USA

Yup...today is our last full day in Texas. This morning, we went to the Johnson Space Center. While there, we were able to see where the astronauts train...including an exact model of the space shuttle (except for the door built in the back!) and then we also saw the historical mission control.

After that visit, we drove into downtown Houston and went to the Aquarium. Probably the best exhibit there was the White Tigers. (not sure why they are at an aquarium, but they are).

Tomorrow, we are off to Baton Rouge, LA for a night-got smart and decided to break up the drive to Tallahassee...originally, we were going to do it all in one day...what we were thinking at the time, I am not really sure.

It is still very hot and humid here...

Nicole

As Nicole informed you in the previous entry, I was touring my erstwhile hometown of Friendswood, Texas, today, only to discover that the house I lived in there-- from about 1970 to December 1978; I consider them extremely formative years-- had been destroyed some years ago in a flood. I really can't put my finger yet on just why, but I have been deeply touched by the house's absence. I mean, it's not like I have any particularly happy memories of our family's life in the house that once stood at 8 Haverford Lane, save the birth of my most excellent little brother, Sean, in late 1972. Still, I find myself somewhat bereft as I write this.
I suppose, if I dig deeply enough, my grief rises out of the now false impression that whatever has happened,happens or will happen in my so-far peripatetic life-- I have, as you may know, lived literally all over the country and in Europe; spent six months in the Middle East for Desert Storm-- I always had the psychological crutch of that the forlorn piece of Houston area real estate-- owned by others since our departure for Hawaii in '78; I felt I could always say that I came from Texas; in my heart at least, I had the emotional anchor of that house in Friendswood; I could, if I ever chose, just like I did as recently as 1992, always go back to the Quaker's Landing subdivision and spend a few moments stopped in front of the lawn that I mowed a hundred times and feel like, whether I ever actually crossed the threshhold again in this life, I belonged somewhere, that I was connected to some physical place on this earth...
And, just now, as I attempt a definition of my relationship with this now empty lot, I feel a surge of gratitude, that one of my last pretenses for lingering over any remaining alliance with the things of this world have been shattered. In a single stroke I have been graciously freed to pursue, virtually unfettered, my discipleship to Jesus Christ. After all, my true home is in Heaven. Maranatha and amen...

Greetings from Nicole tonight, from Houston TX.

We left San Antonio this morning and drove to Houston. Along the way, we went and did a self guided tour of the the USS Texas Battleship. We also went and drove around Friendswood (Outside of Houston), seeing where Dave went to Elementary, Middle School and his first couple of years of High School. We also tried to see his home but it was gone....we later (at a scrapbook store), discovered that several years ago was so damaged in a flood that the city/state had it destroyed. It was a case of hit and miss on the homes in that area, there are quite a few left, but a lot gone too. It was neat for me to see where he grew up...took a bunch of pictures of the schools and the empty spot where his home once was. At the scrapbook store, we were able to find some Friendswood High School paper, so that will make it fun to scrap!
Can I just say it is HOT and HUMID here...Dave has decided that he now loves where we live!
Tomorrow, we will go to NASA and not sure what else.

Nicole

Well yesterday we stayed in San Antonio and walked around down town for a bit. We saw the Alamo and then we went on a Riverwalk boat ride. Dad and I saw an IMAX film about the Alamo that was pretty good. Today we decided to go to Austin which was a great time...well except for when dad was almost killing us, he is a very crazy driver. We went down to the capitol and went on a tour with tour guide talks alot, if you guys thought I talked fast you should have met this girl. Dad got us lost on our way but we eventually went to the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum at the UT campus. I thought it was a great time, which is saying alot coming from me, the hater of all things presidential libraries, but this one was pretty interesting. We're going to Houston tomorrow and stopping at the Battleship Texas, OoOoOo Baby!

Happy Trails,
Mari

Oh and...
ONLY 2 MORE FULL DAYS IN TEXAS!!!

Thank goodness, an entry where you won't need a dictionary and thesauras and three encyclopedias near by. (Just kidding I love my dad and his style of writing, even if it does sound like a dissertation) So here we are one long days drive away from El Paso, in San Antonio, a drive made worse by the fact that we lost an hour (Dave swears he's going to find it) and the fact that we ended up in a motel that is 20 miles from the rest of the world. Well El Paso was interesting, as was Jaurez. We managed to get sort of lost, I say sort of because we were going in the right direction but by luck and we didn't even know exactley what we were looking for. It all ended up okay though and we had a good time. But anyways here we are in San Antonio. I am getting tired of Texas and thanking the good Lord that we only have two more driving days in Texas and only 3 more sightseeing days because if this land were any more flat we could see all the way to Mexico and beyond. We are getting pretty good gas mileage though on an accountants daughter's note, and our budgeted gas price was an estimated $3.00 and our average gas price is now $2.96 a gallon. Well now that I have bored you enough...

Happy Trails,
Mari

P.S. If dad ever finishes uploading songs and deleting them I may get some more pictures on our pix page.

From a guest writer...I will have to agree with Mari on this Texas stuff...it is flat and boring as all heck...I have come to the conclusion that many more people in the US must agree, otherwise it would be alot more developed than it is! I now understand why my parents dislike it so much...it is BORING! (and hot as well) (From Nicole)

P.P.S. (The Much-maligned Dave writes) Enough already! I feel like I have to defnd the great state I once called home. Though I haven't lived here for nearly 28 years, I consider Texas the state where I grew up and a place for which I still maintain a modicum of affection. As a matter of fact, Texas is a big place-- big and unforgiving... For going on 200 years now ambitious Americans have migrated here in droves in hopes of coaxing a fortune, or simply more elbow room, from the often hostile landscape; and, hostile though it might have been, Texans nevertheless persisted and built one of the world's largest economies and one of its more outsized reputations as well. As I remember-- and I fervently hope it still is the case-- the whole state is afflicted with accute and chronic optimism that readily manifests itself in simple, old-fashioned values at the same time that it can turn up as such world record hubris as Enron and Howard Hughes. It may yet be a long long way from the mainstream to the Lone Star State, but we're probably all still well advised not to mess with Texas.