Day 10 - Space Center Houston

Continuing one of our trip themes of space, we were super excited to get over to the Space Center Houston today. The hotel had cleared out from the weekend and the breakfast area had more food options. We were out the door and on the bike at 9:30am. We fueled up the bike and got to the Space Center right at 10am when they opened. It is just a few miles from our hotel on the same NASA Road 1. 

Rob learned that the center has an app whereby you can reserve a spot for the tram tours that take you to the working campus of Johnson Space Center. In the parking lot the bluetooth becomes available and we could view the two tour options: Mission Control tour and Astronaut Training Facility/Rocket Park. We chose Mission Control first. The app has a countdown on how long the virtual wait is until you need to get on the tram, so we walked around and started looking at a few exhibits. 

We got partway through the Shuttle Independence/747 exhibit outside, this is the underside of it. It is a full scale shuttle replica and the first operating shuttle carrier. Inside we learned how the idea came to be to carry the shuttle on a modified 747. It started with a smart guy, radio controlled model airplanes and a lot of trial and error. 

By then it was getting close to time to walk back to the tram area. The tour took us to the Johnson Space Center campus. It is a huge, gated and secured area with dozens of buildings. It has its own streets and traffic lights.

We went to the Mission Control building that has interesting architecture on the facade. After a 87-step walk up a few floors, we were guided into the original Mission control viewing room. The picture below lists all of the missions overseen from this Mission Operations Control Room. It was in operation up until 1992.

In front of us were all the old control panels used for the first flight to the Moon and other historic missions. Our guide told us we'd watch a short film. Then, dramatically, the lights dimmed and the entire control room lit up, screens and monitors had charts and numbers on them. We were transported back to the exact moment when Mission Control was landing the astronauts on the Moon. NASA combined actual footage and recordings, plus notebooks and even original cigarette butts to recreate the event authentically. It all happened before computers, amazing. In the below picture, on the far right screen, you can see the TV image of Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon. Notice the ash tray and cigarette butts on the lower left of the picture below.

After that, we got back on the tram and headed back. We caught a sighting of the resident alligator, Meco, named for the acronym of "Main Engine Cut Off". Those NASA people are so funny.

By then Michele was ready for lunch so we ordered through an efficient ordering system. Through an ordering station monitor, you pick a food vendor in the food court area, scan any drinks or chips items, then pay for it all self-service. We went over to the salad area that displayed our order number on a monitor above, and the lady then customized Michele's salad. About when we finished lunch, we got in the virtual waiting line for the second tram tour to visit the training center and the Saturn V exhibit. We had about 30 minutes to wait so we went back to the Shuttle area and walked up and through it. It was really cool to see inside a Shuttle cockpit. 

After that we walked over to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Our tram was boarding so we hustled back to the tram area and discovered we were the last two people on our tram, and that all the rest of the tram tours were sold out for the day. So glad we reserved our spot when we did. This time our tram took us first to the Training Center. What an amazing place! So much is happening in this working building. They have many "low fidelity" modules of the ISS to help astronauts learn various procedures. Below are the Russian modules including a "high fidelity" Russian Soyuz capsule (grey sphere). 

The U.S. modules.

Along with full scale sections of the International Space Station, new capsules are being designed and tested for future manned flights. Below is a prototype of a potential Mars habitat (left side). Called the Alpaca, because the center airlock looks like a face, it has two tall solar arrays. A "low fidelity" Shuttle is also visible.

Below is the Orion capsule. This will eventually be flown atop the SLS and take astronauts back to the Moon and possibly to Mars.

Nicknamed the Gateway the below module will be placed in orbit around the Moon and be used as a connecting point for travel from the Earth to the lunar surface or possibly Mars. Astronauts would fly via the Orion capsule from Earth to the Gateway and then from the Gateway, they would catch a connecting flight on a different piece of hardware to the lunar surface or Mars. Hopefully the layover is not too long. 

 

There's an entire robotics section that was really cool. Robots are expected to play an important role in a human mission to Mars.

