Once their tests were complete, the two peas hurried away to a little place called Houston. With city passes in hand they were ready to scour the land in search of interesting and incredible things. They found them all right - vaults with moon rocks and beautiful gems, museums full of fun (and people), and a space center. Each night they got to retire to the comfort of a Marriott. What a steal of a price it was online too.
Day 1: Travel most of the morning and part afternoon to Houston. Pick up your passes and head to the Aquarium. See all the big fish and ... a white tiger?
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| This is the city... |
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| Train crossing! This is the train we took to see the sharks. Glad there was a 5" thick tank. |
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| These fish were about as big as 1/2 of my 5' tall frame. |
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| Our glimpse of the tiger among many lookers-on. |
Day 2: Wake up to a cool swim in the exercise room, shower, and then munch on your breakfast while you travel downtown. Visit the Museums of Health, your inner child (Children's Museum), and Natural History.
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| I'm a little raindrop short and stout. |
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| Swim with dolphins! |
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| Complete a brain-twisting challenge like this one. (Make the string pass over each line without crossing over another string, unless to secure around a peg, and without retracing your steps.) |
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| Tetris 3-D: Make a Cube |
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| Examine your innards! |
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| What would you look like if you were born Asian? |
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| Walk into a human body! |
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| Race the skeleton! |
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| I think the skeleton is winning. |
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| Don't worry; it won't bite. |
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| The Children's Museum |
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| Climb around |
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| Hall of Mirrors |
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| Natural History and the Solar System steps |
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| Ginormous Geode |
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| Forget about the geode; check out these Sea Shells. (I think, if it were still living, it could swallow me.) |
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| Spiny and wild shells. |
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| This formation was made by gold. You heard right, made by not just made of. Didn't know gold could sculpt. Check out that dragon. |
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| How do gems get to looking like plants? |
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| Pyrite. Wow. That's all I can say. |
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| We found Superman's stash of crystals. |
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| More pyrite. How does it do that? |
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| Oo! Smells sooo good. |
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| We brought our own food. |
Day 3: Pack up and head out to the Space Center!
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| For $70.00 a night, this place was fabulous! |
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| Our visit to the Neutral Buoyancy Lab. |
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| The divers (center with yellow oxygen tanks) were huddled around some astronauts practicing for their upcoming mission. |
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| An Apollo capsule |
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| Moon walk |
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| Link for Soyuz and Apollo capsules. |
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| Taken while standing in the practice Sky Lab (the one astronauts practiced in while under water). Took this picture while the model was sideways...in space the room would seem right side up to him too. |
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| Space toilet. Those who know me would understand the cringe. (I hate toilets away from home. And more than that, I can't stand toilets in tight spaces.) Maybe this is why I didn't become an astronaut. |
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| I felt better once I found out I would have my macaroni and cheese. (It's in the top right corner.) |
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| Trying my hand at landing the shuttle. | | |
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| Jon's turn! |
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| How would you like to wear this stylish suit in space. A group of astronauts took these sweet pj's up on a mission. |
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| Space school toilet training. |
