Last year on Thanksgiving weekend, Joe and I decided to take a road trip to "break-in" the new car. We had our traditional Thanksgiving dinner with Mom & Dad in Ponder, then we headed south to Houston. Bad weather was in the forecast and we didn't want to take a chance on flights. Plus, there are quite a few things in and around Houston that we hadn't seen. So with our bellies full, we headed south on I-45.
Our first stop was scheduled to be the Battleship Texas, so we drove all the way to a Holiday Inn Express in La Porte. I think we were two of about five people staying there that night. It was actually kind of funny. The next morning we got up and there wasn't much breakfast, but that was okay, we understood. I filled a bowl with Frosted Flakes and poured the milk on. I took a bite and I thought something didn't taste quite right, but I took another bite. About that time, Joe is spewing milk back in his bowl and exclaiming, "THE MILK IS SOUR! THE MILK IS SOUR! DON'T DRINK THE MILK!!!!!" Oops. I guess that's the disadvantage of not liking milk that much. Fortunately, it never made me sick that I had a couple of bites of sour milk.
With a little breakfast, we headed back towards Houston to the Battleship Texas. The USS Texas was commissioned on March 12, 1914. According to the Texas Parks & Wildlife website, "she was the most powerful weapon in the world..." She served in both World Wars and never suffered a fatality. We climbed up and around and through the Battleship. It was quite interesting!!
From the Battleship, we headed across the street to get a little more information on Texas history at the San Jacinto Monument. The monument marks the site of the Battle of San Jacinto, the decisive battle in the Texas Revolution. Inscriptions on the monument tell the story of the "birth of Texas." We rode the elevator to the top and looked out over the actual battlefield and could also see downtown Houston.
From La Porte, we decided it was time for lunch so we headed to a barbecue place that I had read about in Texas Highways several times - Goode Company. The sauce tasted more like spaghetti sauce to me and I didn't care for it. But it was sustenance and after lunch, we continued on our tour of Houston, stopping at some whacky houses. The most notable, The Beer Can House, but also Pigdom and The Orange Show.
We wrapped up Day 1 at Moody Gardens in Galveston. We visited the aquarium and the Christmas light show. Not to sound "snooty" but I guess once you've been to some of the best aquariums in the country, Moody Gardens doesn't really measure up. The light show was kind of fun and it gave us something to do. After our visit, we headed to Seawall Boulevard for dinner.
The next day, we went to the Johnson Space Center. We have been to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, so we thought it would be fun to visit Johnson as well. Johnson Space Center was a little like a theme park with a space theme. We took the 2 tram tours as soon as we got there because there was weather moving in. The tram tours take you to Mission Control, the Training Center, and the Rocket Garden where you can also visit the Saturn V Rocket. The big rocket is housed in a building to protect it from the elements. It was huge!!! After the tram ride, we explored the rest of the space center, while it stormed outside!
Our final stop before heading north was back to Galveston Island to see the tree sculptures. After Hurricane Ike destroyed many of the city's trees, artists decided to make something beautiful out of what nature tried to destroy. It was getting dark towards the end of our tour, but they were really interesting and fun! Here's my favorite:
We would make a couple of stops on our way home. The first was the Big Thicket National Preserve. It was a beautiful day, so we decided to take in the Kirby Nature Trail - an easy walk close to the visitor center. It was fun, but we left a lot of the Big Thicket unexeplored and will surely need a re-do.
Finally, we stopped in Hemphill, Texas at the Patricia Huffman Smith Museum remembering Columbia. When the space shuttle, Columbia, disintegrated upon re-entry, a lot of the debris was recovered in East Texas. This museum tells the story of the town and its citizens and how everyone pulled together to join or assist in the recovery effort.
Unfortunately, from there, we had to head home and back to work on Monday, but we enjoyed our weekend road trip. I'm sure it won't be our last!
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