 

 

Back on the tram, we rode over to the Saturn V building. This is a heavily restored and more complete version of the same rocket we saw in Huntsville. Back in 2000, they built a climate controlled building around the rocket and restored it. The rocket had been sitting outside in the elements for 30 years and was degrading badly so the project was undertaken to preserve this important piece of the U.S. space program. It is one of three complete Saturn V rockets in existence and the only one restored to flight certified status. The detail you can see on this rocket is much greater than the one at Huntsville. There were 21 Saturn V's built but only 17 were launched to the moon. Number 18 was used to lift Skylab into orbit leaving 19-21 unused on earth and now available for all of us to see. We didn't have too long inside, but were able to see it from every angle.

 

Then we headed back to the main museum. With the tram tours done, we could more leisurely see all the exhibits. We saw the Starship Gallery with Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules. Michele touched a real Moon rock. We walked through the International Space Station Gallery and learned about its predecessor, SkyLab. There was a mannequin rotating in a crouched position to mimic weightlessness. For a second or two it looked real as we entered! You can see him in the upper left of the below picture. Skylab incidentally was built from a hollowed out shell of the 3rd stage of the Saturn V rocket. Since the program was cut short at 17 lunar missions, it was an inexpensive way to conduct more science in microgravity.

We walked through Mission Mars and learned about its atmosphere and planned missions for the future. Michele touched a real Mars rock. It felt the same as the Moon rock.

We learned about the evolution of materials to protect the astronauts from space debris. Even items that appear harmless can be extremely damaging when hurled at 15,000mph. Look what this tic-tac size plastic pellet did to a 4in thick block of aluminum! Space debris is no joke!

The center had all kinds of neat exhibits hanging from the ceiling. Here is the Lunar Lander.

Here's a Shuttle flight suit that was on display.

We saw the astronauts gallery which has a picture of every mission beginning with Alan Shepherd all the way up to the latest ISS expedition, on a huge wall. It's really impressive. Michele read Scott Kelley's book a few years ago and really liked it, so she looked for him in the photos. We finished up going through the inventions area and got a few surprises. A flux capacitor!

At 3:20 we were all done and pretty tired. It had rained since we were inside so we had to wipe down the bike a bit. It started raining again so we hustled to get on the bike and back to our hotel so we wouldn't have to get all the rain gear out. Luckily the rain seemed very local and just a mile away it was drier. 

Back at our hotel, we both agreed that the tour of the Training Center was the surprising highlight. Walking into the catwalk area above the floor, there's so much to see and take in. Michele said, if where you work offers tours to the public, you know you work in a cool place. 

We rested for awhile and then ordered Italian food delivery from Marios nearby. It was one of the better meals of our trip so far. On the laptop we watched the replay of the MotoGP races from yesterday, taking place in Argentina. They are flying to Austin this week as we make our way there also for the race this coming weekend!

Today was cooler weather than we expected. It was cloudy all day keeping the temps down with some drizzle as we were on the tram. Tomorrow will get up to 95 degrees in San Antonio! We are planning to meet Rob's coworkers from the San Antonio office for happy hour at a restaurant near our hotel. We changed hotels to be closer to this location.

Day 09 - Galveston, Tx

Last night Rob found a better route to get us back to Galveston to avoid that terrible traffic we experienced on our way North from the ferry. We wanted to visit the Moody Mansion, and Michele found out that another of the big mansions had self-guided tours. We got out the door around 9:30 and had easy traffic for the 35 miles south. The mansion had its own parking lot so we could park off-street without worrying about the bike and trailer. 

The Moody Mansion was built from 1893-1895 by a wealthy widow who hired an englishman architect. She died soon after in 1899 and it went on the market. William Moody Jr. bought it in 1900 for his wife and young family. His father was from Virginia and got his law degree from UVA in the 1800s. He also served in the Civil War in the Confederate Army. He moved to Galveston to take advantage of business fortune, getting involved in cotton, railroads, finance and more. William Jr. expanded the business and started many of his own. He and his wife had four children, three of whom lived into their 90s. Their oldest, Mary, inherited everything, by then also included ranches, newspapers, hotels, and insurance. 

