TOUR OF HOUSTON CHRISTMAS LIGHTS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012 Just as we entered the Mall parking area two buses were entering from the other side. As I parked and approached the first bus, the driver, Larry Gurka, met me and said he had brought two buses for the 78 people I had on the Bus Request form. To his pleasure I showed quite a bit of concern as I stated that was not my request. After I had gone back to the car to find my copy of the paperwork he laughed and told me that the other bus was for Ashland Oil retirees and it was scheduled to leave at the same time as ours. I assured him I would get even with his little prank. We scheduled an early dinner close by at Goode Company Bar-B-Que so we would be ready to go on our mission as soon as it became dark. Their food is served cafeteria style and they have several different kinds of meat with all of the trimmings. Their pecan pie is to die for. We had reserved tables set up in the rear of the building so we could all be together to visit. There was no problem as the crowd was small at this hour of the day. I think everyone had plenty to eat and enjoyed it. It was now dark so we were ready to see the lights. As large as Houston is there is no way we could see more than a small fraction of the lights. Our driver, Larry, specializes in keeping up with where the better displays are located and what is new for this year. For this reason we requested that he be our driver for this tour.

Large tree shaped Christmas tree and ginger bread house at Ray Johnson’s home

Our first viewing was at the home of Ray Johnson located in the Spring Shadows subdivision near the intersection of Gessner and Kempwood. He is the son of the developer of Spring Shadows and Memorial City Mall. His large home is the only house on a cul-de-sac at the end of a one block long street. The vacant land around his home is planted with live Christmas type trees. The trees are all lighted and other decorations placed between the trees. The house and yard are decorated and a huge lighted tower is placed at the end of the cul-de-sac. In previous years when we have been there only his house and the cul-de-sac were decorated. This year the entire block on both sides is decorated and that makes it even more impressive. Two policemen were on duty to keep the traffic moving and to prevent anyone from getting out of their vehicles even just to take a picture. They used to be there just to keep you off the grass. Traffic was still very heavy as we took the Sam Houston Tollway south to the Briargrove Park subdivision. Very near the corner of Briar Grove and Seagler is the house we have reported before as having the most lights for any one house in Houston. There is not room to place even one more light bulb. Every bit of the yard, the trees, the walls of the house, the roof, the chimney and even the mail box are covered. They are all L.E.D. lights and are in various colors. The only difference from previous years is Santa’s sleigh. It was in the sky but now is on the ground. It is the only house on the whole block that has lights. The neighbors, of course, are not too happy because it creates such a crowd. Due to the neighbors objection there were no lights last year - but this year they are back. The house across the street has placed a temporary fence on their property so that spectators cannot walk on their grass.

Home in Briar Forest with largest number of lights in display in Houston

Now we backtracked again and headed north to the Cypress area. Larry had heard of a home that was displaying three light shows a night that lasted about 20 minutes. The next one was scheduled for 7:40 pm and the traffic was still fairly heavy. The home is located at 15911 Lavender Run not far from Telge Road. He did not know how close he could get the bus because he heard it had been crowded. We made it with only a few minutes to spare and there was no real crowd. It was sort of on a cul-de-sac and we could drive up fairly close. The Explorers had an option of getting off of the bus or staying on. There was a sign in the yard telling you to set your radio on 107.1 FM. They were broadcasting from their house and I was told it is legal to do that for a short range.

Extensive Christmas display in Cypress

Earl and the “Big Guy”

Cypress House display with colored flashing lights, laser lights, Sound on AM radio, fog machine, and bubble machine They did not have a lot of lights - it seemed bare compared to the two displays we had just seen. These lights were designed to look like objects. We never saw a person from the house. The program started and we could hear it well in front of the house. You were welcomed and then it was mostly music. The lights flashed on and off in tune with the music. One song was about angels and a lighted design of an angel would flash on. They had a huge bubble machine that stayed busy and a fog machine. This was, of course, the most different home lighting display any of us had ever seen. It might be starting a new trend. I would call it “high tech”. The ones of us that were off the bus had a partial group picture taken at this location. It was now time for a little break. Our evening meal was wearing off and we needed a little nourishment. We found an adequate place that took care of our needs. We decided we would check out one more spot before calling it a night.

One of many home Christmas displays in Tanglewood

All we had seen so far were outstanding individual locations. Lighting en masse is certainly impressive and the best place for that is the Tanglewood subdivision near the Galleria area. This is an upscale area that has many fine homes and about 90% are lighted. Most have the outline of the houses and the trees full of lights. It is a beautiful view to look down a block and have lights on both sides as far as you can see. We have found that a much larger percentage of the homes here are decorated than in the River Oaks subdivision. We left our parking area at 5:00 PM and returned at 9:30 PM. In that four and a half hour period we drove a lot of miles but we saw something spectacular at every stop we made. It will certainly help make this Christmas more enjoyable and memorable.

Group picture in front of the Cypress Christmas display