houston trip 2/4

1:15 PM

One of the most exciting things that I learned while on vacation is that I love space. I’m fascinated by astrology and the moon, so I guess it should’ve been a no brainer that I loved going to NASA and seeing the Space Museum. Truthfully, I was actually a little nervous I would hate it, but now having been I can say that I loved it and I had wonderful time.

I’m not sure exactly how long we were there (something along the lines of 4ish hours) but we could’ve been there even longer. There was so much to see and do, but I will tell you, this place was not designed for children. It has some places for kids to play and a few interactive exhibits, but for the most part it a playground for the mind to learn and explore. One of the best parts of the Space Center was how much they explained, reiterated, and got a lot of information to you.

I learned so much, but I wanted to share a couple highlights with you:

· NASA is currently working on a mission Orion which plans to explore beyond low Earth orbit and into deep space, including going back to the moon and a mission to Mars by 2030. IN OUR LIFETIME. (See the here, if you want to learn more)

· As of now, we know very little about a human beings ability to stay long term in space. Typically an astronaut stays in space for 6-9 months and about that time their bodies start to show signs of deterioration. Therefore to conduct an experiment, NASA has an astronaut on the ISS that will stay there long term meanwhile his TWIN brother will stay on Earth. Results to come.

I really did have a fabulous time and I encourage you, if you have not already, to take the time and go explore. By far, my favorite part of the museum was the quotes and writings from astronauts. Some of my favorites are pictured below along with some fun facts for your amusement :)

(Mission Control Center for Orion, soon to be closed to the public)

(spacesuit of the future)

(things you didn't know about landing on the moon)

(the actual movie set from Star Trek!)

(this is literally a universe sphere and I wanted one so bad, but alas they were too expensive)

The NASA center is actually quite a bit east of Houston and once we got there we realized how close we were to the coast. So…..we decided to make a day of it and head to Kemah, Texas to see the boardwalk. It was fun, but it was also extremely hot and humid. We pulled up to park, but remembered Big A would need sunblock so stepped inside Target for only a few minutes before the rain came pouring down!

After the rain cleared there was nothing but sunshine, but that humidity was soooo strong. We opted not to take the camera onto the boardwalk (sorry for the lack of photos!), but we still had a fabulous time!

Later as we headed back to our penthouse, I learned that my dad was actually down in Houston working the game so we met him for a late dinner that ended with us staying up and talking until midnight. It was so fun and who else can say they ran into their dad while on vacation?!