Day: May 13, 2018

BBQ and Baseball Tour 2018 Day #2 “The Eagle Has Landed”

by reissmd, posted in Uncategorized

This morning we checked out of the heavenly JW Marriott Downtown Houston and headed to the Houston Space Center (aka Johnson Space Center).

The Center was built on land donated by Rice University and dedicated by President John F. Kennedy on September 12, 1962 in a very famous and often quoted speech. I have to admit I didn’t know about the speech but had to be told about it by my son, David.  In 2003 I was visiting David at college and Texas had just beaten Rice 48-7 and I muttered aloud, “Why does Rice play Texas in football?”  David looked at me and said “John Kennedy asked the same question”.  Go to the following link to hear a portion of the speech at the dedication of the Space Center. It’s worth a few minutes of your time and you will find out why Rice plays Texas.  This is only a 2 minute excerpt of a marvelous speech.

The space center was spectacular. They had exhibits that appealed to all ages. There were great videos, some of which made me teary eyed (Patrice here: Robert teary eyed? some surprise….. NOT).

The highlight of the visit was “Lunch With an Astronaut”.  For a modest fee you can have lunch (along with about 30 other visitors) with a former astronaut.  We ate with Dr. John-David Bartoe who flew on a Space Shuttle mission in 1985.  Dr. Bartoe spoke for about 10-15 about his experience and then answered a great number of questions.  He also posed for pictures with every guest.  He was a great speaker with lots of fascinating information and an excellent sense of humor.  After that we visited a number of the exhibits including the Space Shuttle Independence atop its Boeing 747 transport vehicle.   This is a must see experience if you find yourself in Houston.

DR JOHN DAVID BARTOE
Dr. John-David Bartoe: informative, entertaining and a true delight.
SPACE SHUTTLE
In front of the Space Shuttle Independence and its transport Boeing 747
ALAN SHEPARDS ROCKEY
The rocket that sent Alan Shepard into space.  This is tiny compared to the 363 foot Saturn V rocket (also on display) that was used to send the Apollo astronauts into space.
cut her for emergency rescue
Space Shuttle instructions.  Any vehicle that has a sign, “Cut Here For Emergency Rescue” will not have me as a passenger.

After the Space Center it was off to Dallas.   On our way we stopped off for dinner at Uncle Bob’s (that is not me, I am Uncle Robert), a BBQ place just off Interstate 45 about 45 miles north of Houston.   The food was good but does not compare to what we have had in Memphis.  We will give Dallas a chance to show us that Texas can compete with Memphis BBQ.

uncle bobs ribs
Baby Back Ribs at Uncle Bob’s.  Obviously the beer is not ours.