A-Lafayette, LA; B-League City, TX; C-Bryan, TX; D-San Antonio, TX; E-Corpus Christi, TX

NASA space arm in astronaut practice bldg

Sunday, November 7, we headed to League City – that’s SE of Houston. We spent the next day at NASA (Johnson Space Center). It was an excellent venue. There was a 90 minute tram tour that included the original NASA control center, the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility (where astronauts practice lots of their space activities) - There was a space station arm that handles thousands of pounds in space but can’t even lift its own weight on earth. They keep a field of Texas longhorn cattle. There was a display of the Saturn V rocket launch vehicle. Once back to the main building there were several show areas – how astronauts live in space, an IMAX about the space station a display of moon rock samples. And there was a large play area in the middle for the kids including some huge Lego displays.

Galvaston, TX oil drilling rig - Ocean Star

Tuesday we drove 20 miles south to Galveston. Did you know it’s practically an island?? I didn’t. We visited a retired oil drilling rig (Ocean Star) that is now on public display. There is a 3-story museum that explains with signs and models the types of ocean oil drilling rigs, the variety of drill bits (they are huge), explanation of the drilling process. It was well done and we learned a lot about off-shore drilling.

Then just a block away we went on a harbor cruise. It was a bit weird because we were the only passengers on the 35-passenger boat. Oh well – private tour. We did get some information about the town and port and even saw some dolphins.

Bishop's House, Galveston, TX

We still had some time left so we headed to the ‘Bishop’s House’ – 14^th on the list of US historic Vistorian houses. The house was originally built by a fellow by the name of Gresham (same family that the town of Gresham, OR was named for). When Gresham sold the home it was purchased by the Catholic Church for the Bishop – therefore, the ‘Bishop’s House'. It had beautiful Oak and Mahogany wood throughout the home – much of it intricately carved – the tour guide was a real lover of Victorian architecture so his dialogue was really interesting.

Kemah Boardwalk near League, TX

Our last day here we drove 7 miles to the shore and Kemah Boardwalk. It wasn’t a particularly nice day, but before the rains came we walked the very quiet and almost deserted boardwalk. There is an amusement park, lots of restaurants, a little train to ride, a few shops. I’m sure in the summer it’s a very busy place – but not the day we were there. We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon in the RV listening to the rain.

George H W Bush Library & Museum

Red Dress collection to promote women's health

Thursday we took off for Bryan, TX.  It was nice to see the Houston traffic in our rear view mirror – my goodness that city is HUGE !!! We stayed in Bryan, TX (NW of Houston about 120 miles) so that we could visit the George H.W. Bush Presidential library. It is actually in College Station next to the A&M college campus. The library was nicely done. There was an Oval office set up as it had been in the White House. There was interesting information on Barbara Bush. They had an interesting traveling exhibit there – the Red Dress collection in support of encouraging women to be aware of their health. They had a display of about 15 red dresses worn by First Ladies, and another display of red dresses worn by celebrities. There were displays on diabetes, heart health, importance of weight control, etc. Following our library visit we found a local deli (clearly geared to the college crowd) where we had very good sandwiches.

Washington-on-the-Brazos meeting bldg

With some time left we headed 20 miles to Washington-on-the-Brazos Historic Park. This is where Texas created the document to become a Republic separate from Mexico– the plain wooden building still stands on the site. There was interesting information on Texas as part of Mexico, Texas as a Republic (9 yrs), Texas  being annexed into the United States,  Texas joining with the Confederacy, and finally Texas becoming a state.

The next day (Saturday, November 13) we drove south to San Antonio. We had planned to stay in Austin for two days, but there was a University of Texas Longhorn football game and we couldn’t get a campsite. But San Antonio is just 70 miles south, so we decided we’d drive to Austin by car on Sunday and see the LBJ Presidential Library, the Texas Historical Museum, and the Austin Capitol building. These were all located within about half a mile of each other. We started with the LBJ library. He was remembered for the problematic Viet Nam war, but he encouraged the passage of many human rights legislation during his tenure. The floating exhibit was an extensive exhibit on Walter Cronkite – very interesting.

Texas capitol in Austin, TX

From there we went to the Bob Bullock Texas Historical Museum. This was a three floor museum just four blocks from the Capitol. There were several films and life-size displays depicting the history of Texas. It was interesting and quite different from many museums we have seen. Everything was big – and you know – everything is BIG in Texas. From here we made a quick trip to the Capitol – since it was Sunday we were able to find a parking place. The capitol building is made of Texas red (pink) granite – really unique and quite attractive.

The Alamo church

Monday we took the city bus from in front of the RV park to downtown San Antonio. We first visited The Alamo, made famous by the movie with John Wayne. It was originally a church that was turned into a fort. Only about one quarter of the original land is still the original Alamo – the church and part of the barracks. It is now a Nat’l Historical site and there is no charge to visit. There is an excellent 18-minute movie that chronicles the battle of the Alamo.  (We have been so impressed with many of the Nat’l park movies as they are beautifully done by the Discovery Channel.) There is a beautiful huge oak tree in the center of the courtyard that shades the entire area – these large oaks are just amazing. From there we went across the street to a small Alamo Museum that contains the largest scale model of the original Alamo Fort. Phil Collins (the British singer) donated this model and much of the other historical relics – he has the largest collection of Alamo memorabilia in the world.

San Antonio Riverwalk

From there we walked just a couple of blocks to the Riverwalk that you always hear about when people discuss San Antonio. The walk is below street level and is bordered by hotels, restaurants, shops and lots of trees and landscaping. It really is quite beautiful. There are folks keeping it clean and classy. You can take a flat-bottom boat ride around the canal – reminiscent of the canals of Venice. We sat outside a restaurant and as we ate enjoyed just watching people and the boats – then we walked around the walk before catching the bus back to the RV park.

San Antonio Zoo parrots

Tuesday we drove to the San Antonio Zoo and enjoyed walking around the very nice park. We enjoyed watching the trainers exercise the elephants and show how they have the elephants trained to show various body areas for examination – feet, ears, trunk; and they also throw tires and wood for the elephants to retrieve for exercise. This zoo has an extensive bird population. From there we drove to the McNay Modern Art Museum. It is in a Spanish home built by Mrs. McNay who was an artist and collected a great deal of art. She opened much of her home as a museum, and once she died, the entire home became a museum. The art was interesting and the home and gardens were beautiful. That evening we went out for barbeque – you can’t visit Texas without having barbeque!!

San Antonio Governor's Palace

Mission San Jose

Wednesday we caught the bus and headed back downtown. We were lucky that the bus went right by the ‘Governor’s Palace’, originally (1731) army Captain’s home for many years. It was also used as a private residence before the city took it over and returned it to its original form. From there we walked past the city Plaza and the Courthouse (made of the Texas red granite – and it really is RED). We went to the RiverMall for a bit and then had a Mexican lunch along the Riverwalk. We headed back to the park and then took the car to see Mission San Jose. The missions in this area were built by the Spaniards who brought in the Indians – the Indians were barely surviving due to an extended drought. The compound was quite large and included over 40 ‘apartments’ for the Indians who eventually became self sufficient at the mission.

And Thursday (November 18) we are off to Corpus Christi – until then……………