The Texans are taking their first road trip of 2022, which means it's time for my editor to demand I write a travel piece about the destination.
If you're new to these – I do them completely off the top of my head and talk about the wonderful things you can do in these cities. Even if I really don't know much about the place, I'll share my experience, in hopes that it inspires you to leave your hotel and explore.
In many cases these articles have convinced people to stay in, order room service and watch a hotel TV with limited options, like TBS rerunning The Shawshank Redemption for the 347th time.
Los Angeles is obviously loaded with things to do. The Pacific Ocean is buffered by some fantastic beaches. You should definitely research which area might appeal to you. If you're looking for facsimiles of the cast of Baywatch, you might not find them everywhere.
If you've seen that movie with Meg Ryan and Nicolas Cage where angels wear long coats and listen to music while looking at the water, I've never seen that. But if you go to places like Santa Monica and Venice Beach you'll recognize some things you've seen on TV and in movies.
I can't help you with stars' homes tours, but I'm sure they exist. I would think it's far more interesting to see places where famous movies were filmed. Since the majority of what we watch is made out there then you're bound to have fun doing that. For ways to find out about such tours, I'd recommend Google (hey, I'm getting ready for a broadcast, you can do THAT much).
I once spent a week with the Miami Hurricanes at the Rose Bowl. It was very cool seeing Pasadena - and the hotel we were at was right near the movie studios and tourist parks.
The crew ate at The Ivy, a well-known restaurant for celebrity sightings. I saw Al Roker and James Van Der Beek. The guys wanted me to go up to Van Der Beek and strike up a conversation about the similarity of our last names but I declined.
I was also told I MUST attend the Rose Bowl Parade. I went kicking and screaming. I really had no desire to witness this. Afterwards I changed my tune. Now, I always tell people they MUST attend the Rose Bowl Parade. It's spectacular.
You can't do that this weekend, of course, but if you're lucky enough to go, there will be no shortage of fun ways for you to occupy your non-game time. Like I said – Google.