The house is 40 rooms and we saw about 20 on this tour. Most of the decor and furniture is from the original owner. There are eight species of wood used in the house. This is the formal reception room. The chairs were tiny, so we don’t think anyone sat in here long. The walls had silk fabric as its wallpaper. The wood trim is (sacrilegiously) painted cherry.

The library was beautiful and much of the kids’ education occurred here. 

We asked about the carved desk and chair and it is one of the few items not in the docent book. The nice docent lady told us she thinks it is rosewood, and it has many animals carved into it. 

In the back we liked the butler’s pantry with the speaking tube system.

The dining room table expands for 20 guests. 

The family spent most of their time in the living room. 

The second floor housed the bedrooms and bathrooms. 

There is a third floor and basement we could not see on this tour. This house tour was special in that we could freely roam through most rooms and closely look at objects and furniture.

After immersing ourselves in Moody life, we walked about a mile for lunch at Shykatz Cafe. Huge menu and very good chicken wrap. After lunch we walked a few blocks to the Bishops Palace mansion. 

Built by Colonel Gresham from 1886-1892. He was a lawyer who also was from Virginia, and lived there with his wife and nine children. A church bought the house in 1923 and it was the Bishop’s residence. 

The woodwork was equally impressive in this mansion.

The built in dining room cabinet area was so ornate. It reflected nautical themes and has its own half dome made of wood.

Mrs. Gresham was a gifted artist and painted many of the paintings and ceilings. The house has its own chapel.

The tub had three spigots, the third being for rainwater as it was believed to be more gentle on women’s hair.

We have more pictures, these are just a sampling. Michele took at least one pic in every room of both houses.

We walked the mile back to Moody’s Mansion and suited up for our drive back to our hotel. Traffic was decent on the same alternate route. We relaxed in our room a few hours then had dinner across the street at the Iguanas Ranas Cantina Mexican restaurant. Tomorrow we visit Space Center Houston museum at the NASA Johnson Space Center!

Day 08 - Shreveport, LA to Houston, TX

We intended to wake at 6 and leave at 7:30, but mistakenly set the alarm for 6:30am. We got out the door at 8:15. Our travel today would be 370 miles and a long day time-wise. Temps started at 54F and warmed to the low 80s. We shed the heated gear throughout the day at each stop. 

Today our route was mostly on secondary highways, so no more interstate for now. It was much quieter and much less traffic, making for a mostly calmer ride day. We rode for 35 miles to the Texas state line. 

East bound and down, loaded up and truckin'...

Our route actually went North on Louisiana Highway 1 for a bit, then West on Louisiana 2. There were some prosperous homes along the way.

We rode through the Texas Forest Trail for over half the day, past bayous and through historic towns.

We took a fuel break and leg stretch about 1/3 of the way at a busy truck center. They tend to have consistently clean bathrooms. An older gentleman walked over to Rob and asked about the Wing. He had a trike for a long time that he named Retirement, but sold it when his wife passed over a year ago. He was with his new wife having breakfast at Dennys. He said she doesn't like riding motorcycles, but always points them out on the road when she sees them. 

We eventually turned South, taking TX-147. 

At Noon, we got to our lunch stop, the Burger House in Colmsnell, TX. We were in a rural area and there were not many options, but this place got good reviews from locals and people traveling through. 

It was tiny inside, and we entered to about five tables of people staring at us. The waitress was friendly and service was quick, despite the Saturday lunch rush. We ordered a burger and fries and both were really good, not greasy at all. 

Back on the road, we rode US69. We took another short fuel break and leg stretcher. Next, we were excited to travel by boat - a car ferry - to take us a short ride over to Galveston. It is a free ferry provided by the state. We had a short wait in line, then boarded. 

Since it was such a short ride, we didn't have to strap down the bike like we did a few years ago when we were up in Nova Scotia on the big ferry. Michele got off the bike and stood by the boat side to better see the water and views along the way. The people who stood up near the front got splashed pretty good when we crossed the wake of another boat. They all came back to their cars with wet clothes. Those waves were surprising given the water was so calm, there was barely any boat motion. The engine vibration below us was more noticeable than the boat movement. 

We disembarked smoothly and rode along the beach highway.  The GPS said we were -5ft below sea level. The bay smelled like the ocean and had real waves.

