The whole family enjoyed minimal travel today and not having to pack up and change accommodations. After a late breakfast, we headed southwest on I-45 to Space Museum Houston off of NASA Parkway and run by NASA. We got there right @ 10 am when they opened and took the Tram Tour to various important buildings and landmarks around NASA's workspaces. Truly amazing experience! We saw the testing room for new hardware and rovers coming along. The ORION, which is the new focus of NASA since the shuttle program is retired, had 2 pods being worked on for space living and travel. We finished off the morning session with time in the Angry Birds exhibit. We noticed that Tim, Solinda and Nathan all gained from 7 to 10 pounds here on Earth, according to their scale. We all had fun seeing our images and weights on Jupiter, Neptune and Mars, also.
With a 1:10 start time at Minute Maid Park, we hopped in the car and traveled 20 miles back up the 45 to downtown, parked the car way out in a lot, and hiked in. It was 100 degrees and humid and we were very glad to get into the domed and air-conditioned stadium after a 10-minute hike holding Sariah. The Rangers scored 2 runs in the first and Yu Darvish pitched a perfect game into the 6th inning for Texas against the Astros until a 2-out walk. He lost the no-hit bid in the bottom of the 8th inning (on Corporan's homer) and struck out about 15 Astros! The Rangers won 2-1 and the Texas fans present (at least half) were pleased.
Good thing it was a quick game! We headed back to the car and down the 45 to the Space Museum again to visit until 6 or 7 (we were unsure which due to inconsistent pamphlets and signage). We found out it was until 6, so we got about 75 more minutes. Tim really enjoyed the museum side, which is very extensive. The timelines and missions of Gemini, Apollo and the space shuttles were well presented and neat to read. Tim's highlight was the moon soil and rock samples display, which are truly amazing to behold and think about. Sam and Sariah loved playing in the giant kids' area. After these, we went to a video covering the space shuttles from 1981 to 2011 and all kinds of nostalgic treats. It was very well done and quite emotional for those of us who are old enough to remember. Nathan loved the whole experience as he wanted to see this museum since he was about nine or ten.
We got back to the hotel at a good hour, the kids swam, and all were in bed at 9:30 - our best night of the trip...
With a 1:10 start time at Minute Maid Park, we hopped in the car and traveled 20 miles back up the 45 to downtown, parked the car way out in a lot, and hiked in. It was 100 degrees and humid and we were very glad to get into the domed and air-conditioned stadium after a 10-minute hike holding Sariah. The Rangers scored 2 runs in the first and Yu Darvish pitched a perfect game into the 6th inning for Texas against the Astros until a 2-out walk. He lost the no-hit bid in the bottom of the 8th inning (on Corporan's homer) and struck out about 15 Astros! The Rangers won 2-1 and the Texas fans present (at least half) were pleased.
Good thing it was a quick game! We headed back to the car and down the 45 to the Space Museum again to visit until 6 or 7 (we were unsure which due to inconsistent pamphlets and signage). We found out it was until 6, so we got about 75 more minutes. Tim really enjoyed the museum side, which is very extensive. The timelines and missions of Gemini, Apollo and the space shuttles were well presented and neat to read. Tim's highlight was the moon soil and rock samples display, which are truly amazing to behold and think about. Sam and Sariah loved playing in the giant kids' area. After these, we went to a video covering the space shuttles from 1981 to 2011 and all kinds of nostalgic treats. It was very well done and quite emotional for those of us who are old enough to remember. Nathan loved the whole experience as he wanted to see this museum since he was about nine or ten.
We got back to the hotel at a good hour, the kids swam, and all were in bed at 9:30 - our best night of the trip...
You saw Darvish? He used to play baseball here, as I'm sure you know. We are going to Houston this January and I hope we can make it to NASA too.
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