History Lesson 
Indulge Yourself This Summer
A grabbag of things to do that can take the heat off your summer.
INDULGE YOURSELF THIS SUMMER.
DON'T withdraw into your air-conditioned cocoon to dream of cool weather, football, and the kids back in school. You did that last summer, and where did it get you?
Find something to do that will change your life; learn to do whatever it is you've always wanted to do; explore an out-of-the-way corner of the state or a part of your own city you never even knew was there; learn a sport; master a craft; set your sights on something you'd ordinarily do for entertainment in the winter.
If you think there's nothing you can do in a Texas summer that will change your life except perhaps to have a fatal sunstroke—well, just read on.
HOUSTON
Tunnels and Towers
Sound the depths, scale the heights of downtown Houston. The city has two major tunnel systems in the downtown area, and several shorter ones. You can travel underground from City Hall to the Alley Theater, or from the Gulf Building through the "financial district" ending up at the Hyatt Regency Garage. Then, if you like, you can walk through the red-carpeted, tube-like hallway that links the garage to the hotel. The architecture in this towering hotel is, in a word, remarkable; and if nothing else, the Hyatt-Regency is very Houston. You can take the "Spindletop Express" elevators up to the restaurant for a drink or a meal, although this revolving bar is far more commendable for its panoramic view of Houston than for its food.
Speaking of views, one of our favorite old Houston buildings is the Gulf Building, a fine old structure straight out of the 1920's: for a good eye-to-eye look at it, go to the 18th floor of the Rice Hotel and turn east.
Canoeing
As far as Texas rivers go, the canoeing waters closest to Houston seem to lie in a ten mile stretch of the Trinity River from Lake Livingston to Highway 59. According to the publication Texas Rivers and Rapids: Canoeing Guide to the Rivers of Texas, this section of the river is relatively calm, deep and easy to negotiate by even a novice canoeist. Put-in point is at the concrete launching ramp opposite the Dam Site Marina below the dam at Lake Livingston; take-out point is on the right bank almost directly below the Highway 59 bridge. The Brazos River is also a popu1ar canoeing site for Houstonians, with several put-in points reasonably close by. Your best bet for canoeing information is the Texas Rivers and Rapids publication. You can get it for $3 by writing P.0. Box 673, Humble, Texas 77338.
It's Got to Be Beaches 'Cause There Aren't Any Mountains
If you're reluctant to drive down to Galveston or Freeport on a weekend because of overcrowded beaches, you might be interested in what our beach expert has to suggest. This gentleman, who has spent a good deal of time exploring beaches up and down the Gulf Coast, says that Bolivar, the peninsula east of Galveston, is an interesting place a lot of beach-goers just pass by. For one thing, you have to take a ferry to get there. (The ferry dock is on Far-East Seawall Blvd.) Bolivar has a pleasant beach and various historical oddities as well.
As far as the best beaches along the entire coast go, our beach nut recommends Mustang Island and the beach just across the border at Brownsville, about six miles east of Matamoros. Of the latter he says rapturously, "It's like being in another world."
Don't Knock It If You Haven't Tried It
Yoga. Though less faddish these days than a few years ago, Hatha Yoga (the "physical" Yoga) is a worthwhile endeavor for those interested in bodily control, particularly as an aid to mental clarity. While there are countless books on Hatha Yoga, it is probably better to study with an expert Yogi or Yogini, if you are seriously interested in this ancient discipline: Yoga is subtle, powerful and really rather difficult to practice except through example. Some of the more popular places to study Yoga include the YMCA and YWCA (check your phone book for the one nearest you), the Jewish Community Center (5601 Braeswood Blvd), Neiman-Marcus in the Galleria and the School of Yoga (517 Lovett Blvd).
Browsing for Books
Houston is not noted for its bookstores: if you are looking for a book even mildly esoteric, chances are you'll have to order it. For casual browsing, however, you might find interesting if eclectic summer reading at the Libran Bookstore, 3700 Yoakum, or the South Main Bookstore, 6624 S. Main. The Libran has an extensive psychology section, plus a large but spotty selection of fiction titles. The Libran is perhaps the only bookstore in town with the complete, paperbound collection of an old series of fairy tale books, each of which are designated by a different color, like the Red Fairy Tale Book, the Violet Fairy Tale Book and so on.
