I had passed by this temple late 2010 and added it to my “To Visit” list, but never did. Recent articles about the temple have been circulating on Facebook among my friends; two of my friends, Arnell & Barry, and I made plans to go.
The temple or Mandir is called Shri Swaminarayan Mandir located in Stafford, Texas (a neighboring city of Houston for you out-of-towners). The interior of the Mandir is made of Italian marble, which is pretty cold to walk around even with socks on during the cold weather we’re having. But must feel great during summer I would imagine. The exterior is made of Turkish limestone. We were told by our tour guide that the marble & limestone pieces were hand-carved in India before being imported to Houston.
It is absolutely beautiful with all the intricate details and it must be gorgeous during festivities with added on bright colors of India’s culture.
While Googling to read more about Hindu temples, I came across one of the largest in the United States and it’s right here in Texas; Shree Raseshwari Radha Rani Temple. I have not looked up directions, but it’s located in Austin, Texas. Road trip anyone?
We planned to have dinner, but wasn’t hungry yet. So decided to check out Main Event, watched the boys play a free game.
The Koi fishes at The Fountains, while waiting for Arnell to find out how long the wait is at Razoos. The wait was 45 minutes, so we went with our second choice Japaneiro’s.
When we got to Japaneiro’s, it was also a 45 minutes wait. We figured anywhere we go that evening was going to be pack, so we waited. After we got our table, it was a long, long while until our food was served. Our waiter felt so bad that he gave us two free appetizers; Angus beef empanadas & Crab puffs.
After dinner, we ended our evening at Cafe 101. I ordered the Young Girl’s Dream; Grenadine, yogurt, orange, lemon and sprite. I couldn’t finish my drink, because it was so cold it aggravated my throat and I started coughing. Instead I finished Arnell’s Hot Grass Jelly, which was thick but then congealed so I actually ate the rest. I grew up eating Black Grass Jelly, but never have I had it hot. I didn’t know you can heat it up, the warm jelly felt really good going down sore throat. It should be easy to make at home.
anh|off the record 