The best things in life are cheap

The national media occasionally forgets about everything it criticizes Houston for — sprawl, smog, oil, heat, bugs, lack of topography, Enron — and admits, though sometimes begrudgingly, that our fair city ain't such a bad place after all. The latest such nod is from the AP, which is carrying a story touting Houston as a budget vacation spot. "There's lots of Texas-size fun to be had for less than $20 in the nation's fourth largest city," the article says. Oh?

Yeah, as it turns out, there is: free admission to the Houston Museum of Natural Science on Tuesday afternoons, free concerts at the Miller Outdoor Theatre, boat tours of the Port of Houston, a trip to the San Jacinto Battleground — woohoo! (Actually, Houstonist has to admit that we've never taken a boat tour of the port, which actually might be interesting. We did, however, take more than our share of tours of San Jacinto when were were in elementary school.) The AP hits on other fun cheap things, too, like $5 tickets to Astros games and dining at one of Houston's excellent taco stands. (Oddly enough, it also recommends splurging by staying at the Hotel Derek or the Magnolia. Wouldn't a night at the Montagu be more in order?)

Unfortunately, the article doesn't mention some of our favorite cheap (or free) things: a trip to the Menil Collection, flicks at the Aurora Picture Show, soaking up downtown history at La Carafe and catching slumming socialites at the River Oaks Target. What are we missing? Leave us a comment and let us know your favorite cheap/free things in Houston ...