Hot bargains make big fun in larger-than-life Houston

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HOUSTON -- In the sprawling expanse of the nation's fourth-largest city, you don't need a bank account as big as Houston native Beyonce's to have a good time. There's a lot of Texas-size fun to be had for less than $20.

Before you go, there are two things to know:

• Rent a car -- it's the only logical way to navigate a metropolitan area that's larger than Rhode Island.

• Pack your shorts to tolerate the 90-degree-plus summer temperatures and stifling humidity.

MUSEUMS

Museum choices abound here, and it's easy to jump from place to place in the city's museum district, home to 15 museums within walking distance of one another.

Drop in at the Houston Museum of Natural Science -- www.hmns.org after 2 p.m. Tuesdays, when admission is free. (It's still a bargain on other days, at $6, $3.50 for children 3 to 11.)

Check out the "Lord of the Rings" exhibit (through Aug. 28), which has 650 pieces of memorabilia from the movie, including costumes worn by the trilogy's main characters.

Before you leave, drop in at the Cockrell Butterfly Center, a three-story glass-enclosed structure that houses more than 2,000 of the world's largest and most colorful butterflies.