H-Town Run Tourist: Houston Favorite

Get your exercise on and your culture on at Hermann Park

Get your exercise on and your culture on at Hermann Park
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Jesse Jones Reflection Pool

Jovan Abernathy is an international marathoner and owner of Houston Tourism Gym. To claim your free tour, contact her at info@tourismgymhtx.com. Follow her on Twitter @jovanabernathy. Instagram @TourismGymHtx. Facebook @TourismGymHtx

I was taking a drive through Hermann Park the other day. It gave me so many memories. When I waited tables in Rice Village, I would sneak in extra mileage and hill training on my breaks. I wanted to see how much I could do without being late to work. As a matter of fact, I have had a lot of personal memories at Hermann Park. Chances are, you have too. If not, here are a few reasons to visit Hermann Park to make a few memories of your own.

Sam Houston Statue

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But first, a little Hermann History.

Hermann Park is a hub for exercise, hard- core training, golf and culture that sees 6 million Houstonians and tourists a year. 105 years ago, a real estate investor named George Hermann deeded the city of Houston the land that has become 445 acres of green space that is now the Hermann Park that we know and love. Here is a fun fact: Did you know that in 1922, the Hermann Park Golf Course became the first public golf course to welcome all races?

*Cited from the Hermann Park original website.

Rodents of Unusual Size

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Abundant foliage and wildlife.

Take a walk through the Japanese Flower Gardens and you will see all of the trees and lily pads in the water. If you continue walking, you will walk into families of ducks and geese. Your run may begin here with the geese chasing you. Stay away from their goslings. They won't tell you twice. And they do have facial recognition. During spring, you will see not one, not two, but over a hundred turtles. You may also see some nutria swimming in the pond as well. I don't know why I'm not more afraid of these Rodents of Unusual Size. I guess, I respect how they just do them and not get all up in mine. That's pretty cool.

Run around the golf course on the cinder path.

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Get your exercise on.

So, obviously, we are talking about a park. When I think park, the first thing I think of is exercise. When I was training for the 2008 Houston Marathon with Kenyan Way, we used Hermann Park for extra mileage that was easy to calculate and it was a great way to get from the Museum District to Rice University. Those were some long days, but worth it. You can definitely enjoy a 4-5 mile run or a walk around the golf course, the refection pool, and through the Japanese Gardens. The best thing is not only is the scenery ever-changing, but its all on the luxurious cushion of the cinder path that is oh so good on your joints. There is also workout equipment in the park as well as a full-on weight room in the community center.

McGovern Centennial Gardens

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Picture worthy landmarks.

Of course, there are some amazing wildlife and foliage in Hermann Park, but there are some amazing picture worthy landmarks as well. Jesse Jones Reflection Pond and Mecom Fountain come straight to mind. Jesse Jones Reflection Pond is also great for a picnic lunch and a good book as well as sprint running with a slow rising hill. The Pyramid at McGovern Centennial Gardens offers a great photo opportunity and some great hill running. Just make sure that no one else is there. Of course, there is the Sam Houston Statue that caused a lot of controversy in the last couple of years. I'm going to say it. Remember, this is coming from a black woman and said with love. Who wasn't racist and owned slaves back then? That is what they did. You can't just rip up Houston and Texas history because of this. Regardless of the man's political stance, this statue is part of Houston history and should be left alone. I will continue to take pictures by it and that is that.

Treat yourself right at Miller Outdoor Theatre

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Miller. Outdoor. Theatre.

Enough said. One of my first expressions of self love and care as an adult was at Miller Outdoor Theatre. I brought a picnic meal complete with pate and cheeses along with a blanket to the hill at Miller. I was determined to enjoy my own company while enjoying some culture. It took some getting used to, but it was the first time that I had a great time by myself. We are done being existential. Today, you can still enjoy performances that range from Shakespeare to Bollywood, from Ragtime to Chinese Ballet to Hip Hop and children's plays. All for free. Just don't bring glass or weed.

Lots of performances

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Really awesome events.

Whether you are on vacation, just moved here, or a long time resident, you will definitely enjoy the amazing events at Hermann that are for all ages. Bring your kite to the Annual Kite Festival and you will find 10,000 other friends who love to fly kites just as much as you do. Other events include Hats in the Park, Evening in the Park, and Run in the Park.

See the Dark Side of the Moon at Burke Baker Planetarium

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It is the hub to the Museum District and the Houston Zoo.

Park your car once and you will not need to move it all day. Hermann Park is a few footsteps to the Houston Zoo (ooh Zoo Lights is going on right now!), the Museum of Natural Science. (Burke Baker Planetarium shows the Dark Side of the Moon most evenings at 5pm. You know Pink Floyd.) Don't forget the Norman Rockwell exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.

