Houston Day 1: Wet, Wild, and So Very, Very Flat

We converged on Reagan Airport at the ungodly hour of 6:45am to catch our 8:00 flight. Drama ensued early, as Melanie realized she'd forgotten her cell phone at home and needed to go back for it, and Kim called to say she was stuck in traffic and might have to come on the next flight. Well, I thought, I know I am going to Houston today, so I went through the security and sat by the gate. The girls both ended up making it to the gate in plenty of time -- but Melanie was without her phone. A call from Joe a few minutes later to my phone revealed that she'd left it in her gym bag. Craziness! It is so frustrating not to have one's cell phone. I don't know anyone's number. I am lost without that thing. Anyway, we boarded the plane on time. We'd booked the tickets in advance, but the flight was ridiculously full so not only were we not all together, but we were in different rows and all in the middle seats. Ugh!

The flight took off on time. Reports after we touched down indicate that 2/3 of us had an at least marginally horrendous experience. Kim sat next to a guy who slept for the whole flight but farted the entire time; I sat between a guy with B.O. and bad breath who (and I mean this in the most sensitive way possible) really should have bought 2 seats and another guy who slept the whole way but twitched every 3 minutes, jostling me into the big guy; and Melanie had to sit between two people who read all the way to Houston! Horrors! The in-flight movie was August Rush, and I decided to watch. This movie lost me within the first 3 minutes. It is the worst movie I have seen in recent memory. The interesting thing about it is that we found out later that Kim watched the movie too, but without headphones, and she completely understood everything. I mean, down to little details. Yeah, that's a pretty bad movie that doesn't need any sound...especially since the movie is about music. However, we decided it would be a good idea for a future activity. The next movie, I have decided, will be Sweet November.

If there weren't a Mercury Redstone rocket on the grounds, you would never guess what those buildings are.

We got our bags (amazingly, they were among the first 10 off the plane) and picked up our rental car. It was interesting, because most places give you the key to the car and you go find it in a big lot. In Houston, you go to the area with the right size car, pick one, and just drive it out (the keys are right in there). We picked an almost-new (i.e., 2900 miles) red Chevy Cobalt. We grabbed a GPS since it was only $50 to rent one for the week, and Kim programmed it to take us to NASA at the Johnson Space Center. Melanie was driving, and I was in the back just looking pretty. The GPS is great in theory, but it got a little annoying with directions like "In 4 miles, do not exit." Also, it was set to give distances in meters, which was not helpful at all even after my time in Metricland recently.

Houston is incredibly, almost impossibly, flat. I think I saw the ocean at one point even though it is an hour away. As we drove south, we glimpsed the skyline through a thick haze. I noticed that there are a lot, A LOT, of really, really big pickup trucks on the road, which led to Melanie revealing that her first car was a pickup truck, which is rather awesome. We passed Minute Maid Field, where the Astros play (interestingly, their slogan is "The good guys are back."), and got a good look at downtown Houston. There were some terrific businesses along the road, including "Pitts and Spitts Barbecue Warehouse." Kim pointed out that the roads are all rebar-reinforced concrete, because it gets so hot here in the summer that asphalt melts. Wow! We zoomed even farther south toward NASA, and around noon, Kim spotted a new location of her favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, La Tapatia. We got off the highway and pulled a U-turn, which was easy because the exits all include a U-turn lane.

Kim had raved about Tacqueria Tapatia numerous times before we came down here, so the bar was set pretty high. This place totally exceeded my expectations. The salsa is fresh (somehow, it is both hot and citrus-y), as are the chips. Kim also requested carrots in jalapeno vinegar, which were fabulous. Melanie got fajitas, Kim got tacos, and I got enchiladas. We were all totally stuffed, and our bill was (seriously) $20. $20!!!! Madness! I love Texas. We got back on the road and, even with the GPS, got lost looking for NASA. There are unsettlingly few signs telling you how to get there, even though it is by far the biggest tourist attraction in that part of Houston. We got there by 2:30, though, and bought tickets.

We hopped on a tram tour of the actual space center (as opposed to the museum, where we entered). Upon seeing the tram, Kim thought maybe we'd gotten lost again and were set to go on a tour of Virtucon instead. I certainly hoped we'd get to see Dr. Evil on the tour. The staff offered us rain ponchos for $1, but we passed -- of course, since the rain started just as we pulled away from the museum. After a very wet ride through a tunnel and across the street, we were inside the Johnson Space Center. I don't know what I was expecting, but this was not it. First of all, it is huge. Immense! It is the size of a rather large college campus Second, and I don't know why this surprised me, the buildings were labeled on the outside only by numbers (i.e. "9" instead of "Mission Control Center"). The overall effect was of a generic industrial park. If there weren't a Mercury Redstone rocket on the grounds, you would never guess what those buildings are.

