there is not much to see in houston/austin

I guess the only thing in Houston worth seeing is the NASA museum.  After living in IL for over a decade, i wasn't impressed by the skycrapers in downtown Houston at all.  You can also go to Gaveston, which is 50 miles south of Houston, the beach there is pretty famous.  Austin is the capital of TX, besides of the capital buildings, i guess you can also go see UT-Austin, if you are interested in visiting universities.  Personally, I think San Antoinio is more interesting place to visit, there is the alamo battle place and the river to see.

Hope what i wrote helps, and have a wonderful trip again, :)