Up early and feeling the worse for it. Luckily, today was the shortest drive that we will have had to do - a mere 3 1/2 hours to Houston (187 miles). The reason for leaving early was so that we would have time to visit the Johnson Space Centre - the NASA base where mission control is located for all of their expeditions.
It had been suggested in Austin that we visit Franklin's on sunday morning - but as it didn't open until 11, it would have meant delaying leaving and then not having much time at the JSC. Much as the 'best BBQ in Texas' had us salivating, we couldn't really spare the time and thought that we'd get BBQ in Houston. As it happens, that worked out quite well.
Rolled into Houston around 1 and got to the JSC around 1.30. Pretty exciting; (for me anyhow!) As you arrive, you are greeted with two training jets marking the entrance and a life-size mock-up of a space shuttle, imposing its way over the car park.
Entry was $28.50 (including audio apparatus with guidance from astronauts), with the staff being pretty helpful when you tell them how much time you have with regards which attractions in the JSC you should see and in which order. First up was a tram tour of the key buildings in the JSC - Mission Control, Training Area, Rememberance Garden and Rocket Park.
NASA have preserved the original control room on a level of the MC building from the Apollo 11 era - the moon landing in 1969. A short talk in the visitor's theatre told you how the room was set up - the back row the commanders and working forward launch control, systems control, with guidance being at the front. In those days, the computers weren't powerful enough to correct guidance errors, so what they had instead was a team of mathematicians who would be expected to manually work out and return correct guidance adjustments in a matter of seconds. The equipment looked antiquated, as you may imagine, but it was suggested that we think of these desks as car dashboards rather than computers - showing up warning lights and information as and when the sensors flagged up information that the controllers would need. Thus, behind these desks was simply (haha) monitors and wiring. The computer that they used was an old IBM machine with far less processing power than we have in modern day phones.
Next was the training area, with life size module mock-ups in a long thin building from various space agencies around the globe - NASA, ESA (Europe), RSA (Russia), NASDA (Japan). These were exact replicas of the units the astronauts would be using in the various missions - mostly now centred around the ISS.
The Rememberance Garden was there for obvious reasons, with 1 tree planted per lost life. This was indeed a venerated space - it's purpose to never forget those who gave their lives for the boundaries of human exploration and accomplishment. It did its job well.
The final stop was Rocket Park. A gigantic building which housed the Saturn V rocket (on loan from the Smithsonian). It was vast, and split into each individual stage. So called the 'V' because of the 5 boosters from the rocket's first stage. Each booster cone is probably large enough to fit at least 4 people standing on each others shoulders across the diameter. Moving onto the 2nd stage, it had 3 smaller boosters, and then the final stage with 1. The nose cone housed the mission module and living quarters with small guidance boosters to correct spin etc.
Waiting for the tram to take us back to the visitor's centre, it was not possible to see the edges of NASA's property - 16,000 acres with a lot of it, it seems, yet to be built on. Back inside the visitor's centre, there was a lot of things to see and do - IMAX films of launches and past missions, 15 minute talks on the ISS, the current 'Curiosity' program on Mars, a shuttle cockpit, space suits through the ages along with unused designs. All the way along through the tours we were supplemented with the audio tour - well worth the extra few bucks.
We spent about 5 hours there but had to leave as we were pretty wacked. Made it back to the hotel and sought out a local BBQ joint - it was a family run place, VERY busy, VERY popular, set up like a cafeteria with a tray. You request what meat you would like, sides and then head through to the dining area. It was delicious - Brisket (chopped beef), pork ribs (so well cooked that it just slipped off the bone), sausages (3 choices from about 7), all slathered in a tasty BBQ sauce. The sides were awesome too - we had broccolli rice, <side dish>, <side dish>. Being very full, we got back to the hotel and slept - ready for the mission to New Orleans the next morning!
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Showing posts with label Austin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Austin. Show all posts
Monday, 28 January 2013
Austin 26/1/13
Saturday!
