Temperatures in Houston are over 100 degrees this week, and it's hot inside even with the a/c running full blast.  If you're looking to stay cool without running up your electric bill, why not try the free days at a couple of local museums?

The Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) is free on Tuesday afternoons after 2pm, right when the heat in the office starts to get unbearable.  You can see dinosaur bones, minerals, shells, animals, and artifacts from all over the world.  Other exhibits are available for a charge, but you don't need to see the Titanic to stay cool.

The Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) is free all day on Thursdays, and is even bigger.  You can wander two buildings worth of galleries, including both permanent and traveling exhibitions.  Be sure to check out the amazing animated project 'City Glow' by Chiho Aoshima.  It's downstairs next to Cafe Express.

The Health Museum is free on Thursdays from 2pm - 5pm.  We haven't been there yet, but it sounds pretty cool.  You can also check out the Children's Museum for free from 5pm - 8pm on Thursdays.  We've been there with young relatives before, and recommend plenty of hand sanitizer, earplugs, and

It occurred to me that some of you may not live in Texas, and you're probably looking at our photos and wonder what, exactly, the weather is like here.  You might have noticed that we have photos of us wearing shorts year-round, and we swim outdoors eight months of the year.  If you watch the news, you may also have seen video of last year's wildfires, destructive tornadoes, and even a snowstorm that shut down half the state last February.  Are we crazy, or is something else going on?

Well, the answer is that Texas is just so darn big!  You see, Two Girls is (currently) based in Cypress, TX, where the climate is very similar to coastal cities like New Orleans or Pensacola, Florida.  Other parts of the state are more like (and closer to) places like Albuquerque, Oklahoma City, or Tucson.  If you're interested in the climate diversity of the state, check out this excellent explanation from our friends over at the Office of the State Climatologist.

You may also want to consult the following list of things that Texas is allegedly larger than:
1. California
2. New England
3. France
4. the Pacific Garbage Patch
5. everything else