The houses are all on very tall stilts.

Galveston and Galveston Bay were very congested with traffic. We did catch sight of several historic mansions, one of which we might visit tomorrow.

It was really hectic and we were getting weary. From the ferry drop off to our hotel it was over 45 minutes. 

Our hotel, which is on NASA One Road, is a mile from that chaos and in a quieter location across the street from a marina. We checked in and then walked just across the street to a fancy food truck that serves authentic Hawaiian food with rave reviews. Since it wouldn't be open Sunday or Monday, we wanted to try it. We got the pig (pulled pork) with cabbage, rice and Hawaiian macaroni, plus a side of fries with the special herbs and sauce. It was all very delicious. We're glad we tried it.

We are here for 3 nights and have tickets to visit the Houston Space Center all day on Monday. 

Animals we've seen so far on the trip, many of which were today alone: gray and white cranes, a roadrunner, various water birds at the ferry, wild turkeys, roosters, horses, donkeys, cows of all colors, dogs of all colors, goats and sheep. 

Day 07 - Leeds, AL to Shreveport, LA

We had our longest mileage day so far ahead of us with Louisiana as our destination, so we got up at 6am and were out the door by 7:45am. We saw on the news while we ate breakfast that there was an accident on I20/59 West after the Mercedes Plant. As we passed by the area, traffic was light so we thought we were in the clear. No such luck. Just a few more miles down the road traffic came to a halt. We crawled and intermittently stopped for 45 minutes for about 5 miles. Once traffic got moving again, we saw mobile signs on either side of the road saying all vehicles must use Exit 62. Although the highway workers were taking the signs down, we could see ahead that traffic was slowing again. We took the exit to Highway 11 that paralleled the interstate, hoping we could get around and ahead of the backup. Eventually we got back on to I20 West and it was clear. 

We crossed into Mississippi and took a break for fuel about 30 minutes later. We drove another hour and found a Subway to stop and get lunch. Rob thought it would be funny to play a little April Fools joke. As we approached the parking lot with Subway right in front of us, Rob asked, "Let me know if you see the Subway." I told him it's right in front of him. He asked the same question again, but with more urgency, "Anytime now, tell me if you see it." I told him again that it's right in front of him. The third time he did this, he got a mild curse word yelled at him quite loudly. 

After lunch and back on the interstate, there wasn't too much to see scenery-wise. There were some interesting vehicles and cargo, though. We saw two of these ridiculous towing combinations. Rob said, "This looks like a disaster." 

This one is a Camaro without a bumper pulling two junked up cars. 

This particular cargo (properly towed, unlike the cars above) is something we've never seen on a truck before!

This neat boat was from DC.

At Vicksburg, we crossed the Mississippi River and entered Louisiana. 

It was another 170 miles until Shreveport, our destination for the day. We had an easy ride west and traffic was tolerable most of the afternoon. We were able to keep a consistent 70mph on the interstate, which really helped with the fuel mileage in the afternoon. Mpg at 70mph was 36 vs. only 32 when riding 75mph. The Wing is as aerodynamic as a brick.

To pass the time on the highway, we tried to count in our heads how many US contiguous states end with the letter "A". Without looking up maps, we got a count. We'll need to verify them tonight. Do you know how many there are?

We got to our hotel at 5pm, quickly got settled, and walked over to Ricky's Mexican Restaurant and Bar right next door. After 480 miles of riding today, we both needed a cocktail. Rob's was especially robust. Here's his before and after photo enjoying it. 

Rob was sitting in our booth facing a TV. He said, "Why did the Air Force Reverse choose a B-52 plane for its recruiting commercial?" We got a good laugh over that one. We shared chicken fajitas and listened to a live band playing Tom Petty songs out on the restaurant porch.  

Today went fairly smoothly considering the traffic issue this morning. The temperatures were really pleasant, around 66 by lunchtime and 72 upon our arrival in Shreveport. This morning I was thinking there wouldn't be anything to write in the blog since we'd be in the interstate all day. I was planning to post more motorcycle pics from yesterday, but as is always the case, road trips always yield something interesting or unusual. 

Tomorrow we head to Houston!