Just got my tix for Saturday! Have a few Questions…

I'm taking my 11-year-old son to his first NFL game Saturday — we're stoked! I'm a native Houstonian but haven't lived their for 20+ years. It's been way too many years since I've been to a game as a fan, so I have a few general questions:

1) Getting there: I don't want to mess with traffic in/out of the stadium so I think we'll take MetroRail. Are there park and ride-type areas where I can leave the car and get on the rail? We're driving in from San Antonio, so not really bound by getting on at a certain point — wherever it would be easiest. Downtown lot? Medical Center garage?

2) Tailgating: Do I need a separate ticket to get into the tailgate area if we're just walking around checking it out? Also, what's the food etiquette these days? Do some people share their food with random visitors like me? Do they sell it, give it free, tell me to go to hell? Is it out of line even asking? I'm not looking for a free meal or anything, but I bet there's gonna be some kick-ass BBQ worth trying.

3) Pre-Game: We have nosebleed section seats, which is fine. I'm assuming there's not a scenario where we could walk down to a lower level to check out the pregame warmups, etc? Maybe after the game? I know there won't be anything going on on the field worth seeing, but I just want to give my son the chance to see the field closer.

4) Cameras: I want to bring my digital point-and-shoot (Fuji x100). Texans' policy says cameras with lens less than 3 inches is okay so I should be fine, but I'm wondering if anyone has real-world experience with getting hassled trying to bring in a camera. Especially if my car's not nearby I don't want to run the risk someone at the mag-n-bag turns me away.

Thanks, and LET'S GOOOOOOOOO!