Both felt a little hungover, and debated about whether to go shopping or do something proper. The guilt of wasting time in Austin got the better of us, so headed south about 30 miles or so to New Braunfels. This was a town that was billed as 'charmingly German'. This was clearly not the case, but perhaps Americans thought that it was. Having said that, it was a nice place, and had a villagely feel to it; found a farmers market with loads of delicious local produce - Jerky, Honey, Cheeses and most strangely of all, flavoured olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Had lunch and then set off to San Antonio, which was only another 30 miles south or so. San Antonio has the most 'European' feel to it out of any town that we have hitherto visited - was set out similarly, sunny, relaxed - and of course, the home of the Alamo.
The Alamo is the symbol of Texan resistance, and the root of their individualism. Around the 1830s there was an ownership tussle over Texas between the Mexicans and the then US. San Antonio knew that the attack was coming, but only had 100 or so irregulars manning the fort, bolstered by another 89 men from surrounding states who answered the call for help with Davy Crockett being one of those. The Mexican regular army then attacked and wiped out the defenders, only to be shortly afterwards be removed from the fort themselves as the US regulars arrived - too late to help their countrymen - but numerous enough to beat the Mexicans.
Arriving back in Austin about 5-ish, had a bit of a relax before heading out for steak and BBQ. The restaurant (Lamberts) that had been recommended by the waiter at Snack Bar had a 2 hour wait. Clearly popular and great, but we were not up for waiting for that long. There was another steak place nearby (Bob's Steak and Chop) - a bit pricier, but we reasoned that it would be good. Ensconsed at the upstairs (open air) bar, we chatted to the bar man about steak choice. He recommended rib eye for myself and rack of lamb for B. Our neighbours at the bar inevitably heard our accents and started chatting to us, very nice couple who were from Texas and who we also ended up talking to for the rest of the time there. It happened that the woman had also lived in the same small village as the lawman from Lubbock, 5 miles from where B grew up.
The steaks and lamb were fabulous. Truly one of the nicest I've eaten, and the lamb - again - perfectly cooked, tender, juicy and loads of it. It came served with what seemed like a single, large, raw carrot. In reality it was aldente and glazed in cinnamon, with the potatoes covered in a peppercorn sauce. A side of creamed spinach was also ordered, and again was absolutely fantastic. Despite B being gutted at not getting to try BBQ, she enjoyed her food immensely. The couple next to us also suggested that we visit a BBQ place called 'Franklins'. This is an unusual place, opens at 11am generally, but queues start forming around 9am for lunch. They come down the queue, take your order, and basically serve until they run out of meat.
A short note on steak size - the smallest they offered was 12oz, the largest 24. The barman suggested that 12oz would be sufficient - 16, he said, would be like a double portion, although and I quote, "24 is normal size for a Texan, but double for normal folks." 12oz was sufficient for me - I was tempted by the 16, as who can resist such a large slab of tasty meat? On reflection, it was just as well that I went for the smaller. Not sure who would be able to manage a 24oz steak along with the additionals.
Around this time, a text from Kate and David arrived, so we made tracks via one of the cycle couriers - a pedal powered tuk-tuk essentially, to the bar where their friend was singing. This was a fun evening, and got to meet some of their other mates; towards the end of the night, another musical friend of theirs told us of a party up the road at Robert Plant's house. Somewhat sceptical, we went along, as a party is a party, right? It didn't turn out to be *quite* at his house - that was next door, but he owned the one we were at for renting out. The band that was set up in the kitchen was pretty good although the kitchen was rammed and was difficult to get into and out of. A bit of hanging around chatting to randoms and was time to go home. Kate & David offered us a lift home which was very generous, stumbling into our flat at around 3.
Both felt a little hungover, and debated about whether to go shopping or do something proper. The guilt of wasting time in Austin got the better of us, so headed south about 30 miles or so to New Braunfels. This was a town that was billed as 'charmingly German'. This was clearly not the case, but perhaps Americans thought that it was. Having said that, it was a nice place, and had a villagely feel to it; found a farmers market with loads of delicious local produce - Jerky, Honey, Cheeses and most strangely of all, flavoured olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Had lunch and then set off to San Antonio, which was only another 30 miles south or so. San Antonio has the most 'European' feel to it out of any town that we have hitherto visited - was set out similarly, sunny, relaxed - and of course, the home of the Alamo.