Summer School
The St. Thomas University summer session opens June 4, with registration through June 1. Tuition per semester hour is $35, with an additional $10 facilities use fee where necessary. The summer courses offered include the usual range, with an emphasis on the humanities and the arts. One popular course is Harris County Commissioner Tom Bass's political science course.
For more information, contact the Registrar's office, 3812 Montrose, 522-7911.
God Is Alive and Well and Living at the Astrodome
If you've nothing better to do July 4, you can always praise the Lord. At the Astrodome, yet. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society convention will bring close to 100,000 Jehovah's Witnesses from all over the world into our fair city, for a four day conference, July 4-8. There will be Bible discourses, Bible dramas, lots of sound and fury, and it's all open to the public. Perhaps the glorious Astrodome scoreboard will light up with illustrations from The Watchtower. (And don't forget that the Astrodome is packed with righteous air conditioning, and it probably will be hot as That Other Place outside.) If you miss this one, you can always catch the All-Lutheran Youth Conference August 4- 7, also at the Astrodome.
Barefoot in the Park
A sure bet on any simmering summer afternoon is a visit to Hermann Park. Ride the train, quack back at the ducks, amble over to the Zoo and be nice to the polar bear. Or plop your bod down atop the hill at Miller Theater and, especially if it's a Sunday, take in the scene: longhaired frisbee whizzes teaching those plastic saucers to dos-a-dos; pink-robed and pig-tailed Hare Krishnas chanting and giving away funny cookies; skinny papas and fat mamas trailing uncountable bambinos, fox terriers and tuna fish sandwiches. Plus there's free entertainment on the open air stage.
Archery
The Buffalo Field Archery Club maintains, with the help of the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, one practice range of ten targets, another range of 28 field targets (10 to 80 yard shots) and a bow hunting range—thirty acres in all. The field targets are carefully plotted along a trail through the woods to assure you will not be impaled from the rear by a would-be William Tell.
Applications to the Buffalo Field Archery Club are available in a wooden box at the fieldhouse. (You don't, however, have to belong to use the ranges.) For information, call the secretary of the club at 723-9836. Tournaments are held on the second and fourth Sundays at 2 p.m. Memorial Park, Loop 610 and Woodway.
Hiking
Hiking in Houston is not limited to going from Montgomery Ward to Foley's in Sharpstown Center or from your car in W3 to your seat in the east side of the Astrodome.
The Arboretum and Botanical Gardens encompass 260 acres in Memorial Park and have a network of trails for hikers and browsers. A free map is available at the Arboretum office. It shows both the two-mile outer loop trail and the shorter trails through the sanctuary. No picknicking or bicycling is allowed and you'll feel that you are in the piney woods rather than within a few miles of downtown Houston. Native trees are identified for you. Seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
If walking one hundred miles, or parts thereof, races your motor, you'll find that the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club has provided a magnificent, almost primeval trail that stretches from the western tip of the Sam Houston Forest near Richards, Texas, northeast towards Huntsville and then southeast towards Cleveland, Texas.
SAN ANTONIO
Illegal Activities
In the bedroom burg of Castle Hills, Slim Lambert's gambling casino is still in operation for those who feel like indulging in some extra-legal gambling. Since the casino was raided by the DPS a few years ago, it's restricted itself largely to card games on weekends, and Slim is careful about who he lets in.
More open gambling can be found at quarterhorse races such as the Dutchman Downs held June 2-3 at the Comal County Fair Grounds or the dog races held frequently in Seguin.
Cockfights continue to attract the aficionados to Nixon, Texas. Local authorities seem to take no notice. To find the fights ask the nearest passerby in Nixon.
Scuba-Do
Take to the briny with skin diving lessons at Texas Divers Scuba School, 1943 N. New Braunfels. Cost of lessons is $45 plus $36 for renting the equipment for your first three dives.
20,000 Leagues Beneath the Dirt
Texas' Hill Country between Austin and San Antonio is laced with caves, many of which are unexplored. The adventuresome type may contact a local spelunker's club (check with the geology department of your favorite college). The more timid can take a conducted tour of the tamer, commercially operated holes.
My Library