Our first stop was the mission control center. We went up 87 steps (there was a big sign, and yes, I did count to be sure) and found ourselves overlooking the Apollo-era mission control room. Until 1996, all communications with American astronauts in space went through this room -- it was famously depicted in the film Apollo 13. Our guide, an adorable old man named Joe, told us that Fred Haise (one of the Apollo 13 astronauts) had been to JSC recently and told everyone that the movie was accurate, the only exception being that the guys didn't argue or fight in real life like they did in the movie. We learned that the new mission control center is on the other side of the wall of the old mission control center and that there iss a separate MCC for the Space Station right under the room we were sitting in. You might not be interested in these details, but I have to put them out there for Kim, who couldn't hear most of Joe's presentation because she was sitting in front of 4 very loudly chatty Asian tourists. Grrrr!

After the MCC building, we visited the huge facility where the astronauts train for future missions. This place reminded me and Melanie of SpaceCamp (yeah, we've both been there, you know you're jealous -- at least Kim is) in that it had lots of Space Shuttle simulators and official-looking mockups of the Shuttle. There is also a full-size copy of each of the modules on the International Space Station and a duplicate of the robotic arm that's on the Shuttle. While we were in this room, we saw one of the JSC workers fixing a little piece of technology until he stopped to answer his cell phone. Hey, I thought they told us that we had to turn off cell phones because they would interfere with the International Space Station! Busted, tour guides!

Our last stop was the big building that houses the Saturn V rocket, the biggest rocket ever, the one that sent astronauts to the moon. This thing is huge. I have seen one before, but I always forget how big it is. We took pictures and were generally awed by the scope of the thing. After that, we got back on the tram and ended the tour back at the Space Center museum.

Next, we went into a gallery where we saw a good movie about the history of American spaceflight, and then we were released into an outstanding museum about American space missions. We had sprung for the little audio guides, which was great because they had the voices of the real astronauts talking about their missions. I know a lot about this sort of stuff, but I learned new things today too. Plus, it is always amazing to see how ridiculously tiny those early space capsules were. I don't think I like anyone enough to sit in one of those for any significant length of time, so hats off to the guys who did it. We also saw a full-size model of Skylab (the first American space station) and some gross-looking Space Shuttle astronaut food. My lifelong commitment to deliciousness is really what kept me out of the space program.

We stayed until the Space Center closed. When we turned our headsets, the lady asked if we were here on business or visiting friends, and when I told her we were just generally checking out Texas, she swung into action and pulled out maps and brochures all about the Houston area. She was so sweet, we didn't have the heart to tell her we were traveling with a Texpert (in Houston, anyway). People here are so nice. What you've heard is true!

As we left the Space Center, we identified the source of the loud rumblings we'd heard while we were in the gallery: A huge thunderstorm! Kim said that the thunderstorms in Houston are super violent because there are no hills or anything to break them up. Melanie selflessly ran and got the car to pick us up, and we were off. Traffic was rather horrendous, and it was rush hour, but we crept back north toward our hotel. The sky was closer to a literally black sky than I have ever seen. As we passed downtown, we noticed that the storm clouds are so low, they cover the tops of the buildings. Wow! This place is so flat!

It was still raining when we checked into the Super 8 Brookhollow, which is just outside of the inner beltway (everything is bigger in Texas -- they have 2!). We took a little while to relax in the room, since driving in the rain is stressful and we were not yet hungry for dinner. Man, lunch was good! Melanie and I decided that lunch was so good, in fact, that we are placing our food choices in Houston completely in Kim's hands. She definitely knows the deliciousness.

Speaking of Kim's food suggestions, around 8:30 we headed out for another taste sensation: Niko Niko's, Kim's favorite Greek restaurant in Houston. This place had been hyped since the first time I mentioned the trip, so it had a lot to live up to. No surprise, but it totally, totally did. We parked the car and Kim literally scampered tothe entrance; this was funny because she has brought up the rear all day. Haha! Kim got us an order of tarama, which is a dip with caviar in it. She showed us how to eat it correctly -- spread on a pita, a few drops of lemon juice on top, then vegetables. Oh. My. Goodness. It is terrific. It reminds me of the filling in crab rangoons and also of this shrimp dip my mom used to make, which only a few people reading this can possibly agree with. Anyway, then it was time for our meals. Melanie got a gyro with seasoned fries. I got kreatopita, which is like Greek shepherd's pie in a flaky, flaky crust, and which came with a delicious Greek salad AND fries. Kim got her usual chicken kebob sandwich and fries. We were thrilled with the deliciousness and decided to entrust Kim with all of our food choices for the rest of our lives. We also discussed the menu for a dinner party Kim is having next week for us to meet her new puppy (and her mom and sister). I said I would bring dessert and mentioned that I make good peanut butter mousse pie. Mel asked if it was like moose tracks ice cream, and I said that it was [Frenchy laugh] ho-ho! [/Frenchy laugh] mousse, not [finger horns on head] moose [/finger horns on head]. Maybe you had to be there, but it was pretty damn funny.

Completely full and happy, we headed back to the hotel and went to sleep, but not before a big pillow fight and tickle battle. Sorry, guys, I am totally kidding. We chatted for a bit and drifted off. Tomorrow: Another big day in Houston! Jam-packed with deliciousness, no doubt.