesar salads and Linguine Clams.

But wait! There’s more! New Year’s Eve was at Brian and Randy‘s,

and New Year’s Day was at Kevin and Stephen’s, where I made Posole for good luck in 2020, and we watched a movie.

Are you exhausted yet? I must admit I was, a little. And I haven’t even touched on all the non-holiday things we did, which will be in the next post! Now, as I write this from San Antonio, where I arrived on January 4, things are quiet without my Houston family. I miss them, but I know we will pick up right where we left off the next time I’m in town.