The Alamo is the symbol of Texan resistance, and the root of their individualism. Around the 1830s there was an ownership tussle over Texas between the Mexicans and the then US. San Antonio knew that the attack was coming, but only had 100 or so irregulars manning the fort, bolstered by another 89 men from surrounding states who answered the call for help with Davy Crockett being one of those. The Mexican regular army then attacked and wiped out the defenders, only to be shortly afterwards be removed from the fort themselves as the US regulars arrived - too late to help their countrymen - but numerous enough to beat the Mexicans.
Arriving back in Austin about 5-ish, had a bit of a relax before heading out for steak and BBQ. The restaurant (Lamberts) that had been recommended by the waiter at Snack Bar had a 2 hour wait. Clearly popular and great, but we were not up for waiting for that long. There was another steak place nearby (Bob's Steak and Chop) - a bit pricier, but we reasoned that it would be good. Ensconsed at the upstairs (open air) bar, we chatted to the bar man about steak choice. He recommended rib eye for myself and rack of lamb for B. Our neighbours at the bar inevitably heard our accents and started chatting to us, very nice couple who were from Texas and who we also ended up talking to for the rest of the time there. It happened that the woman had also lived in the same small village as the lawman from Lubbock, 5 miles from where B grew up.
The steaks and lamb were fabulous. Truly one of the nicest I've eaten, and the lamb - again - perfectly cooked, tender, juicy and loads of it. It came served with what seemed like a single, large, raw carrot. In reality it was aldente and glazed in cinnamon, with the potatoes covered in a peppercorn sauce. A side of creamed spinach was also ordered, and again was absolutely fantastic. Despite B being gutted at not getting to try BBQ, she enjoyed her food immensely. The couple next to us also suggested that we visit a BBQ place called 'Franklins'. This is an unusual place, opens at 11am generally, but queues start forming around 9am for lunch. They come down the queue, take your order, and basically serve until they run out of meat.
A short note on steak size - the smallest they offered was 12oz, the largest 24. The barman suggested that 12oz would be sufficient - 16, he said, would be like a double portion, although and I quote, "24 is normal size for a Texan, but double for normal folks." 12oz was sufficient for me - I was tempted by the 16, as who can resist such a large slab of tasty meat? On reflection, it was just as well that I went for the smaller. Not sure who would be able to manage a 24oz steak along with the additionals.
Around this time, a text from Kate and David arrived, so we made tracks via one of the cycle couriers - a pedal powered tuk-tuk essentially, to the bar where their friend was singing. This was a fun evening, and got to meet some of their other mates; towards the end of the night, another musical friend of theirs told us of a party up the road at Robert Plant's house. Somewhat sceptical, we went along, as a party is a party, right? It didn't turn out to be *quite* at his house - that was next door, but he owned the one we were at for renting out. The band that was set up in the kitchen was pretty good although the kitchen was rammed and was difficult to get into and out of. A bit of hanging around chatting to randoms and was time to go home. Kate & David offered us a lift home which was very generous, stumbling into our flat at around 3.
Austin - 25/1/13
Had another really leisurely morning, glorying in the fact that there was no driving to be done.
Went into Downtown Austin to see if we could find some shops to buy another travel bag (so that we could bring back our additional purchases). Downtown Austin wasn't what we were expecting - no shops, just business district and restaurants, all centred on 6th street.
Elected to walk back up to South Congress, this time over the bridge rather than bussing it - turned out to be a lot further than anticipated. These American streets are huge. Walked past the SXSW (South by South West, a music & media festival) building - presumably where it's organised from, as SXSW takes over the entire city around March time. The tickets are insanely expensive if you want to take part in the full thing - $1500. However, it is possible to experience it by not paying, as all the artists that turn up for their gigs will play in other bars (despite their contracts specifically not allowing them to do so), naturally making it cheaper for punters and making the whole city one big party town for a week or so. Would be great to visit then - but book 6 months in advance for accommodation unless you know someone there.
Decided to walk further up SC than we did the day before and stopped at a really nice cafe (called 'Snack Bar' - US business names are very literal sometimes) for lunch. Our waiter, once pressed, told of some places downtown to get good steaks and BBQ (couldn't leave Texas without trying steak & BBQ!) and also mentioned a good live music venue called the 'Continental Club'. A bit further up the road, we stopped in at a sweet shop. They had UK chocolate in there, but at $3 for a Twirl or Star Bar, was not worth it. This shop turned out to be very fortuitous place to visit, as we bumped into a girl from Bradford who had moved there 3 years ago for music college, met someone and got married. They (Kate and David) were both lovely, and we had a chat, swapped numbers and agreed to perhaps meet them on saturday evening at a bar where one of their friends was gigging.
