Cool your jets

Houston soars in new list of best cities for long layovers

Memorial Park Eastern Glades Boardwalk over Hines Lake

Memorial Park's Eastern Glades makes for a fun trip during a layover.

Photo courtesy of Memorial Park Conservancy

Given this week's travel nightmare for anyone flying, or working for, Southwest Airlines, it's natural for travelers to be thinking some version of, "What if that happens to me? Please don't let that happen to me."

Lawn Love has been thinking about that, too. Well, perhaps not specifically about this week. But, the timing of the company's latest survey is coincidental. Lawn Love ranked the best and worst cities for long layovers, and Texas cities do well overall. Houston ranked fourth, while Dallas came in seventh.

Houston has travelers covered if a long layover means the need for a hotel stay. The Bayou City ranked third in number of accommodations, and Houstonians can attest that we've got some killer hotel rooms, from the funky to the posh and everything in between.

Locals here might take issue with Lawn Love ranking the city as 15th in terms of attractions, because, well, come on. The Museum District. Beautiful parks. The Orange Show. We might be spread out, but we've got plenty of ways to spend a lot of time waiting on a flight.

That could be the best news overall, though. Lawn Love places Houston 35th in terms of its share of cancelled departures, which means folks heading out of our airports are likely to make their destinations without a lot of disruptions.

Dallas' top-10 placement was surely due in part to its number of airline lounges. The city places fifth in that ranking. DFW's got 19 of them, including four American Airlines Admirals Clubs and the airline's Flagship Lounge. Also represented are Delta, Emirates, Lufthansa, Qatar, and United airlines. All provide travelers with space and quiet to chill while waiting on that flight.

San Antonio and Austin round out the top 20 in Lawn Love's rankings, with the Alamo City placing 17th overall, and Austin taking 20th. Both cities fare well in terms of delays. They place 48th and 44th respectively, which means travelers are more likely to leave on time and get to where they're going. The two cities also fall into the top 20 when it comes to accommodations and dining options, finishing 15th and 19th respectively.

So, who fared among the worst? Hawaii. The Aloha State might be paradise on the ground and home to some stunning patches of sand, but the it's got four cities in the top 10 for worst places for a long layover. On the other hand, three of those four (Hilo, Kailua Kona, Honolulu and Lihue) get top marks for having the shortest departure delays.

All something to ponder as travelers pack their suitcases and plan to hit the road for 2023.

REVIVING THE ALAMO

Texas landmark the Alamo reclaims historic cannon from private ownership

Photo by Gower Brown/ Unsplash

A 90-pound cannon used in the Battle of the Alamo is returning to its San Antonio home.

It turns out the Alamo's original 1836 cannons are good for more than just defense — they also make a sturdy birdbath. After serving as a garden ornament for Samuel Maverick’s descendants, an authentic piece of San Antonio history is finally returning home to the revered mission.

According to an Alamo announcement, the swivel cannon weighs 90 pounds and is approximately three feet long. The relic was originally found in 1852 when Maverick built a home near the northwest corner of the battle’s site.

The lawyer and land baron was saved from death when he was urged by William Barret Travis to ride to the Texas Declaration of Independence convention in Washington-on-the-Brazos to send reinforcements. Returning to the Alamo’s grounds, he found a cache of cannons buried where the Hotel Gibbs sits today.

From there, the cannon wound up at the Maverick family’s Sunshine Ranch on the Northwest Side, where it was eventually incorporated into the garden DIY project. In 1955, the cannon was removed from the ranch, and the current location remained a mystery until the Alamo received a call from a Maverick relative in Corpus Christi.

Alamo cannon This Alamo artifact gives an idea of what the cannon will look like once restoration is complete.Photo courtesy of the Alamo.

“The relative graciously donated the cannon to the Alamo,” wrote a rep from the mission. “Alamo Senior Researcher and Historian Kolby Lanham and Head Conservator Pam Jary Rosser drove down the very next day to take this piece of history home to the Alamo.”

Although the artillery is mostly intact, it is missing its trunnions (the pivot-point protrusions on the sides of the barrel) and cascabel (the knob and neck assembly at the rear of historic muzzle-loading cannons). The parts were removed by the Mexican army to make the cannon inoperable.

Once preservation is complete, this cannon and the Alamo Collection’s other battle cannons will make their way to the upcoming Visitor Center and Museum, where they will be joined by rocker Phil Collins' collection of Alamo artifacts. The Alamo is in the midst of a $550 million preservation project, which includes conserving the Alamo Church, Long Barrack, and the mission’s original footprint. The museum is on track to debut in late 2027.

history museums artifacts texas history the alamo