Houston

where we fulfill lifelong dreams and rediscover our hatred of big city highways

After two good nights exploring Austin, we were off to Houston where the main attraction was going to be a visit to the Johnson Space Centre, where all NASA space missions are directed from. Needless to say, one of us (guess which) was more enthusiastic about this attraction than the other.

It was a two hour drive from Austin to Houston and the closer we got to the Gulf of Mexico, the more humid it got. It felt like a real contrast to the arid dry we’d faced for the last while of our trip.

On first sighting, Houston appears to be be at odds with Austin and instead of the historic streets and beautiful architecture we found in Austin, the Houston we found was a mass of interconnected highways. Off one of these highways we eventually found the Space Centre, which even Google Maps was having difficulty with. Following the multitude of NASA signs we eventually found the right gate after a few wrong guesses, some chats with some friendly security guards and some circling around in the car.

Right at the entrance to the Space Centre you pass buy two small T-38 astronaut training planes on display. In the car park there’s a retired Shuttle Carrier Aircraft complete with a full size shuttle on it’s back. We hadn’t even parked the car and we’d already seen some cool things.

We arrived just after three in the afternoon and as the place closed at seven we were already up against the clock. We set about making as much good use of our time as possible. We’d bought our tickets online so it was just a matter of scanning the barcode saved on our phone on the way in. Then we collected our prepaid audio tour headsets in the main hall and, following advice we’d read from others online, we headed for the train tours. There’s two choices here; a red train that brings you to the training facility and a blue train that brings you to see mission control. Both trains bring you to see a real Saturn V rocket, the same as those used to power the Apollo missions. We flipped a coin and went for the blue train.

Saturn V Rocket – this guy was HUGE

Mission Control was excellent and the speaker giving the talk was too. It was a much upgraded room from what you’d see films like Apollo 13 but the layout was pretty familiar. We didn’t get to step into the room but instead viewed it from the viewing gallery. Even from there, it was pretty impressive. We had hoped to fit in the red train tour too but by the time we got back to the Visitor Centre time was getting on, and there was so much to see in the centre itself.

In the main hall we checked some of the displays which included actual suits and memorabilia from past missions. We took in the movie, saw the podium that JFK gave his famous “To the Moon” speech at and then went on an interactive tour which included a walk around a full scale replica of the space station. The headsets were useful but so much was repeated on the plaques beside the display so we alternated between reading and listening and still managed to pick up most of the information on offer. Though, there really a lot to take in.

After a quick trip to the gift shop for some souvenir postcards we were among the last in the centre come closing time. We’d crammed a lot in and though some of the displays were set up more for kids than adults there still plenty to entertain adults. Though, this is definitely an attraction suited more so to those with techy interests. At just over $30 dollars each (including the semi-worth-it audi tour), it didn’t seem like such a bad deal.

Having skipped getting a proper lunch so that we could make the most of our time in NASA we went off in search of food and ended up going to Chili’s Tex Mex restaurant. Unfortunately, even though it didn’t seem all that close to anything else, everyone else seemed to have had the same idea and there’s was a line out the door. At this stage though of the road trip we were restaurant pros (albeit on the cheaper end of the scale). We could tell the difference between families waiting on a big table to clear and couples who would fit into any space available and most of the groups standing around seemed to be families. We chanced walking around the line to ask about seats for two. The staff explained that the problem was in the kitchen, they had so many people to serve that they were running out of food. But if we were willing to wait for a while we could take some seats at the bar and fill up on corn chips and dip until we got served. Given our choices, that didn’t seem like such a bad deal.. As it turned out we got our really tasty food served up to us after just two bowls of chips and a margarita so the place definitely got the thumbs up from us.

We were staying at a lovely Airbnb out in the Houston ‘burbs and by the time we were parking the car up outside it was already dark outside. We knocked tentatively on the front door, noting that all the lights were out, though it was just coming up to 10pm.

Thankfully, the lights came on, the door opened and we were greeted by one of our hosts. Given how tired we were from the day and also pretty conscience that they seemed to be off to bed, we didn’t try to have a whole lot of chat with the hosts though they were really welcoming and seemed sound. They left out possibly the best welcome pack we’d seen from any hosts so far which, though simple was really appreciated by us after too long on the road. It was also good to be staying in a home again and not another motel.

We slept in a little the next morning and found the hosts were gone off to work by the time we surfaced. We both grabbed showers and then went in to see a little bit of Houston. It turned out to be not so bad once you got off the highway. We visited the Cockrell Butterfly Centre in the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

The Butterfly Centre was unsurprisingly a completely different experience to the visit to the Space Centre. It cost just $8 each and was basically like going into a big tropical, three-level glass house. Signage everywhere reminded you that you had to watch where you stood for fear of putting a foot down on one of the butterflies. They were everywhere and in every shape, size and colour. As soon as you walk in the door you’re likely to see one of these guys fluttering past you and it’s like that for the entire visit. There are so many varieties of butterfly that they give you a booklet to identify them. Also you get a chance to see a working hive (through a glass screen) complete with a queen been. And there’s a big dosey looking iguana lizard called Charro. All in all it’s a pretty magical experience and nicely balanced out the technology overload of the day before.

After visiting two great attractions in Houston and staying in a wonderful Airbnb it was time to move onto our next destination. Next up was a visit to the beautiful city of New Orleans!

our next destination: New Orleans ⇒