The sun was starting to go down, Kate and David had told of a great BBQ place called 'La Barbecue' (what was that about business names?) which was off down some side streets. This was interesting as we saw more of residential Austin than simply the shopping streets - seemed a nice neighbourhood. We found La Barbecue, but were too full from lunch still, so walked back to the bus stop and got back to the apartment for 'un rechargement' before going out later. Wandering around in the sun, shopping and eating is intensely tiring. Dont'ch'a'know.
We'd been told of an unusual street just out of Downtown, called Rainey street. This was a residential neighbourhood that has gradually over the last 4 years turned from that into a street of bars made from people's homes. Pretty buzzing place. 6th street used to be the place to go out in, but has filled up with students - locals who are a bit older stopped going there, as the surrounding streets got to be so busy that after about 6pm are closed off and made entirely pedestrian. Rainey street seemed to arise from this to cater for the older clientele who didn't want to be wading through youngsters and slipping on vomit.
I had forgotten my passport, but most places check IDs here, which was a minor concern. As it happened, the chap on the door wasn't that bothered and could see that we were over 21 so we got in. A few beers here, and then onto 'Bangers' - a sausage joint. Really nice food here, plus had cask ales. Alas, all sold out, but the thought was there. B experienced her nicest Bratwurst ever, and I had a Louisiana Lighting. This was bloody spicy, but delicious. Cab back, pretty reasonable price. In bed by 1.30.
Went into Downtown Austin to see if we could find some shops to buy another travel bag (so that we could bring back our additional purchases). Downtown Austin wasn't what we were expecting - no shops, just business district and restaurants, all centred on 6th street.
Elected to walk back up to South Congress, this time over the bridge rather than bussing it - turned out to be a lot further than anticipated. These American streets are huge. Walked past the SXSW (South by South West, a music & media festival) building - presumably where it's organised from, as SXSW takes over the entire city around March time. The tickets are insanely expensive if you want to take part in the full thing - $1500. However, it is possible to experience it by not paying, as all the artists that turn up for their gigs will play in other bars (despite their contracts specifically not allowing them to do so), naturally making it cheaper for punters and making the whole city one big party town for a week or so. Would be great to visit then - but book 6 months in advance for accommodation unless you know someone there.
Decided to walk further up SC than we did the day before and stopped at a really nice cafe (called 'Snack Bar' - US business names are very literal sometimes) for lunch. Our waiter, once pressed, told of some places downtown to get good steaks and BBQ (couldn't leave Texas without trying steak & BBQ!) and also mentioned a good live music venue called the 'Continental Club'. A bit further up the road, we stopped in at a sweet shop. They had UK chocolate in there, but at $3 for a Twirl or Star Bar, was not worth it. This shop turned out to be very fortuitous place to visit, as we bumped into a girl from Bradford who had moved there 3 years ago for music college, met someone and got married. They (Kate and David) were both lovely, and we had a chat, swapped numbers and agreed to perhaps meet them on saturday evening at a bar where one of their friends was gigging.
The sun was starting to go down, Kate and David had told of a great BBQ place called 'La Barbecue' (what was that about business names?) which was off down some side streets. This was interesting as we saw more of residential Austin than simply the shopping streets - seemed a nice neighbourhood. We found La Barbecue, but were too full from lunch still, so walked back to the bus stop and got back to the apartment for 'un rechargement' before going out later. Wandering around in the sun, shopping and eating is intensely tiring. Dont'ch'a'know.
We'd been told of an unusual street just out of Downtown, called Rainey street. This was a residential neighbourhood that has gradually over the last 4 years turned from that into a street of bars made from people's homes. Pretty buzzing place. 6th street used to be the place to go out in, but has filled up with students - locals who are a bit older stopped going there, as the surrounding streets got to be so busy that after about 6pm are closed off and made entirely pedestrian. Rainey street seemed to arise from this to cater for the older clientele who didn't want to be wading through youngsters and slipping on vomit.
