Woohoo! So my husband, in his incomparable coolness, surprised me by telling me he was flying me down to Houston, specifically the Johnson Space Centre, to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary [insert crazy shrieking], with the children staying back in Oregon with Steve and Brenna.

And this was sitting right outside the entrance. The 747 is a former shuttle carrier aircraft, used to transport shuttles from wherever they landed following a mission, back to Florida. The shuttle above it is a replica, but the plane is real.

I’ve always been fascinated with the Apollo missions era, so it was brilliant seeing actual objects used on the missions. I’m always amazed when I consider what they achieved with such basic technology.

I learned a great deal more about the shuttle program, something that I hadn’t been especially interested in previously.  We got to enter the cockpit of this shuttle.

And this is a small part of its dashboard. I wish I knew what any of it meant!!  I can only make wild guesses.

This is astronaut John Blaha, a veteran of six space shuttle missions. He’s also a retired US air force colonel. We attended a session where he presented some interesting insights, and then…

…we got to have lunch with him! He’s an interesting man. Not a fan of the present US administration, and a definite believer in the scientific benefits and importance of the exploration of space.

THEN, we went on a tour of the Johnson Space Centre (as opposed to the Space Centre Houston, where we were previously), and eventually found ourselves at my personal mecca, Mission Control!!! Breathe, Linda. It was rather mind-blowing; I was very dignified externally, but in a turmoil of excitement inside. I’ve seen and read a great deal about the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions because I find them so interesting.  Consequently, it was a little surreal to be at the spot where it all happened – and they’re the actual consoles, too. They were recently re-installed after being returned from the Smithsonian. Imagine!

And there it is! The console with the red phone was Gene Kranz’s, when he was flight director, though the phone didn’t usually sit there back in the day. He is an epic ‘let’s work the problem’ NASA legend.  I wasn’t without hope that he would decide to drop in to the space centre that day, but alas, it wasn’t to be.

We sat in the viewing lounge, where the astronauts wives and visiting dignitaries used to sit during missions. I was the third person in, so I sat in the third seat in the front row. The guide told us that Queen Elizabeth had sat in my seat when she visited. How fun is that? Anyway, all too soon it was over and we had to leave. I lingered, taking pictures and bidding a fond farewell; the final person out of the building.  I can’t really convey how terribly surreal/exciting/worthwhile it all was.

Happy me.

The buildings of Johnson Space Centre are rather nondescript, but they house some pretty remarkable people and technology.

So much to see, not enough space to blog it. Anyway! – one of the stops was a Saturn V rocket. He-YUGE, and so very, very cool.

These rockets were used to hurl Apollo spacecraft into space, and were also used during Skylab.  They are a massively powerful beast of a rocket, yet incredibly dignified in appearance.

I think I would, too.  Except I’d be on my knees.

Rest in peace, Apollo 1 crew.

Meanwhile, back at the (Space Centre) ranch, this is the conveyance that NASA is developing next for deep space exploration, including to asteroids and Mars.

The Space Centre houses the actual lectern from which President Kennedy gave his famous ‘I believe this nation should commit itself to the goal of landing a man on the moon, and returning him safely to the earth’ speech.

This is one of the Mercury program capsules. It’s pretty tiny.  I remember reading that an astronaut didn’t so much climb into the spacecraft as put it on.

Moon stuff! A break down of minerals that can be found on the moon, thanks to samples that were brought back.

Even though we got there pretty much when it opened, and left when it shut, it was over all too soon. It was so good to be there, though. It was, as Anne would say, an epoch in my life.

Having time on our hands after the close of the Space Centre, we wended our way down to Galveston to seek out some dinner. We headed toward Pleasure Pier, after seeing it recommended at our motel as a fun spot.

And there is actually a Bubba Gump Shrimp Company – who knew?

We sat where we could overlook the ocean for dinner. Seafood and seabreeze.

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Rounding out the day with some brilliant Baskin Robbins. I had Baseball Nut, and Caramel Turtle Truffle.  Baskin Robbins also make an incredible Amazing Spiderman 2 icecream, coloured bright blue and red.  I was briefly tempted.  In the meantime, the kids were enjoying a liberating lolly/carbonated/icecream experience with Steve and Brenna – those legends who tripled their children for three days so we could have this opportunity.

PS. While passing some time the next day in Houston city before catching our flight back to Oregon, we came across a ‘dock dog’ jumping competition in full-swing. That’s a new one for us. And why not, really? We enthusiastically entered in on the cheering. This rotti was named Diva, and her toenails were painted pink.

These dogs can get some serious air.

This guy was loving it.