Natali Espitia on pretending Houston can be walkable.

A few weekends ago, my friend, Alex, and I went on a walking Treat Tour in the Heights. The concept of the Treat Tour came to me in a daydream: a slow morning spent walking down a trail, taking in rare lovely weather, and periodically stopping for sweet treats.

I invited Alex knowing she would be down. She, too, is a lover of the finer things in life, and she’s one of the few people I know who’ll actually use the Metro or walk to get around when convenient. She’d understand what I was trying to do.

The morning went like this:

9:00 am

Alex picks me up and we make our way to White Oak Drive for our first stop: Luciana’s.

We arrive 30 minutes before opening, but it’s no biggie–we’re deliberately being leisurely about this. We walk to the nearby Paul Carr Jogging Trail, navigating annoying sidewalk closures along the way. We walk down for 15 minutes before turning around and walking another 15 minutes back. After securing fresh kolaches and other goodies from Luciana’s, we head to the trail again. The sidewalk closures have somehow gotten worse during this time, but the trail is blissfully free of construction.

10:30 am

We find benches off 7th Street to settle into and comment on how busy the area is–at this intersection, the trail sits sandwiched between a public park on one side with restaurants and shops on the other. There’s a lot of foot and bike traffic, which makes for great people watching. A well-meaning stranger makes slightly awkward conversation with us (she starts explaining the concept of panaderías to us, two Latinas), but we laugh it off.

We acknowledge the exchange as something that just happens when you’re out in community. Sometimes I wonder if people who wish Houston was a walkable city understand this, that being in community means sometimes encountering people you don’t want to talk to, but I digress.

11:00 am

Full from our kolaches, and slightly put off by the stranger, we leave the trail to grab iced lattes at Café Forth. We sit inside to cool down, chatting for almost an hour, though it feels like no time at all.

11:45 am

Tired of sitting, we get back on the trail. We walk a sweaty 0.8 miles to the Heights Neighborhood Library, chatting the entire way.

At the library, we turn around to start the 1.1 mile trek back to White Oak, making a necessary cafe stop for water and the restroom along the way. The sun is out in full force now, and we’re losing steam. We should’ve just gone to the library for free water fountains and restrooms, but it’s easy to forget about public resources when we aren’t used to making the most of them.

Back on White Oak, we find that the earlier sidewalk closures have now erupted into a muddy mess that makes it impossible to safely cross the street. We turn back and find a different, longer route instead.

1:00 pm

By the time we make it to our last stop, Tiny’s Milk and Cookies, we’ve been together for nearly four hours and have miraculously walked ~3.6 miles within a 1 mile radius. We stand in line for our final treats of the day: warm, classic chocolate chip cookies and a needed lemonade. I’m over-caffeinated and sun tired, so we go back to Alex’s car and bask in the cool of her AC before deciding on the next move: home.

I am the first person to shout my praises about Houston, but sometimes it really sucks to live in a flat, car-centered sprawl of a city. In order to cope with this, my mentality has very much become when life hands you lemons, make lemonade!

So now I think: if you want to live in a walkable city, find places to walk in your city!

Hence, the Treat Tour.

I’m aware that kind of thinking makes me seem slightly delusional, because it isn’t really that simple, but let me live the fantasy of big city living, dammit!

Realistically, there are few spots in Houston where you can “just walk” without having to ignore broken or missing sidewalks, dangerous crossing conditions, and so on. Getting to these spots in the first place is another obstacle entirely.

If you’re lucky enough to live near a walkable hub, though, I will ask you to consider the Treat Tour for a second.

Find an empty morning in your calendar–morning to avoid the worst of Houston’s heat and humidity–grab a friend, and go on your own Treat Tour. Explore a trail you’ve never walked before; Houston has at least 163 miles of them.

Pretend, for a morning, that this city can be walkable.

LATELY IN HOUSTON

Put your records on. You can now check out vinyl records at the Central Library’s new Record Lounge with your Houston Public Library card! Located on the first floor, library patrons can now browse, listen, and borrow records ranging across all genres. Houston Public Library Instagram

You know I love a good hotel bar. Bar Daphne just opened inside the Heights' new Hotel Daphne, and it's giving Art Deco speakeasy with deep green walls, checkered tile, a John Alexander painting behind the bar, and cocktails named after the hotel's art collection. Open nightly starting at 5 p.m., until 2 a.m. on weekends. Add it to the list. Houston Chronicle

The antidote: gardening. Houston's own Garden Marcus (Marcus Bridgewater) has built 1.5 million followers by turning plant care into gentle life coaching. The former teacher-turned-content creator uses his Houston garden to remind a doomscrolling internet that growth takes time — and patience. Basically the antidote we didn't know we needed. Houstonia Magazine

WEEKEND EVENTS

All Weekend:

• Notsuoh Dirty Thirty Anniversary

• Frida exhibition at MFAH (second to last weekend)

• Free art exhibition access at Asia Society Texas for AAPI month

• Imaging after Photography Exhibition at Moody Center (last chance)

Thursday, 5/7

6pm-10pm, Art | First Thursdays Block Party at Mid Main Houston.

6:30pm, Live Music | Free concert with DACAMERA Young Artists: Celebration Jewish-American Heritage Month.

7pm, Live Music | Honey Island Band + Deltaphonic at Dan Electros. $20 and up.

7:45pm, Film | Watch The Princess Bride at Rooftop Cinema Club. $20 and up.

Friday, 5/8

6pm-9pm, Community | Sunset Bingo at Levy Park. “Enjoy eight games for $10 (cash only), with daubers available $1, plus delicious food and drinks from local vendors.”

9:30pm, Jazz | Emmaline “Love Songs by Starlight” at Doc’s Jazz Club. $126. Almost sold out.

Saturday, 5/9

10am-3pm, Community | Coffee & Records with Good Junk Vintage at Little Dreamer Coffee. “🐍Vintage Vinyl Records  💿 Compact Discs  ☕️Coffee & Food  🐝 Friendly conversation 🎶 Live turntable  🌟FREE”

12pm-5pm, Art | Second Saturday Open Art Studios at Sawyer Yards.

12pm-9pm, Culture | AAPI Festival 2026 at POST. Free.

3pm-5pm, Workshop | Mother’s Day Floral Workshop with Moc Floral with Tomi Jewelry and Ceremonial Tea House. Sold Out.

4pm-8pm, Art | The SLAB Social at Orange Show. "This free, festival-style event will feature a curated selection of slabs from the Houston community with DJs, a special exhibition, food trucks, a speaking program, and vendor market.”

6pm-9pm, Art | Night at the MFAH: Frida Forever. $40, free for members. Includes one complimentary drink.

7pm, Art | BOX 13 ArtSpace: Class of 2026 Fundraiser + Silent Auction.

8:20pm, Concert | Seven Lions at 713 Music Hall. $53 and up.

Sunday, 5/10

9am-4pm, Festival | Beyond Bouquets at Houston Botanic Garden. $20.

12pm-1pm, Workshop | Mother’s Day Floral Workshop with Ponderosa Flower Studio at Buchanans. $85.

12pm-4pm, Market | Mother’s Day Market at Hotel Saint Augustine.
“Join us for a special Mother’s Day Market curated by Montrose Edit, featuring rare plants, vintage treasures, and beautifully crafted finds from beloved local makers, perfect for gifting (or treating yourself).”

6pm, Concert | Iration at Bayou Music Center. $30.

ON THE HOU(S)E Concierge

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