I had forgotten my passport, but most places check IDs here, which was a minor concern. As it happened, the chap on the door wasn't that bothered and could see that we were over 21 so we got in. A few beers here, and then onto 'Bangers' - a sausage joint. Really nice food here, plus had cask ales. Alas, all sold out, but the thought was there. B experienced her nicest Bratwurst ever, and I had a Louisiana Lighting. This was bloody spicy, but delicious. Cab back, pretty reasonable price. In bed by 1.30.
Austin - 24/1/13
A nice long sleep in - looking forward to a nice rest and a break from driving. Today was Laundry Day(tm). Wasn't so hard, found a laundromat just up the road, not too expensive, took a couple of hours.
In the afternoon, got the bus to Downtown Austin and a short walk out of the city centre to South Congress. This had the feel of Haight in SF to some degree - all independant shops, nice cafes, bars etc. On the walk up to South Congress, stopped off for a quick ramen - I was craving vegetables, as they're not so popular out here it seems, at least when you eat out.
Mooched further up the road to find 'Allen's Boots' - a few days previously, we had been talking about purchasing some 'proper' cowboy boots. The shop was bonkers. Thousands upon thousands of boots, smelled beautifully of leather and a little overwhelming when you first walk in. The boots were organised by size and width, so while there were masses once we'd found that out, it narrowed the search considerably as there was only really your size section to look through, luckily. The pair that I had seen on the shop's website was not in stock - not a huge issue, as seeing a smaller size in the flesh as it were, they didn't look as nice. Ended up with a pair with a nice 'cuban heel' - the old style boots. Incredibly comfortable and really fine lookin'. B unfortunately didn't find a pair that she liked, as the ladies' boots all seemed to be too pointed for her taste.
South Congress was a nice area, pretty relaxed (as most of Austin seems to be), and the weather was really nice - around 20 degrees, comfortable, not too humid, sunny and calm.
After shopping, went and sat in a bar (Doc's) just as dusk was falling, had a few drinks, a basket of wings, and a few more drinks. *Very nearly* missed the bus home, but managed to catch it just in time - driver kindly waited for us to jog to the stop - and much hilarity from B seeing me running in flip flops and trying to flag the bus down.
In the afternoon, got the bus to Downtown Austin and a short walk out of the city centre to South Congress. This had the feel of Haight in SF to some degree - all independant shops, nice cafes, bars etc. On the walk up to South Congress, stopped off for a quick ramen - I was craving vegetables, as they're not so popular out here it seems, at least when you eat out.
Mooched further up the road to find 'Allen's Boots' - a few days previously, we had been talking about purchasing some 'proper' cowboy boots. The shop was bonkers. Thousands upon thousands of boots, smelled beautifully of leather and a little overwhelming when you first walk in. The boots were organised by size and width, so while there were masses once we'd found that out, it narrowed the search considerably as there was only really your size section to look through, luckily. The pair that I had seen on the shop's website was not in stock - not a huge issue, as seeing a smaller size in the flesh as it were, they didn't look as nice. Ended up with a pair with a nice 'cuban heel' - the old style boots. Incredibly comfortable and really fine lookin'. B unfortunately didn't find a pair that she liked, as the ladies' boots all seemed to be too pointed for her taste.
South Congress was a nice area, pretty relaxed (as most of Austin seems to be), and the weather was really nice - around 20 degrees, comfortable, not too humid, sunny and calm.
After shopping, went and sat in a bar (Doc's) just as dusk was falling, had a few drinks, a basket of wings, and a few more drinks. *Very nearly* missed the bus home, but managed to catch it just in time - driver kindly waited for us to jog to the stop - and much hilarity from B seeing me running in flip flops and trying to flag the bus down.
Lubbock - Austin - 23/1/13
Managed to get out and be on the road by 9.15, a trip record. Today was going to be a lot of small roads - no interstates or freeways, so would be likely to take a while longer to cover a similar distance.
On the way out of Lubbock, we passed miles and miles of cotton fields - this was pretty interesting, as while we knew what they looked like, had never really seen them before. This spark of excitement soon passed as we drove through the next 100 miles of it.
