Touring Houston: JSC and a ballgame

Our first full day in Houston was a success yesterday.  Mark has always wanted to go to the Johnson Space Center.  Both of the times that he was sent here by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, the meetings were off base.  We arrived about 10 a.m., along with thousands of others.  This is a popular place! The first big thing we did was take the tram tour to the original Mission Control center, and that meant we went on base.  Mark was in heaven.  It was an interesting tour, and the Mission Control center, which is no longer used, was restored to its 1960s look.  It had old, worn orange chairs and carpet.  There were also ashtrays on the backs of the seats.  It was very impressive to sit in the gallery where dignitaries and families of astronauts sat during the missions.  It's also amazing to think that the computer power down in the control room had at most 5G of power, far less than anyone's phone has today, and yet they got a man on the moon with that technology.

We also had plenty of time to explore most of the other exhibits and see two movies.  The first movie was a history of the manned space flight program; the second was looking to the future with the Orion program and the plan to put people on Mars.  Oddly, we ran into a couple from Solivita, Frank and Nancy, who are members of our Disney Fan Club and recognized us.  We had a nice chat with them for awhile.  They were trying to get home from their first visit to Disneyland and got caught in Houston with the Southwest computer snafu.  They ended up spending two nights in Houston, so today they decided to come to JSC.  That was pretty fun.

Lunch was in the food court at the JSC.  I got a roasted veggie hoagie with cheese, although it was hard to spot the cheese in there, and a side salad.  Dinner was in the ball park.  We went to a kiosk that had build-your-own salads.  I made a pretty good one with some cheese, beans, and hard boiled egg for the protein but no dressing or anything with mayo on it.  I think it was a reasonable choice.

After the Space Center, we went straight to Minute Maid Park.  We walked all the way around it once we entered, then we got our salads and went to our seats.  The Astros beat the Angels 2-1, and then because it was Friday night, the dome was retracted and fireworks were shot off.  It was a pretty long and spectacular display, and we were very close!  Back in the day, we did a similar thing on the Fourth of July in Detroit.  Evey, age 9 at the time, punched me in the arm through the whole thing because she was afraid of fireworks.  I like to think she wouldn't have done that this time, but she probably would have left the seats and waited them out somewhere else farther away. She is still not a fan of fireworks.

I brought my scale into the hotel room this time.  I am not sure what it is saying since it is, as it often does, showing as much as a four pound difference in just a few minutes.  I may have gained 3.5 pounds after the big Thursday night dinner or I may be the same as when we left.  I got both numbers this morning.  It's not official until Monday, and I plan to eat perfectly until then with no extra calories.

Today we pre-purchased our ticket to the Art Museum and tickets to see the new Star Trek: Beyond movie.  This way we can tour and not spend money.  Mark has money on a Subway card for lunch, and dinner will be late, after sundown.  We are going to a 5:30 movie, so when it's over, it will almost be time for that dinner.

Day four of 64 went very well!

One of the first things you see driving in...I saw this when it flew over the Baltimore Beltway once.

Happy camper on the tram, excited to spend a little time on the JSC base.

The original mission control room visitors gallery.  Can you see the metal ashtrays on the backs of some of the chairs?

Looking into the mission control area.  The current mission control is still in this building, but on another floor and much more upgraded.  And not for public view!

Standing by a Saturn V rocket with an Apollo capsule in front at Rocket Park.  This picture does not give you the whole sense of how massive this thing is.

Mark started working for NASA in September of 1969.  This mission was the first one that happened after he was hired.

JSC land used to be a cattle ranch, so a small herd is still maintained.

The actual podium that JFK used to announce that we would put a man on the moon.

Before the tram tour, they took our picture.  I bought it for Mark as a souvenir.

In the Astronaut Hall of Fame, Mark was hunting for this group.  Ron  Parise from the shuttle Endeavor mission of March 1995, ultimately worked at Goddard.  Mark managed his computers.

Then on to the Houston Astros game at Minute Maid Park.

The dome stayed closed throughout the game, so it was comfortably air conditioned in the stadium.  Only after the game ended with the Astros winning 2-1 over the Angels did the dome retract for the fireworks.