Hermann Park has something for everyone. You could be a family of five with young children, a couple getting to know each other, or a tourist from Abu Dhabi staying at Hotel Zsa Zsa. You will definitely get a taste of Houston culture and hospitality.


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The Astros' offense needs a reset. Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images.

Major League Baseball’s regular season is 162 games long. You can think of 18 games as the first inning of the season, 18 times nine equaling 162. While the Astros 8-10 record is not good, it’s far from disastrous. Think of it as them being behind 1-0 after the first inning. It is pretty remarkable that they have yet to win consecutive games. Even during last year’s 7-19 stink bomb of a start the Astros twice managed to win two in a row.

The Astros’ offensive woes are plentiful. Oddly enough as impotent as they’ve been, the Astros have yet to be shutout. But in half their games they have scored exactly one or two runs. Basically, most of them stink thus far. Exemptions go to Jose Altuve and Isaac Paredes, but it’s not like either of them has been outstanding. It’s still early enough that one big series can dramatically alter the numbers, but the Astros badly need Yordan Alvarez to pick up his production. Yordan enters the weekend batting just .224 with a .695 OPS and just four extra base hits. Yainer rhymes with minor. As in minor leagues, where Diaz belongs at his current level of performance. That is not saying Diaz should be sent down, just that any random AAA catcher called up couldn’t have done much worse to this point. Diaz isn’t hitting Altuve’s weight, a woeful .130 with seven hits in 57 at bats. Diaz simply remains too undisciplined at the plate swinging at too many balls. He’s drawn three walks. And now to Christian Walker, who thus far has delivered return on investment for his three year 60 million dollar contract about as strong as the stock market’s performance in Tariff Time. Walker’s .154 batting average and .482 OPS are very Astro Jose Abreu-like. Walker’s23 strikeouts in 65 at bats jump off the page. In the batter’s box he has often looked befuddled. Walker is definitely pressing and frustrated, wanting to perform better for his new team. Jeremy Pena goes into the weekend batting .215 and has one hit in 13 at bats with runners in scoring position. Brendan Rodgers, Jake Meyers, and Chas McCormick all have weak stat lines, with little reason to expect quality offensive output from any of them. Cam Smith is at .200 with a yucky .591 OPS but he’s obviously a young stud work in progress thrown into the deep end of the pool.

All batting orders are top-heavy, the Astros’ on paper more so than many. As I set forth on one of our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts this week, the first inning should be a team’s best offensive inning. It’s the only frame in which a team gets to dictate who comes up from the start with the batters lined up just as the manager slots them. Add to that, the first inning is a good time to get to a starting pitcher before he settles in. The Astros have scored a pitiful three first inning runs in 18 games, and in two of the games they pushed one across in the first, it turned out to be the only Astro run of the game. Improvement needs to come internally from the big league roster. It’s not as if the Astros have a meaningful prospect at AAA Sugar Land who looks ready to help. Entering play Thursday the Space Cowboys’ team average was .186. Second base hopeful Brice Matthews is nowhere close, batting .180 and striking out left and right. Outfielder Jacob Melton opened three for 17 following the back injury-delayed start to his season.

As exasperating and boring as the offense has been for so many, grading needs to occur on a curve. So, while the Astros’ team batting average is a joke at .216, know that at close of business Wednesday the entire American League was batting just .232. The American League West-leading Texas Rangers scored eight fewer runs over their first 18 games than did the Astros, though that is skewed by the Astros’ one 14-run outburst against the Angels.

Familiar faces return

This weekend the Astros play host to the San Diego Padres at Daikin Park. The Friars are off to a fabulous start at 15-4. The Padres being here creates a mini reunion as both Martin Maldonado and Yuli Gurriel are on their roster. In a telling fact, Maldonado would have the third-highest batting average on the Astros if on the team with his current numbers. Maldonado is hitting .250 with seven hits in 28 at bats. The last season he finished above .200 was 2020. The only season in his career Maldonado topped .234 was his rookie season with a .266 mark in 2012.

Gurriel was last good in 2021 when he won the American League batting title at .319. He fell off a cliff from there, though perked up to have a fine postseason in the Astros’ 2022 run to World Series title number two. “La Pina” is batting .115 with just three hits in 26 at bats. Gurriel may be released soon, and approaching his 41st birthday June 9, that would probably be the end of the line. Short-timer Astro Jason Heyward is also on the Padres, and batting .190.

For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!

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