Western/Northen Texas is the 'classic' Texas that you may think of: arid, desert-like and flat. There was some soil and clearly people were able to make a living from farming the land (arable and dairy/meat), but it didn't look easy, and as a result wasn't densely populated. The small towns we did drive through looked run down and not too wealthy - either filled with agricultural or chemical businesses. Chalk it up as our least favourite scenery.
What there was a lot of, however, was churches. The Lord has a strong presence here, as you might imagine, but they look nothing like a UK church. All single store, made of tin and wood, with only really a spire giving away it's true purpose: to save, praise be.
After a quick stop and snack, we came into Lampassas, the largest town we'd seen for a while - a lunch stop. Found this nice 'mom and pop' restaurant called 'Country Kitchen'. As you walked in, it was clearly very, very Texan. Nearly spit and sawdust, but not quite. B had brisket, pinto beans, potato salad and 'hush puppies', which are little corn maize balls. I had some fried chicken breast - both were pretty good, although I did get food jealousy after trying the brisket which melted in your mouth and very tasty BBQ sauce. This place also had an array of homemade pies - Pecan (pronouced p-khan over here), Cherry, Apple, Pumpkin, Lemon Meringue and a few others that we couldn't identify. This caused excitement, so after a mandatory purchase of p-khan and apple pies, we left.
As we arrived in Austin, it was rush hour. Nightmare traffic, close to LA levels, but made worse by Austin's completely incomprehensible highway system. Think Spaghetti Junction in Brum, but far bigger and by no means intuitive. After a bit of a struggle, we picked up the apartment keys and did a spot of food shopping. Met an American who has some good friends from Sheffield and loved our accents. Then, with heavy hearts, we tackled Austin traffic again to the apartment itself - again, rush hour, strange highway organisation, made for a taxing last few miles, taking about an hour to get through.
Lacking energy to do much else, we watched a couple of films before passing out. The drive in the main had been a cinch - just those last 20 miles or so had really taken it out of us after the 7 1/2 hours or so previously.
373 miles for this stretch:
View Lubbock - Austin in a larger map
On the way out of Lubbock, we passed miles and miles of cotton fields - this was pretty interesting, as while we knew what they looked like, had never really seen them before. This spark of excitement soon passed as we drove through the next 100 miles of it.
Western/Northen Texas is the 'classic' Texas that you may think of: arid, desert-like and flat. There was some soil and clearly people were able to make a living from farming the land (arable and dairy/meat), but it didn't look easy, and as a result wasn't densely populated. The small towns we did drive through looked run down and not too wealthy - either filled with agricultural or chemical businesses. Chalk it up as our least favourite scenery.
What there was a lot of, however, was churches. The Lord has a strong presence here, as you might imagine, but they look nothing like a UK church. All single store, made of tin and wood, with only really a spire giving away it's true purpose: to save, praise be.
After a quick stop and snack, we came into Lampassas, the largest town we'd seen for a while - a lunch stop. Found this nice 'mom and pop' restaurant called 'Country Kitchen'. As you walked in, it was clearly very, very Texan. Nearly spit and sawdust, but not quite. B had brisket, pinto beans, potato salad and 'hush puppies', which are little corn maize balls. I had some fried chicken breast - both were pretty good, although I did get food jealousy after trying the brisket which melted in your mouth and very tasty BBQ sauce. This place also had an array of homemade pies - Pecan (pronouced p-khan over here), Cherry, Apple, Pumpkin, Lemon Meringue and a few others that we couldn't identify. This caused excitement, so after a mandatory purchase of p-khan and apple pies, we left.
As we arrived in Austin, it was rush hour. Nightmare traffic, close to LA levels, but made worse by Austin's completely incomprehensible highway system. Think Spaghetti Junction in Brum, but far bigger and by no means intuitive. After a bit of a struggle, we picked up the apartment keys and did a spot of food shopping. Met an American who has some good friends from Sheffield and loved our accents. Then, with heavy hearts, we tackled Austin traffic again to the apartment itself - again, rush hour, strange highway organisation, made for a taxing last few miles, taking about an hour to get through.
Lacking energy to do much else, we watched a couple of films before passing out. The drive in the main had been a cinch - just those last 20 miles or so had really taken it out of us after the 7 1/2 hours or so previously.
373 miles for this stretch:
View Lubbock - Austin in a larger map
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