We flew into Houston, making it our entry point into the US, and stopover on the way to Mexico, for two reasons: barbecue and NASA. Max was also joining us on our Mexican adventure.
Barbecue in Houston
The first night we ate at J-Bar-M Barbecue which made a great sausage. After our fill, we went back to the hotel, for a restless night’s sleep, jetlag winning the battle for the middle hours of the night for all of us.
But with barbecue ticked off, all that was left to do was to go to NASA. We splashed out on some VIP tickets to see inside Mission Control and other areas of NASA not otherwise open to the public with a normal ticket. As a big space lover, I was very excited to visit NASA and to go inside both the current Mission Control Centre, as well as the original Mission Control Centre, which is no longer used, but is preserved to look exactly as it did on 16 July 1969; the day of the moon landing.
The current Mission Control Centre
Every detail was painstakingly captured, right down to the smokers’ cigarettes on ash trays, coat jackets hung on racks and the exact same stacks of papers that were sat on desks as they guided the lunar module to the surface of the moon. We first sat in the viewing room, where the loved ones of Buzz, Neil and Michael would have also sat, and watched a video on an original 1960s TV showing the actual broadcast from the time. As it moved through time, the large screens on the other side of the viewing glass replicated the display shown at the time, the same calculations of the lunar module descending in altitude towards the moon.
Inside the original Mission Control Centre
After the video finished we then went inside the room and looked around at the details, all preserved in time in a thoroughly 1960s decor.
Admiring the original Mission Control Centre
We then walked over to the current Mission Control Centre, where we sat in the viewing room behind the glass, watching today’s NASA employees going about their day at each work station, monitoring the ISS as part of one of three 8-hour shifts dedicated to supporting the astronauts and their mission 24/7.
Watching the ISS flight path from inside the viewing room of the current Mission Control Centre
During our NASA experience we also got to sit inside a former flight module and visit some of the buildings where staff currently work and where many artifacts are on display, including first generation space toilets and space suits.
Dylan and Max inside a former flight module, wishing they were astronauts
Back at the visitors centre, we explored the exhibits, including Independence Plaza - where an aviation marvel is on display. NASA, together with Boeing, modified a Boeing aircraft to enable the space shuttle to be placed on top of it. This allowed a reusable space shuttle to be transported, by air, from its landing site back to the launchpad for a subsequent space mission, saving time and complex logistics from transporting it by road.
A replica Independence space shuttle mounted on a modified Boeing aircraft at Independence Plaza
It was a fun day and well worth paying extra for the behind the scenes tour!
All of us outside the Houston Space Centre
On our last night in Houston we found an obscure tiki bar on the outskirts of downtown called Lei Low which turned out to be a fabulous find. They had santa-fied their menu in the Christmas spirit so we drank some classic tiki creations with a twist of festive cheer.
Cocktails at Lei Low tiki bar
Wisely knowing from experience that more than two tiki drinks would not be a good idea before an early flight, we left our north pole hovel in Houston to get some more highly rated barbecue, this time at The Pit Room. We ordered way too much food but it was delicious, especially the beef ribs, which were the size of my forearm. Then full of meat and mac n’ cheese, we went back to the hotel for another night of elusive sleep before our flight to Mexico the next morning.
