Our first objective was the Johnson Space Center, about 25 miles southeast of Sara's B&B. Only one hitch getting into the visitor's center, causing a 5 mile turn-around do-over. Oh well...
We entered the Center and went immediately to the Tram for the tour of the facility. We lucked out and spent very little time in the line (but be warned, it gets hot out there; one young lady passed out while waiting for the next tram to arrive to be boarded). Besides just driving around the complex, the Tram had three stops:
- The Mission Control Room for the Apollo Missions and many of the Shuttle missions. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places. It gave me chills to be in this very room.
- The Astronaut Training Facility, where they have mock-ups of the Shuttle (no longer used), the International Space Station (ISS), and other space-places. It was pretty cool to see these, and
- An enormous building housing one of the 3 remaining Saturn V Rockets. The thing is just HUUUUUGE.
The tram ride was quite memorable. We debarked and stopped at the zero-G Grill for lunch, then watched a presentation on life on the ISS. We then went to the exhibit above the front of the entrance: an actual shuttle sitting atop the 747 that was used to test-launch the Shuttle to prove it would glide and land, and which was also used to ferry shuttles to various points. The 747 is so very big and the inside of the shuttle is just so small in comparison. This exhibit alone was worth the price of admission. I feel we really got our money's worth on this visit. Just as interesting as our trip to Cape Kennedy a couple of years back.
We then went back to Sara's, but took the opportunity to drive by the Astrodome. It is no longer used for major sports, but being such an historic building, it was cool to drive by.
After a quick rest at Sara's, our last outing of the day was to the legendary Pappas Bros. Steakhouse. We went to the one at the Galleria. The service was impeccable and the New York Steak was sublime. We also shared the house salad, sides of mushrooms and mashed potatoes and topped it off with a slice of key-lime pie. Just as memorable was the drive back to Sara's, as we drove through a very wealthy neighborhood of Houston; lots of very large mansions. This must have been the neighborhood that all the oil-money pours into.
Both the Space Center and Pappas Bros. are worth the going to should you ever find yourself in Houston!
The one bit of bad planning on my part was that the Museum we wanted to visit is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. We must get back to Houston for that, and perhaps for a Sounders match v. Dynamo at BBVA Compass Field?
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