Diversity Rules Magazine

3 Diversity Rules Magazine August 2018 roughout my career as a travel journalist thus far, I have been to Texas about a dozen times for both work and pleasure. However, the one city I never visited until recently was Houston. I quickly noticed that each Texas metropo- lis has its own flavor. Houston is no different. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the city, which is home to a great mix of art, mu- sic and LGBT culture. e Houston skyline is quite recognizable, with tower- ing high rises which can be viewed from miles away, but instead of staying down- town like I do on most visits, I opted instead to first settle in a neighborhood known as e Heights. ere aren't a lot of lodging options in this neighborhood, but I happened to stumble upon Sara's Inn, a delight- ful bed and breakfast, which operates in a beautiful Victorian home built in 1898. In 1983, Donna and Tillman Arledge purchased the property and began its restoration and conversion to a bed and breakfast. e property was later purchased by local Heights residents Jihye and John Deveau and has undergone a transformation, painting over the once grey and white exterior with a myriad of historical colors, distinguish- ing it as a true painted lady of Houston. It is continu- ally ranked as the #1 bed and breakfast in the city. My room was basically its own apart- ment, complete with full kitchen, large bathroom, sitting area and dining room. I didn't want to leave as it sure felt like home. e experience would not be complete without a homemade breakfast from Miss Jeannie, an in- credible 88-year-old woman who still cooks breakfast for their guests every morning. e arts and culture scene in Houston is thriving and I wasted no time check- ing it out. My first stop was the Museum of Fine Arts. Established in 1900, the museum is among the 10 largest art mu- seums in the coun- try, with a collection of more than 65,000 works. Being limited for time, I opted to visit the current fea- tured exhibition Pea- cock in the Desert: e Royal Arts of Jodhpur. e exhibition came to MFA direct from India and features masterpieces and relics, never before seen outside of palace walls, that illustrate the his- tory and artistic legacy of the Rathore dynasty. Next, I wanted to get a flavor of the local art scene, so I visited Jumper Maybach Fine Art, a gallery located just a few blocks from Sara's Inn. e contemporary art gallery features dozens of abstract works by LGBT artist Jumper Maybach. Jumper was recently named the Official Artist of Pride Houston and presented one of his works to the Mayor of Houston at their pride festival this past June. Speaking of LGBT life, I had to check out the Mon- trose Neighborhood, which is the epicenter of LGBT culture in Houston. e evening I was there, Ham- burger Mary's was hosting an event for Pride Houston where they were honoring a few of the past grand mar- shals of the festival. It was very nice to speak with some of the city's LGBT commu- nity and business leaders, most notably Jeremy Fain, and learn more about what the city has to offer. Prede Journeys - Con't on page 7 Pride Journeys Houston By Joey Amato

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